Uprising – new rules part 1
As the 2nd-graders, we were no longer at the bottom of the hierarchy. I still wished for the equal relationship among all the girls, but there wasn’t much I could do while the 3rd-grade girls were still around. I hoped to change the girls’ rules once we moved up to the 3rd-grade. At least Izumi and Kei were on board with the idea.
New girls’ rules (draft):
- Only morning and evening greetings and make it mutual instead of one way from the younger to the elder.
- Anyone can use the restroom anytime they want without the permission of the elder.
- The younger can play with their hair any way they want. Imposing the dress code is not the job of the elder.
It was one Saturday afternoon in summer when we only had morning classes, and some girls got together at Izumi’s place near the school. We were complaining about how unreasonable the girls in the 3rd-grade were. We were bonding over a common nuisance, but also it was part of our regular discussion of the new girls’ rules.
Izumi’s 4th sister came in with a few of her entourage and heard the bitterness in our conversation. She had graduated junior high school two years before, but she was enraged by how the current 3rd-graders, who were in the 1st grade when she was in the 3rd grade, were acting like big people.
Izumi’s sister and her entourage stepped outside and found several 3rd graders getting on the bus. She shouted, “get off the bus NOW!!” as the buss passed Izumi’s house. They got off the bus at the next stop. We all went back to Izumi’s house and crossed the living room, where Izumi’s grandmother stood looking utterly perplexed, and went into a room upstairs.