A young cat anthro sat outside the door to the headmistress nervously. His paws gently swished as he sat on the bench. His heart pounded nervously. He tried so hard to get into the exchange year, and he was only a few steps away from finally getting into the school he so desired.
The door opened and a womanly voice called out. "Luna? You can come in now." There was a thick accent to her voice.
Luna hopped off the bench and walked into the next room. He noticed a large bookcase behind a desk, and a female cat anthro in front of the desk. He wondered how she could open the door, but he noticed a few buttons on her desk.
The woman at the front had a small plate in front of her that read 'Headmistress Kaia' on it. The cat anthro looked to be in her late 40s, or possibly early 50s. Despite her age, she was thin and lanky, but her face had the look of a woman that was much older. "Hello there." She said with a soft tone. Her eyes that constantly glared looked off-putting compared to her demeanor. "It is good to finally see you in person after all of these phone calls."
"Yeah." Luna replied with a nod. "I would have loved to come and visit on occasion to see you, but I just didn't have that kind of money."
Kaia nodded back. "Of course. Now, you wish to come here for an exchange year for your final year of high school, is that correct?"
Luna smiled up at Kaia. "Yeah, that's right. There's nothing wrong with my school, it's just that I'd love to come here for a year and experience the culture and...And just about everything there is about Japan." It was his dream to visit Japan, and he only just recently had a chance to do so. The problem was that he nor his parents had the money to stay for long, unless the high school approved him.
"I understand you're quite eager." Kaia said casually. "There is one formality. Now, while you can go to this school, and while there are many teachers who speak English, many students and teachers will not speak English. English is just what most will take for his or her required second language. However, it is by no means, what everyone takes. That said, you are going to need to speak Japanese if you want to attend this school."
Luna wanted to deny that was going to be a problem. He wanted to ignore that from his own mother and father, but now here he was facing reality. He had to accept it. "I...I don't really speak much Japanese."
The headmistress nodded. "That's understandable. One cannot expect someone to know everything about a new language. As is, many who speak English don't even know all of their English words. How much Japanese do you know?"
"Explicitly none." Luna admitted. He swore he remembered hearing a few words through his lifetime, but he couldn't remember what those words meant. He remembered a few Chinese words, but he knew that would do him no good in Japan.
"Oh?" The headmistress fell quiet for a brief moment, as if she were studying Luna. She reached down into her desk and pulled out an old dictionary. "That is not a problem. So long as you hold onto this, you'll learn Japanese faster than you could possibly imagine."
Luna took the dictionary with both hands, not wanting to be rude. He looked at the old dictionary, and then at her with uncertainty. Just holding onto it made him feel strange, but he wasn't sure if that was because he was nervous, or something else. "Thank you." He replied with a smile. Unaware to him, he'd never be able to say those words in English again.
"Now, before I can accept you into this school, let's get to know you some more. What type of person would you describe yourself to be?" The headmistress leaned back and pulled out a pen and a notebook.
Luna wondered if this was some sort of test. He wondered if the teacher wanted him to use big fancy words, or small ones. Alternatively, maybe she wanted him to be as short and quick as possible.
"Don't think too much into it, Luna." The headmistress explained calmly. "Just say the first thing that comes to mind, whatever it may be."
"Goal oriented." Luna replied. "If I want it, 私 get それ." He didn't want to sound overly egotistical about himself. As he spoke, he swore his words were a little off, but he didn't think too much about it. He didn't notice the headmistress look at him any differently, so he could only assume what he thought he said was not what he 'actually' said to her.
"Ah I see. Yes, I know there are many like that. Allow me to ask, if you were in the face of certain defeat, would you surrender? Alternatively, would you keep on fighting, even though others tell you to give up?"
"Depends on who is telling me to give up." Luna replied. He didn't want to sound like someone who continued to fight the truth, but he also didn't want to sounds like someone that believed in everything they were told.
"What if, say, you were answering math questions and a student said you were wrong on all of them. Would you believe them?" The headmistress continued her line of questions as she wrote.
"No." Luna replied with a one-word answer. He tried to sound as firmly as possible. There were other factors, such as if the person that told him was a friend or not. Luna assumed the headmistress referred to a random student, rather than one he knew.
"What if a teacher told you? Like, say if you showed it to the math teacher and they said it was all wrong."
"私 would double check my work, then." Luna replied. He wondered just how many questions the headmistress wanted to ask. He couldn't see the paper she wrote down on from his angle, nor could he shift himself in a casual way to glance at it.
"That's good. Some teachers can be a little on the harsh side though. I hope you don't mind that." The headmistress wrote down more notes and noticed his strange look. "Is something wrong?"
"いいえ. Nothing は wrong です." Luna heard himself speak strangely again. 'Shouldn't that be 「何も悪いことはありません?」 Instead?' He thought to himself. He heard his own thoughts and that just made things even more complicated. "Let us continue, please."
The headmistress slowly nodded. "You look worried. Take a moment to relax." She glanced out a window in her office. "Let's talk about the weather. What kind of weather do you like? Do you prefer sunny days? Or perhaps you're a fan of the cloudy ones. Rain? Snow? Hot? Cold?"
"Warm spring days." Luna answered. He spoke calmly and slowly, as if he tried to listen to his own words to make sure they made sense. He wanted to add that warm days in fall weren't bad either, but he wanted to try to keep his answers as short as possible.
"I see. Our season transitions are quite beautiful in Japan. I think you might enjoy the trees." She smiled. The headmistress leaned onto her desk and put her head on top of the back of her fingers. "What do you know about the trees in Japan?"
Luna studied a bit of Japan before he travelled. He wished he had studied more, as there were so many things about Japan. The most he could recall about its history was a random video on the internet that was famous for talking about Japan, and they didn't talk about trees very much. He wanted to ask if there were 'those pink trees' out there, but he didn't want to sound like an idiot. "A little bit, but not much."
The headmistress wrote down another note. "Do you feel any more relaxed now?"
Luna's heart pounded nervously. He swore he could feel sweat pour down underneath his fur. His body felt not only heavy, but also different in ways he couldn't explain. He wished he could just take a few minutes to go to the bathroom, but he remembered that the interview shouldn't take very long. He just had to avoid dragging it out with long complicated answers. "Yes." He said with a small nod.
"You're a poor liar." The headmistress replied with a soft sigh. "We do not like lying here at all, although I am willing to let this slide. I can tell you're very worried about many things. Tell me, what worries you the most?"
Luna's sweat continued. He felt his body shake as he looked at the headmistress. He wanted to get into the school, not just because of the idea of staying in Japan, but because going back would feel like a crushing defeat. He'd not only have to deal with rejection, but also return to his old school with the sting that he wasn't good enough to be an exchange student. He wanted to kick himself for not studying any Japanese language. He would have done so on the plane ride, but he slept most of the trip as the plane left very late at night. "私..." Luna paused. 'あの weird word をありますagain. 私は spoke English, right? 英語にsoundなかった. It sounded sort of like what that one woman said when talking about where the bathroom was.' He thought to himself. He decided the best course was to try to be honest and hope for the best. "Rejection. Here go きたい. 私 really do." Luna heard himself speak strangely again. He also felt strange. He looked down. 'Was I always wearing a white top? Why does it feel so tight on my body?' He thought to himself. He looked back up at the headmistress with red on his face. He felt humiliated as he answered her.
"Yes, and I can tell how your nerves are getting to you. This is one reason why I try to keep the questions simple. We've talked about the weather, the trees, quite a few things, actually. Let's talk about food. What's your favorite food? It doesn't have to be Japanese."
Luna wondered about the foods he liked. He liked to eat healthy, but it was fine if the food wasn't entirely healthy either. Burgers, pizza, none of it sounded appetizing. He then thought about Sushi. Sushi in of itself was okay. It depended on the kind of sauces and other things that it came with. Rice wasn't bad for health, but it was flavorless, and the same went with many noodles. "Tempura." Luna replied. He wasn't even sure why Japanese food came to mind. He wasn't trying to think of Japanese culture on purpose. He barely knew anything about the culture, at least he figured. He wasn't even sure where his answer came from.
"And here I thought you knew nothing about Japanese culture. You look as if you know our foods at least. Are you American?" The headmistress said teasingly.
Luna could tell the headmistress was joking, but he was still trying to figure out why he felt so strange, not just in body, but also in mind. He tried to smile to her, but he couldn't even fake one. "いいえ、私 am 違います." He shook his head. 'There's all that weird language again. I could barely understand a single word in that sentence! Ugh. I wish I had a translator, but even that would probably be off.' Luna wondered why his mind was clear, but his voice was not.
"You still look so concerned, Luna." Kaia, the headmistress smiled faintly at him. "Allow me to tell you something. The more we talk, the more likely it sounds like you are good candidate for this school. You just have to take a deep breath, remain calm, and continue talking. Long answers, short answers, it matters not. Just relax and speak your mind. You sound like a very nice person, no matter what your mind tells you otherwise."
Luna slowly nodded. He still felt shaky, but he smiled softy. "Thank you." He replied with a slight bow. He paused as he looked down at his body. His fur looked different. He noticed a hint of brown on his fur that he didn't have before. He raised his head back to Kaia and took another breath. He couldn't let his nerves get the best of him. 私 about know について他に何を else what？" He asked, and then paused. He barely understood himself once again and he wasn't sure why. He scratched his head as he tried to think about what was going on with not just his words, but also his body.
"Let's talk about, oh...famous people in history. Is there someone you idolize? Is there someone you would like to grow up to be just like?"
Luna tried to recall famous people in his country. He remembered studying history, but a lot of history talked about people both good, and bad. He then remembered people that were currently alive that did things he enjoyed. He briefly remembered video games, and a famous person in video games. "Shigeru Miyamoto." He replied. "私 like him."
"He was involved in video games, if knowledge serves right." Kaia replied with a nod. "Quite a few people are big fans of him."
Luna didn't even consider the fact the person he mentioned was Japanese, and neither did Kaia. A thought briefly crossed his mind. "私も samurai, also. They are honorable and strong." He heard himself speak strangely again, but he understood himself a bit better. He still couldn't quite figure out what the rhyme or reason was that he would sometimes hear himself speak so bizarrely, yet Kaia didn't mention anything. His fur felt finer, and his body felt sleeker. He wished he could just dismiss himself to the bathroom, but he was afraid to speak so much. He didn't even notice that samurai were also Japanese. Samurai just felt normal for him.
"I can tell you're still nervous. Why don't you tell me about your family? I don't need to know your mother's maiden name." Kaia chuckled. "But do you know their ancestry?"
Luna never bothered to care much about his parent's past. Luna was in high school. Few children in high school cared about the history of their parents. As he thought about what his parents talked about, he realized something. He realized one reason he picked Japan for an exchange year over every other country out there. "ぼくの Mother です Half Japanese." He replied. He knew his father was born in the country that Luna came from, but not his grandparents.
"Ah, that explains why you came here. I'm surprised you haven't come to Japan sooner then." Kaia nodded. "I believe you mentioned this was your first time here."
Luna wondered if it really was his first time here. He didn't know Japanese. At least, he swore he didn't know Japanese. He began to doubt just how much Japanese he knew, but he didn't want to humiliate himself and speak a language he didn't know. He looked down at the dictionary that Kaia gave him. He was tempted to read it right in front of her.
"I won't keep you here for that much longer Luna." Kaia said calmly. "Hm. We've covered quite a lot about you, but not that much about your academics. I have your grades here, but why don't you tell me about, let's say your teachers. Did you ever study any other language?" Kaia paused. "I know we mentioned Japanese, but I am referring to other languages."
Luna wondered about other languages. He recalled that he had to study another language at one point in school besides the one he took. It was a requirement to learn a second language. He just couldn't remember what that second language was. Stranger yet, he couldn't even remember what country he came from; he attributed that to him feeling so frightened about coming to this school. "私 did." He just wasn't sure what second language he studied. He wondered if it was English. The idea of English as a second language sounded odd, but also right.
"Do you...remember what the other language you studied was? I may be able to find a teacher that knows the language to help you out."
Luna knew that was going to be the follow up question, but he was unprepared for it. He didn't remember what the second language he knew was. He just knew that he had to have known two languages. He opened his mouth to speak, but he remembered the strange words he spoke out. His body felt so strange, and he swore his clothing changed as well. He didn't remember having a white top, but he couldn't think of himself in anything else. He simply shook his head to Kaia.
"I must ask that you try to remember. It could be very important." Kaia leaned on her desk. "If you remember what country you came from, then maybe that might help?"
Luna couldn't remember where he was born. He thought and thought, but all he could think about was Japan. He kept telling himself he wasn't born in Japan, but at the same time, he wasn't born in a country that spoke English as the primary language. That could have only meant one thing about his second language. "ぼくの second language です English." He replied. He wasn't sure if that was the truth, but he couldn't think of any other language that would have been his second language if he were born in a country that didn't speak it primarily.
Kaia's eyes opened wide. "That is quite surprising. You speak very fluently for someone who speaks English as a second language. The book I gave you was for someone who spoke English primarily. Well, if English is your second language, then what was your first language?"
Luna felt a small headache begin to grow. He wanted the questions about his language to be over. He couldn't recall his first language at all. He just had thoughts about Japan, and thoughts about Japanese culture. He wondered about his parents, but he remembered both of them being Japanese. Two Japanese parents didn't mean he was born in Japan, but it did mean he was Japanese himself. He looked down at his fur, now turned brown, but also sleek. He shifted in his seat as he wore a blue skirt, but he knew he shouldn't be wearing a skirt either. He knew he wore something else, he just couldn't remember what. Everything felt so confusing that he was ready to faint. He felt his heart pound and sweat pour from his body. He leaned upwards and breathed heavily. He also felt hot on top of everything else.
"Okay, we'll skip that question for now. If you can remember it later, please do let me know." Kaia pulled out some paperwork. "If you wish, I can also tell you what your first language was. I see you wrote it down on here."
Luna thought that he should already know his first language. His body felt strange, and his mind felt stranger. "はい." He replied with a soft nod.
"Your first language, according to this paper..." Kaia looked down, and then back at Luna. "Well, I may be just as surprised as you are when I say it. Your first language is Japanese."
Luna's heart skipped a beat. He knew that should have been impossible. He remembered telling her not moments ago that he didn't know any Japanese. He wanted to speak with her, but his voice sounded so strange when he spoke with her. The strange language that came from his lips wasn't the only weird thing, but also the pitch of his voice sounded higher, as if he wasn't male. "できません speak 日本人." He said, again in a language he mostly barely didn't understand; yet as he heard himself say it, it sounded right. He felt more confused than ever. He recalled his sentence, and he tried to think about what he didn't understand about it.
"You're speaking it quite well though." Kaia said calmly. "In fact, one might think you were very fluent in it. Are you sure only one of your parents was Japanese?"
Luna remembered his parents. He remembered telling Kaia that only one of them was Japanese. However, it didn't feel right.
"You must be very confused right now Luna." Kaia said calmly. "Would you like to see the application you sent me? Perhaps it will help clarify a few things."
Luna wondered where Kaia was going with this. A person that always told the truth should never have to double check their submission. Luna swore he was telling the truth to her all the time though, but what he told her not ten minutes ago no longer felt right, and it felt as if he said such things to her a lifetime ago. He slowly nodded with a straight look on his face.
Kaia handed Luna the application with a smile. "It may not be what you remember, but it's what you wrote. I believe you are a very honest person, Luna. You just...may be forgetful when you worry too much."
Luna grabbed the papers and looked over the entire document. His name was right, but then he noticed the gender he marked. He didn't mark male, but rather female. He looked down at his body and saw how much more feminine he was. He tried to think about his life, and he had memories of being a female. "ぼくの gender..." He said quietly.
"What? You said you were female. Is that not correct?"
Gender was a strange subject in today's world. Just because someone looked like one gender did not mean him or her necessarily was that gender. He swore he referred to himself as a male though. His body looked like a female, and even the clothes he wore looked like one a Japanese female student might wear. He thought to himself that maybe his thoughts about a male were wrong. Maybe he was a female. He didn't want to take the time to look at his body though. The physical gender and mental gender could also be different. "それは Correct." Luna wouldn't lie about 'her' gender. Why would she have a reason to do so? She was a female, just like her papers said.
Luna then looked down and noticed her primary language was indeed Japanese, but there was no secondary language. Luna swore she just said English was her second language, but now it didn't appear on there at all.
Kaia smiled at Luna. "あなたは混乱しているように見えます." She said calmly.
Luna knew what Kaia said perfectly. There was no reason not to understand. She spoke Japanese after all. "私は fine." She heard that strange language again.
"結構. 私たちの学校であなたを受け入れてうれしいです." Kaia said with a smile.
Luna couldn't believe her ears. She was as nervous as she could be. There were times she swore she didn't understand what she was saying, but now she understood Kaia perfectly. "ありがとうございました." She hopped off her chair and politely bowed. She couldn't believe it. Kaia accepted Luna into their school. She walked out with a smile on her face and eager to tell her parents. As she stepped out of the office, she realized she still held onto the book Kaia gave her earlier. She opened it up curiously and noticed it was blank. Luna wondered why Kaia even gave her the dictionary in the first place, but she casually dismissed it.
She couldn't wait to tell her parents that her new school accepted her and they could finally relocate their home in Japan!
