Summer had found its foothold. Stuffy coats and baggy sweaters were replaced by light t-shirts and shorts, skirts and blouses, unless one's culture demanded otherwise, such as the goths who huddled together in the school's shadow every lunch break to smoke, clad in leather or dense black coats. The popular cliques used it to show off the cutest designs money could buy, the sluts bared all that they could get away with, and the plain stuck to the usual of mimicry, desperate for a place. Carmen ignored them all. She didn't have much other choice.
Stalking thrift stores and taking whatever charity they could left few options. A blue shirt, sometimes a few stainless whites, and perhaps a summery blouse were all she could find, and half of which no longer fit. Whatever the Futa Note was doing, it had culled her options to the barest essentials, unless she wanted to dress like Mary.
"Just let me buy you a few things," Mary said, exasperated. They sat outside, under a large, filled out tree that provided a gentle ambience as the breeze rustled its leaves. She wore a sleeveless shirt, cropped to show off her navel, and a pair of pants so short her member almost peaked out. "It'll be fun! And I swear I won't pick out anything 'risqué'."
"Last time you said that, I wound up wearing nothing but lace," Dakota said.
"Once," Mary added.
"It's fine," Carmen said, shaking her head, "I think Zoey needs the help more than I do. Can't be easy for you."
"No, it's alright," Zoey shrugged, setting her luscious curves jiggling beneath her strained shirt. Since the race two months ago, she'd become a true Amazon. Eight feet tall, Carmen estimated, and still growing. She couldn't bring herself to remove that aspect from the Futa Note, not since Zoey enjoyed it. In every aspect, she was the largest of the school. Though not the smartest. Carmen made sure to hold that distinction.
Mary just rolled her eyes, "You got me beat for now, Zo, but these puppies are catching up." She referred to her breasts, augmented by implants too large for a teenager, though they'd started growing in the past months. Carmen feigned ignorance when Mary had announced the fact.
"Yeah, yeah," Zoey snickered. For better or worse, the Futa Note had created this moment. Carmen leaned against the tree, content to listen to her friends and savour the breeze on her skin. Even Ryuka, who kicked her feet from a branch overhead, couldn't dampen the mood. Only one person could do so, and she was off-campus somewhere, making life miserable for others.
Lunch would be over soon, then it was back to monotony. But, fleeting as it always seemed, a moment of happiness was enough for Carmen. Graduation wasn't far, after that, she could take greater strides towards bringing her family into this fold. No more double-shifts for her mother, no more rags for her sister, and no more Gretchen for herself. That alone was worth the price of any college.
"Anyone got any plans?" Dakota asked.
"What? For later?" Mary said.
"No, I mean college. Like, what're you gonna do?"
"I dunno," Mary shrugged, "Zoey? Got any ideas?"
"Not sure yet. Probably something athletic. Or maybe I could just work as a bouncer. Put these guns to work!" Zoey chuckled, flexing her impressive arms. She already was, to an extent. With her around, Gretchen didn't dare make any direct moves on Carmen or her friends, not after the media latched onto the fact that Zoey was 'trans'. Expulsion would result in a backlash, the kind that Saint Puella couldn't survive at this point. Though it wouldn't survive regardless. One more year at most.
"Carmen?" Dakota sped up to walk beside her.
"Hmm? I'm still figuring it out," Carmen said.
"You could literally do anything," Mary said, leering at the honour student's chest, "Ever thought of modelling?"
"No," Carmen chuckled, "I want to do something meaningful. Maybe I'll just be a doctor."
"Oh? Become a plastic surgeon, that way you can give me a discount," Mary said.
"I thought you were done with that," Dakota frowned at her.
"Well, yeah... sort of. I mean, I don't have Ashley around to pay for it anymore. I guess I like being a little plastic," Mary squeezed her breasts. They had more give now, having piled on more fat around the implants, though their spherical shape hadn't dissipated enough. Anyone would know their true origins at a glance.
"You're not the only one," Dakota said and copped a feel, a sly grin on her face.
"Quit it," Mary laughed and swatted at the other futa.
People gave them a wide berth in the halls. It was natural for the students, as they did so whenever Gretchen walked through, and had done so for Mary just a few months prior. Now Carmen was in a similar position, at the head of three other 'girls' that used to hang out together, their leader in a sense. Only a liar would deny the satisfaction it gave.
Carmen grinned at her company. Relief saturated the air around Saint Puella's senior students, those who knew that in under a month, they'd be free. Whether they used that to enrich their lives, or just to bask in Gretchen's absence, was up to them.
"I think you'd make a great doctor," Zoey said.
"Really?" Carmen asked. She'd thought about it before. They made plenty of money, however med school was a financial nightmare, and the hours of study she'd have to put in made it seem like an impossible dream. For now. If she played her cards right, that could be her ultimate future. In the meantime, she could find something lucrative and milk it for all it had, "It's too expensive, though."
"Get a scholarship," Mary said, "You're smart enough for one."
"That doesn't cover everything," Carmen sighed, "I'll just figure it out when the time comes. So long as I make good money from it, I don't really mind what I do."
"Maybe whore yourself out?" A familiar, venomous voice suggested. It dripped with disgust layered in saccharine, reverberating with falsehood. Carmen didn't acknowledge it and kept walking. What power Gretchen held would soon vanish, and she'd be left as a petulant child, alone and desperate. After graduation, Carmen didn't care if the vile bitch drowned or overdosed. She was nothing in the grand scheme.
Seeing that she didn't response, Gretchen turned to Mary, "No, that's your piece de resistance, isn't it?"
"Fuck you," Mary snapped.
"Hey, a bitch with bite. Never seen that before. What about you, Rachel?"
