Extra Short Story: (Ochako's School Commute)

A few months back, before the U.A. Dorms had been conceived, the students were still subject to public transport on the daily. Many put up with it, of course. Some, however, kind of liked the thrill that it came with. These were almost always the female students, who all had one or two stories to tell.

This is one of them.

Ochako was also getting used to her life at U.A. As for the journey, it was only a short bus ride away. However, the bus stop itself was also a short walk away from her home. Not that Ochako minded. She liked the fresh air and today was a particularly warm day.

Plus, it was worth mentioning that Ochako lived in a area with a lot of construction works going on. She knew what to expect and she was already getting excited.

Walking past, believe it or not, a group of builders sitting up on a metal beam, snaking into their prepared lunches, Ochako heard a whistle coming her way.

"Hey, schoolgirl. Lovin' the make-up."

"Do they make those skirts any shorter?"

"Love to see how you look when you're older."

She tried to come off as demure as possible, even if she wanted to gush on the inside.

It doesn't matter how many times she walks past, they always come up with a whole new batch of compliments.

She had passed them now, but turned back to give them a silent thanks with a polite smile, and continued on.

She noticed how they had already shifted their attention to another, older woman who was passing by. She was dressed for some office job, definitely. The woman really seemed to enjoy the whistles and comments from the builders, even going so far as to slightly raise her pencil skirt up per one of their requests, eliciting excited hollers and more whistling. Ochako suspected that woman decided to walk this way intentionally, just to pass by them.

Ochako knew that it was a stereotype and that they weren't all as pervy as those fine men, but construction workers were one of those real romanticized jobs. They were up there with firefighters, lumberjacks or even heroes, in terms of male allure. Her classmates didn't believe her at first, when she said that she gets to have a bunch of flirty builders catcall nearly every day. Then, they were quick to express their wonder and jealousy.

Ochako got to the bus stop and grinned. She may not have as much as the other girls but she did have that.