Fairly well, with some mindblowing reveals

I opened the door, trying to hide my anxiety as best as I could. I took a deep breath and walked in. In the room were Sarah, a cute brunette who seemed close to Airi. She was the vice-president of the Student Council, and was a dilligent but easygoing and tomboyish girl. She was the one I had to be careful of the most today, due to her proximity to Airi.

Next to Sarah was Axel, the treasurer and former president. The way he looked at me was making me slightly uncomfortable. He had tried to flirt with Airi multiple times during the year, but Airi always rejected him. He had greyish hair and small glasses, and his face was admittedly fairly attractive.

Finally, among the familiar faces was Andrea. I knew her somewhat already. Even if Airi didn't bully her, Andrea still disliked her, but I haven't seen them talk much. Sarah and Axel, though, were pretty much a mystery, as I never really interacted with them before…

Fooling Jane without Sophie's memories wasn't difficult, considering that we all grew up together. But here, I had to fool people that were basically strangers, while acting like someone I didn't know well enough yet...

"Good afternoon, everyone!" I said as I approached the table.

"Airi!" Everyone turned to face me, with Sarah especially glad to see me.

As I was looking at Sarah, I caught glimpses of Airi's feelings for her. Airi had a lot of affection for her, she deeply cared about her, but had a hard time showing it. It seemed that, by interacting with someone or something that Airi knew, her memories and feelings were more easily accessible to me.

"Ah, we were getting worried!" Axel said next.

Andrea looked jaded, sighing. “You weren't worried enough to stop flirting..."

At the other side of the table were faces I didn’t know, wearing school uniforms I was somewhat unfamiliar with. Tina Koya’s uniforms, from the looks of it.

A young woman with purplish hair gave me a friendly but professional smile. “Nice to meet you, Airi. My name is Yui Yamashita, president of Tina Koya’s Student Council.” Despite her smile, I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes, that she was desperately trying to hide.

I wonder what happened to her?

Next to her was a man with white hair and glasses, who had a calm and composed stance. “And I am Claus, the vice-president.”

"I'm really sorry for being late." I apologised as I sat down. "I know that it's... an important day… M-my name is Airi Belle, Student Council president at St. Raphael High-School."

“Belle? You share the same name as this famous actress, Margaret Belle.” Claus commented.

Surprised by what I saw in Airi’s memories, I spoke almost instinctively. “She’s my mother.”

Yui’s mouth opened wide in shock. "N-no way..."

You tell me! I... I wasn't expecting it either, to be honest. I tried to keep a straight face, but deep down, I was floored.

Airi’s father was the famous writer, Arthur Cormdall, and her mother was indeed Margaret Belle, the actress famous worldwide. In my mind, I received more flashes of her memories. Airi always took great care in not mentioning her family name and who her parents were. She'd even ask the teachers to never talk about it. She didn't want people to know about who her parents were. She wanted to be recognised on her own merits and not because of her parents' fame.

To think that my new parents were celebrities... I thought before awkwardly chuckling internally. And that I sometimes masturbated while thinking about my new mom… That's awkward...

I used to have pretty big crushes on a few celebrities until fairly recently, Margaret Belle being one of them. She was a very elegant yet cheerful woman always smiling warmly and with long and wavy brown hair. I did find her very beautiful. And knowing that she would be my new mother gave me some pretty conflicting feelings.

Come on, it's not the time to think about that!

I could see Sarah glaring at me. I was most likely not acting like Airi would usually.

“Anyway, let’s get back to the task at hand.” I said, trying to get in character.

Yui nodded, sorting out papers on the table as if she was a secretary. She seemed at ease with paperwork. We discussed about a friendly sport competition between our two schools, set for next year. It was a project Yui and Claus seemed to be personally invested in. I tried my best to work as Airi would, searching her memories for help. I was more clumsy than her, but I believed I did a good job.

We took a short break to grab a drink and go to the bathroom. I stayed on the chair, closing my eyes and relaxing.

Yui approached me, somewhat curious. “Hmm, Airi, may I ask something?”

I looked at her and smiled. “Sure, what is it?”

“Is Margaret Belle really your mother?”

“Yes, she is. Why do you ask?”

“I’m a big fan of her. I watched all the movies she starred in." She admitted a bit more shyly.

I giggled. “I’m sure she’ll love to hear I met a fan of hers.”

Claus joined in, leaning against the desk. “I’m not much of a movie guy, but I heard a lot about her. My sister loves her movies. But I personally prefer books. What about you? What are your hobbies?"

I quickly looked for that info in her mind, which didn't take long, fortunately. "I love to read, dance, and sing."

“Oh, nice. Do you plan to follow in your mother’s footsteps?” Claus asked.

Usually, Airi would tell lies, lies about how she wanted to work as an interpreter or translator. But I noticed something she repressed. A dream she shared with no one.

“Yes. My dream is to become an actress, like my mother." I replied.

You're already pretty good at acting all innocent, despite all the bullying you did…

Sarah was perplexed by my answer, raising an eyebrow as she looked at me. But she didn’t comment on it.

Axel came back afterwards and went closer, his posture becoming more flirtatious. "Tell me, Airi, would you be free after school?"

It was a common occurrence for Airi by now, but it was my first time being hit on, so I was surprised. Although, in retrospect, it was fairly obvious something like this would happen considering how attractive Airi was.

"Here we go again…" Andrea muttered. Despite often complaining about him, she still kept hanging out with him.

"Cut it out, Axel. She's not interested." Sarah chimed in before elbowing him in the guts to shut him up. That girl was savage...

Damn…

I internally chuckled at the sight. I definitely needed to be careful around Sarah, Airi's memories telling me that she could be pretty fiery at times...

“I'm sorry, but I have to decline." I replied politely.

Axel tried to regain his composure, but was still grunting in pain. "I-it's... okay..."

He then went to discuss with Claus and Yui. Sarah went closer, a worried look on her face.

“Are you feeling sick, Airi? It's... rare to see you so insecure.” She whispered.

"Maybe, I don't know…"

Leave me alone for now, please…

We then resumed the meeting, discussing about the logistics and the budget, and other factors that flew right over my head. I honestly wanted to leave and meet back up with Sophie, but I obviously couldn't...

Duties are such a bother...

Finally, after what felt like days, the meeting concluded. Yui and Claus bid us farewell, wishing us good lucks for our upcoming exams, and left the room. Andrea and Axel quickly followed, leaving me all alone with Sarah.

She turned to face me, her expression becoming more serious. "So, care to explain what's wrong with you this afternoon? I thought you really wanted to do this meeting, and yet here you are looking like you're bored out of your mind?”

I looked away. "I'm not feeling well, that's all. I was anxious…”

It wasn't really a lie. I was fairly anxious at the possibility of being discovered, even if I knew that no one would ever consider the possibility of Airi being possessed. I knew I wouldn't have had I never turned into this gooey monster.

Sarah sighed softly. "I guess even you can get anxious sometimes… Hey, it's okay. I imagine you wanted to do it because of your parents?"

Images of a young Airi wanting to impress her father flashed through my mind. She did think that organising something so big could help her gain more recognition.

"Y-yes..."

"Honestly, I don't understand why you bother so much. Forgive me for saying that, but your father was a boomer. He was too narrow-minded and focused on traditions…" Sarah said bluntly.

Through Airi's memories, I saw how her father was. He took great care of Airi, but he was a really religious man, the not so open-minded kind. It was no wonder Airi became homophobic.

I have to agree with you there, Sarah... An old and egocentric religious fanatic...

I breathed out a sigh of relief at the thought of not having to live with someone like that, even if it might have been cruel of me considering how much Airi loved him.

I'm glad he's no longer here and Airi lives with her mom...

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to be the same as her, I wouldn't let her love for her father blind me. The old Airi wanted to please her fanatic of a father. The new Airi doesn't give a fuck about his views. The new Airi doesn't give a fuck about tradition.

I looked back at Sarah and smiled. "You're right. I should start living for myself instead of trying to please him."

Even if I were to leave Airi's body and become someone else, I thought it was something I needed to do for her.

"W-what? Really?" Sarah couldn't believe what she heard, she was looking at me as if she saw an alien. This thought made me giggle internally, as maybe I was somewhat one, now. "You must really be feeling sick!"

I gave Sarah a reassuring smile. "On the contrary, I've never felt better... I'm fed up with playing the perfect girl. I should live my life for myself, not to please someone else."

I felt like Airi also wanted that, deep down.

"What happened to you? T-that's a brutal change…" Sarah wondered, still stunned.

I sighed. "I just... realised that I could never truly be happy that way."

"So, that dream about becoming an actress...?" She started, connecting the dots.

"It's something I repressed within me for a long time…" I admitted.

Sarah patted my shoulder gently. "W-well... If that's what you want, I support you, Airi!"

Her gesture made me feel warmth, Airi’s love for her resurfacing. "Thank you, Sarah."

She doesn't seem as bad as I first thought... Why is she friends with Airi? I thought before glancing down at the body I stole. Airi... Why are you like that, really?

I really wanted to get access to all of her memories to have the full picture, but I didn't have the time to peek into her mind, as I had to meet up with Sophie. I'd have the opportunity to learn more about her during the evening.

"Anyway, I have to leave. There are things I need to do. See you tomorrow, Sarah." I said, waving at her.

"See you, Airi! Good luck!"