It's the summer between my last year of elementary school and my first year of middle school. I kept up with my routine and, before I knew it, sixth grade was over. We said goodbye to the teachers, went around the school, and followed the path home one last time. Well, I say that, but Nicholas is going to attend that school too starting next year, so I might end up going back for a reason or another.

I also have confirmation that, once again I'll be attending middle and high school with Elliot and Orelia. No surprise there, but with how things changed in this timeline, it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility for one of them to fail the exam even though they succeeded last time, so it's still a relief. There's no one else in our class who enrolled at our next school, so it's a good opportunity for a fresh start, without any strange rumors following me.

Speaking of fresh start, after agonizing over it for a year, I finally decided to give a try to being more feminine. Nothing major for now, just growing out my hair to see how it feels.

Or, at least, that was the plan, but... Here I am, in the changing room of the store that sells the uniform for Promise Academy, realizing that I forgot a rather important detail. The school, being private, is allowed to require wearing a uniform to attend it. It's also a very old school that's proud of its history, and they have, as such, never relaxed the rules related to that uniform.

The result? I'm wearing a skirt for the first time of my life.

I take a few steps around the cabin, unsure of what to think about the lack of coverage around my legs. Sure, I can see that there's a piece of cloth hiding everything, but I don't feel it providing any protection. It also doesn't help that I can feel the air move along my legs all the way up to my underwear.

I probably should have, at some point during the last seven years, remembered that the middle school I attended only allowed skirts as part of the girls' uniform. I don't know that it would have changed my mind about attending it, but maybe... No, it would have been to dangerous to not follow Elliot. Wearing skirts is just another challenge on my path to reclaiming my masculinity!

I turn back towards the mirror to take another look, and start feeling... strange. I still recognize myself, but wearing this uniform, combined with some of the subtle changes brought about by early puberty... Right now, I really do look like a girl.

I feel like that should bother me, like I should start panicking and walk back on my decision to let my hair grow longer, or give up on the friendships that might have impacted some of my preferences. There's a part of me screaming that my old self would never have accepted this, or that Elliot might be weirded out seeing me in those clothes, but I can't find it in myself to care.

Even though I used to be a guy, I might just be fine with fully embracing my new identity going forward. I don't know if Elliot's wish somehow altered who I am deep down, or if I never realized before that I carried these feelings within me, but the reason doesn't really matter right now. What I know for sure is that seeing myself like this makes me happy. And confused, but mostly happy.

Summer vacations are over, and it's our first day as middle schoolers. I'm at the intersection where Elliot and I said we would meet, going over my uniform one last time to make sure nothing is out of place.

I'm nervous, since this is the first time Elliot will be seeing me in full "girl mode". I got a haircut just a few days prior to fix my bangs and properly style to the rest, further enhancing my feminine appearance despite the short length. I also finally found the courage to try out some accessories, wearing a butterfly necklace and a hair clip decorated with a small ribbon. I was pretty satisfied with my appearance when I left the house, but with my meeting with Elliot drawing closer, I have to take deep breaths to keep my nerves under control.

I'm not even sure what I want to happen when he sees me like this. I know I don't want him to react poorly and get mad at me in one way or another, but I have a hard time imagining him doing that. I guess no reaction, with him treating me like he always has, would be acceptable, but... I'm kinda hoping to see him blush when he sees how pretty I am! A shy reaction at the sight of such a cute childhood friend would be best!

Wait, where are my thoughts going? I'm not here to seduce him! I sigh, worried that my ideas might be starting to get a bit too dangerous.

When I lift my head back up, I spot Elliot on the other side of the road. He's looking around, clearly looking for something... Wait, don't tell me he didn't see me! I lift a hand as high as I can and wave to him until he finally crosses the street. The closer he gets, the wider his mouth opens, until he ends up looking like a fish as he stares at me. I take a cute pose, tilting my head slightly as I ask:

"Everything okay? Shouldn't you say 'hi' at least?"

That snaps him out of it, allowing him to respond and fight back against the blush overtaking his face:

"Ah, sorry, I just uh... I didn't recognize you. Honestly, I half-expected you to show up wearing the boys' uniform."

"That's not allowed, so I figured I'd try a bit of a different look. Not bad, right?"

His blush intensifies as he manages to say:

"Y... Yeah. It suits you..."

Satisfied, I start walking towards the school, only to catch him mumbling behind me:

"How'd she get this pretty in just one summer...?"

I involuntarily smile. This really was the perfect outcome!

When we reach the school, we're guided to our classroom, where I'm delighted to see that Elliot and I are together once again. We took the same electives, which did narrow down the classes we could end up in, and this was the outcome in the previous timeline as well, but I half-expected a surprise anyway.

During homeroom, a teacher explains briefly how the school day is structured. We are to convene in his class every morning, where he will give us news or information relevant to us, after which we'll move to our first-period class. He also tells us that he's our main resource if we need help with anything not directly related to class material, such as reporting bullying or asking for a leave of absence.

I only pay partial attention to what he's saying, as I'm already perfectly familiar with how this school operates. He also happens to have been my homeroom teacher last time, so I know who he is and what I can expect from him. Still, I don't want to give a bad first impression to anyone, so I sit straight and pretend to listen while my thoughts are elsewhere.

My biggest concern right now is, as usual... Where is Ember? I paid extra attention the entire time since I arrived, and couldn't spot her anywhere. It wouldn't be strange for her to not be in our class, but to not be here at all? Last time, she only transferred on our first year of high school, so if things were following their natural path, her absence would be expected, but... Well, isn't it already too late for Elliot to become her childhood friend and slowly develop feelings for her?

Of course, I have no idea what the statue considers to be "childhood", so it's hard to read its decisions, but we're twelve now. Practically teenagers. Even stretching the definitions as hard as you can, this is the last chance they have to meet as children and get the wish on the path of being granted. So why isn't Ember here?

Maybe I just didn't happen to come across her. It's not like I've seen every single student this morning, so it's entirely possible we missed each other. That being said... this whole thing is still seriously worrying me. What was the point of me turning into a girl and going back twelve years into the past if the wish wasn't going to be granted anyway? I figured that my transformation was necessary for future events to unfold in a way that gets Elliot and Ember together, maybe because she'd befriend me first and then meet him through this friendship chain, something much more likely to happen with me being a girl... But she isn't there at all, so clearly that can't be the reason.

I manage to get my mind off my worries by paying full attention during our morning classes. Even though I already went through this, it's been a while, and I still need to maintain my grades if I want to keep attending this school. As such, things go smoothly until we hit lunch time.

Elliot and I head to the cafeteria, and look around to see if we can spot Orelia. She ended up in a different class, so we agreed to at least eat together. Seeing that she isn't here, we pick a table and place our lunchboxes in front of the other seats to indicate that they're spoken for.

As I take the first bite of my sandwich, I hear Orelia sit next to me and say:

"Wow! Andie, is that really you? I thought Elliot had ditched you and found a pretty girl to have lunch with."

He shakes his head before asking:

"Who do you think I am? I wouldn't just abandon her like that."

"I know, I know, I'm joking. Well, kinda. I really did think you had already found someone else to be friends with, I just assumed that Andie was somewhere nearby. But no, turns out this is Andie!"

I smile, satisfied once again by a friend's reaction. I give the same explanation as this morning:

"Yeah, since I couldn't avoid the girls' uniform, I decided to try a new look."

Orelia smiles back before responding:

"You look absolutely stunning. Are you going to keep growing your hair out?"

"I think so, yeah. I'll see how it feels and then decide at what length I'll keep it."

"Good choice. You have such pretty hair, I always thought it was a waste that you kept it so short."

Elliot is sitting there, clearly not sure of how, or maybe even if, he can join in the conversation. Not wanting to make him feel left out, I quickly change the subject, going back to something we can all participate in.

However, I noticed the way he was looking at me while Orelia complimented me. The slight blush, the stare that tried to be subtle without much success... I'm reminded of how he acted in front of Ember in the last timeline. My thoughts latch on to that, distracting me from the conversation as the pieces of the puzzle fall in place. Needing some time alone, I excuse myself and head to the bathroom, where I splash some cold water on my face to help me focus.

In the last timeline, Elliot wished for a childhood friend he could fall in love with. He specified that he wanted that person to be the girl he loved, which is why I was so convinced that Ember would show up sooner or later, but... What if that part of the wish was just impossible to grant?

The more I think about it, the more likely that hypothesis seems. So, going from there, assuming the statue wanted to grant the wish anyway, what would it do? It could either grant him a new childhood friend who would fill that role, or turn his actual childhood friend, me, into someone he could fall in love with. Now, Orelia could have been this new person in his life, but they only really started getting close in late fifth grade. The one girl who's been with him this entire time, who spent countless days and even several nights at his house, who played video games and went to the movies with him, who really is best placed to capture his heart... is me.

Did the statue choose me to be Elliot's future girlfriend!?