Slow Start ch2

p9
>A little over a year ago...

>When I woke up that morning
>I had puffy cheeks.

>..
>Chuu

>M-M-M-M-Mooom!
>Oh, Hana.

>Honestly, this girl.
>Oh my, stuffing your face so early in the morning.
>Chuu!
>Chuu!
>Chuu!

p10
>It's a mumps epidemic
>it seems.
>Ah, this again.

>?
>The homely woman's cold.

>Oh my.
>Hana never caught them as a kid, did she?
>Hmm.
>It's pretty troublesome to catch it when you're grown up, huh.

>Ah, but this girl.
>Even now she could still be mistaken for an elementary schooler, y'know?
>No, this has nothing to do with looking like a child.

>They didn't deny that I look like a kid...
>Huh?
>Sorry, sorry. That must've hurt your feelings.
>Ahaha, it's fine.
>She's a troublesome kid, after all.

>Ah, more importantly.
>Mumps are contagious, right?
>>troublesome

>That's right.
>She'll have to stay at home for a while.

p11
>Eh?
>She doesn't need an inspection for now
>but she'll have to skip school for a while.
>Ah! Um, sensei!

>I've...

>I've
>got entrance exams!

>Well, that's...
>Guess you'll have to give up on those.

>Hmm, this time
>maybe you're fated to go to a different school of choise.
>That's right.
>You were interested in those private school uniforms, weren't you, Hana?

>Although whether they'll actually suit you is another story.
>Ahaha
>Mom, that's mean!

p12
>Come on, now.
>How long are you gonna pout like that?
>...
>That's because it's an illness that gives you puffy cheeks.

>Oh, that's right.
>Uuuh
>Why did it have to happen on such an important day?

>Well, it looks like it'll take a week to cure
>so you'll have to miss out on your school of choice.

>For now, just take your time preparing for the private school exam.
>Okay?

>~~~Mooom~
>Ahaha. There, there.

>Mom...
>Hm?

>I'm
>not gonna die, right...?
>Ah, geez.
>Such a troublesome kid.

p13
>The next day
>I got a high fever.

>I don't remember what happened after that very well.

>Hmm
>There's still a little bit of mumps left.

>Ah, but this girl
>she had a really round face!
>No, this has nothing to do with the shape of her face.

>For now, we'll examine her
>and let her rest a little longer.

>...
>Mom.
>Hm?
>..What day is it today?

>Huh?
>What day is it, I wonder?
>Oh dear. Like mother, like daughter.

>Neither me nor my mom forgot.
>That day was the middle school graduation ceremony.

p14
>And then
>all the school entrance exams were over.
>I made a complete recovery, as if it was just waiting for that day.

>Uuuuuww
>uuuww

>Come on, stop crying.
>It'll be your eyes that'll get all puffy next.
>Ueeee
>But...

>Why don't you try being a middle school ronin? [TN:In this context, a term used to describe a graduated student who is yet to move onto higher education]
>I don't want
>an experience like that!

>I know!
>Why don't you go relax and play for a while!
>You can invite your middle school friends.
>I can't do that!

>Why not?
>Everyone's already decided on their school and will soon be high schoolers.
>Everyone except me.

>If they ask me what school I'm going to
>I won't have an answer.
>Just thinking about it makes me want to die.

>You've already recovered from getting the mumps
>so something like that isn't going to kill you.
>Uwaaahn
>Stupid~

p15
>I don't want to go to school next year.
>I don't even want to go outside.

>Come on, don't be so silly.
>Next year, I'll be a senpai to everyone in my class.
>And then they'll make fun of me by calling me "senpai" and make me buy Tirols for them [TN:Tirol, a kind of miniature chocolate]
>I don't know what to do.
>You could at least treat them to some Tirols.
>That's not the point!

>You can tell everyone that you were a ronin during your self-introduction, right?
>Wow, what a great routine!
>I don't need a routine like that!

>Anyway!
>I'm not gonna go outside or to school anymore!
>I'm gonna become a shut-in!

>Honestly...

>...

>I-
>Is Mom going to hit me?
>Wh-What if she decides to kick me out?

>Hana?
>H-
>Hyes!?

p16
>Do you remember Shion-chan?
>Shion-chan?
>>Shion-chan.
>...You mean my cousin?

>That's right.
>This year she's a university student and the manager of her grandfather's apartment building.
>Hah...
>So Shion-chan graduated, huh?

>And as luck would have it, she has a room free.
>Go and live there.

>Eh?

p17
>A-Are you
>kicking me out cos you don't want a shut-in living here?
>Ah, geez.
>You're so troublesome about every little thing.

>It's not that. If you go over there
>you'll be in an environment where noone knows who you are.
>You can make a fresh start, right?

>You can take the entrance exams once again
>Just think of it...

>as having a slow start.
>...Okay?