“Shingo, what’s wrong?”
Adolescence was a turbulent and confusing time for young boys. From their point of view, some of them probably believed girls had it easier. The girls were now taller and acted so differently. They were more interested in the ninth grade guys because they were older and they weren’t so obnoxious. Not only that, but the girls now had boobs: something physically visible that the boys could take notice of… whether they wanted to or not.
Boobs caused so many problems for boys. But, it wasn’t solely the boobs. It was anything that remotely had to do with the opposite sex, or sex in general. Boys simply felt awkward. The girls wanted to mature, but the boys still wanted to have fun. Their voices were changing, they were gangly and therefore clumsy, they were growing hair in places they never had hair before, and their bodies were doing something they seriously wished it wouldn’t... most of the time. Unless they were sneaking a peek of a girl or a particular magazine, they didn’t want it to happen.
But sex was the biggie. Shingo was that typical adolescent boy (though the girls seemed to take notice of him, for some reason). When his dad gave him the birds and the bees lecture, Shingo wanted to cover his ears, sing “la la la” over and over again, and leave the room. He knew what sex was. They talked about it at school. He just didn’t want to think about it, and he certainly didn’t want to imagine it.
It was just gross.
“Shingo?”
The young boy looked up and noticed his sister standing in the doorway of his bedroom. She had a concern expression on her face, for Shingo looked as if he had been frightened and scarred for life.
“… Yeah?” Shingo finally uttered.
“Is something wrong?”
He nodded, silently answering her question.
“What is it?”
“… I saw Mom and Dad… naked.”
Usagi’s mind could fill in the details her brother did not share with her. A part of her wanted to walk off laughing, but she did feel sorry for him. After all, the same thing happened to her once before.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get over it.”
