A week later…
Inside the classroom, once again, only two people remained.
Urara.
And her teacher.
They had gathered after school hours. Her teacher sat behind her desk, grunting quietly while Urara stood in front of it, bouncing lightly on the spot, confused by the sudden request to stay behind.
"Urara…" her teacher began.
"Have you done your application form?"
Urara tilted her head with her usual cheerful grin.
"What form?"
Her teacher sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"The one I told you about last week, remember? The one you need to fill out to apply for the enrollment of Tracen Academy."
"Oh!" Urara gasped.
Then she added,
"What is that?"
"What do you mean—!"
Her teacher nearly exploded.
But just before going fully feral over Urara's cluelessness—especially after explaining it to her a whole week ago—
She stopped herself.
Taking a deep breath.
"It's not worth it… it's not worth it…" she muttered repeatedly, forcing herself to calm down as she slowly exhaled.
"No matter… Anyway, like I said last time," her teacher continued, "I wonder if you ever listened…" shaking her head.
"You need an application form to enroll in Tracen, Urara. Especially with how swanky Tracen Academy is. If you don't apply within the set duration, you'll be prohibited from applying any longer."
"Whoa!" Urara gasped in shock again.
Then she asked,
"Why?"
"Because—" her teacher gritted her teeth, nearly losing her temper again. "That's just how they set it! Either you follow their rules, or you don't apply at all."
"Then I must get an application form fast!" Urara declared with determination.
"And how are you going to do that…?" her teacher asked, her eye twitching.
"Hmm…" Urara entered her thinking mode, rubbing her chin while pondering ways to get one—even though she had no idea where to begin.
Her teacher sighed heavily.
"What a hassle…"
She reached into her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper.
"Here…" she said, extending the form toward Urara.
Upon seeing the paper, Urara's eyes sparkled immediately.
"Whoa! Thanks, teach!" she accepted immediately.
"Just get it done already so you don't miss the application window," the teacher added.
"Then I'll fill it now!" she declared as she dropped her backpack onto the floor and began rummaging through it for a pen.
After a few moments of tossing random things out of her bag, she finally found one.
She hurried to the table and began scribbling eagerly.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
Then—
She stopped.
Her hand froze in place.
Urara sat there silently for a moment.
Slowly, she turned toward her teacher and asked,
"How do I fill it?"
Her teacher immediately face-palmed and jumped out of her seat.
She walked over and looked down at the paper.
As expected—
Urara had only written her name and age.
Her teacher slumped in defeat before snatching the paper away.
"Give me that!"
Instead of Urara filling out the form, her teacher ended up doing it herself.
After a moment, she shoved the completed form back toward Urara.
"There!" she said.
"I filled it out for you. Now all you need to do is mail it to Tracen Academy."
"Whoa! Thanks, teach! It must've been hard for you to do that! Come, let me praise you!" Urara said brightly.
"I don't need your praise!" her teacher snapped back immediately.
"Anyway, here…" her teacher continued, pulling out a tightly sealed envelope.
"It's my recommendation letter. Mail it alongside your form."
"Whoa! Thanks, teach!" Urara said as she accepted it right away.
"Anyway… remember to write the correct address before you mail it, otherwise it might be delivered to the wrong address and—"
Her teacher suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Something caught her eye.
Something terrible, something hazardous.
And there she was, Urara, already trying to unseal the envelope of her recommendation letter.
Her teacher exploded instantly.
"URARA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
She lunged forward and snatched the envelope away.
"GIVE ME THAT!"
"Eh…! But I want to see what teach wrote for Urara…" Urara protested.
"It's confidential! Con. Fi. Den. Tial!" her teacher said, waving the envelope firmly in her hand.
"Geez… just how dense can you be, Urara…" her teacher sighed.
"What do you mean? I'm pretty smart!" Urara protested.
"Ju— Just give me the form. I'll mail it for you!" her teacher said, snatching the application form away as well. "I don't trust you with my recommendation letter anymore!"
"You know how much trouble I got into just writing this for you!" she added. "Everyone's been asking who I'm writing this recommendation letter for!"
"You know what people would think if I said I wrote this for you…"
Before she could continue complaining, she stopped herself and slumped.
"Never mind…"
"Just expect to receive the admission decision letter in your mail," her teacher said.
"After that, let me know if you're accepted or rejected. So I can help you apply to another school if you're rejected…" she continued.
Then she sighed again and muttered under her breath,
"Why am I doing this to myself…"
"Roger that!" Urara replied, saluting energetically.
"Now scurry along before I lose my mind again," her teacher said, already shooing her away.
"I don't want you getting into trouble for passing your curfew, too."
"Okay!" Urara replied cheerfully as she lifted her backpack and dashed toward the door.
"Buh-bye! See you tomorrow, teach!"
"Just be careful, okay?" her teacher called after her.
Urara nodded as she quickly disappeared down the corridor.
And silence immediately returned to the classroom.
With her being gone, her teacher finally let out another long sigh.
"What have I dragged myself into…" She immediately slumped back down onto her chair.
"Why did I even promise to help her again, damn it…" she muttered under her breath.
Then she dropped her face onto the desk.
"Well… you'd better start helping her look for another school in the meantime…"
"It's very unlikely she's going to be accepted anyway…"
With that, Urara had departed from the school, and her application was now in safe hands.
A moment later…
Urara finally arrived home and slammed the sliding door wide open.
"I'm home!"
"Geez, Urara!" her mother immediately snapped from inside. "How many times have I told you not to open the door that hard!"
"I'm going to have dinner now!" Urara declared as she marched straight toward the living room.
"Wait a minute, Urara!" her mother called, stopping her midstep.
"Where have you been, Urara? You're late again!"
"Oh! I just got held back by teach!" Urara replied with her usual cheerful tone.
"I'm going to have dinner now!" she repeated as she resumed marching toward the living room.
"Wait, Urara…" her mother tried to ask more about it.
But she quickly gave up.
Urara had been held back so many times that it was no longer surprising.
"Geez…" her mother sighed, "what's got into her?"
Urara then quickly dropped her backpack, slid under the kotatsu, and began gobbling down the rice and dishes her mother had prepared.
Since she arrived later than usual, her parents had already finished eating, leaving the rest on the table for her.
Meanwhile, lying nearby while watching TV, her father noticed her return and turned toward her.
"How was school, Urara?"
"It was fun!" Urara replied with her mouth full, accidentally spitting a few grains of rice.
"Watch your mouth when you're eating, Urara," her mother reminded as she sat down beside them.
Urara then continued happily,
"Then teach helped me fill out my application form and even offered to help me mail it!"
"Application form…?" her mother repeated, confused for a moment.
Then realization hit.
"Right! Urara, have you already chosen the next school you're attending?"
Urara nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! And I can't wait!"
"Oh! Really~?" her father instantly sat up from his lounging position and turned toward her with excitement.
"Tell me, tell me! What school is it?"
Meanwhile, her mother was wary,
"Geez… You should've discussed it with us first, Urara…" her mother sighed. "Who knows if the school you picked might end up being crummy."
"Well!" Urara said, still chewing, "I picked Tracen Academy!"
"Tracen—?"
Her parents froze.
"TRACEN ACADEMY?!" they shouted in unison.
"Wh—what were you thinking, Urara?! Did you lose your mind?!" her mother cried in disbelief.
Meanwhile, her father simply gave a thumbs-up.
"If it isn't my Urara! I like your guts."
"Thanks, Dad!" Urara replied happily.
"What do you mean you like her 'guts'?!" her mother retorted in exasperation.
She sighed deeply.
"Well… I don't know why you think it's a good idea to apply to such a prestigious school…"
"It's literally not meant for the kind like us...!" she continued.
She then paused, trying to calm herself.
"But no matter... " she added while sighing, "It's your choice after all."
"And mommy and daddy will support you either way," she said gently as she began stroking Urara's head.
Once hearing that, Urara celebrated, "Yay!"
Then, her mother quickly added,
"Just so you know, Urara, we may not be as wealthy as others, but if money is involved, we might have some saved up for you…"
"If you qualify for Tracen, that is."
"Don't worry, Mom! Teach said Tracen isn't an academy that needs money to enroll anyway! It's purely based on skill!" Urara answered confidently.
"Then my daughter must truly be a skilled Umamusume," her father declared proudly, puffing out his chest.
"Of course!" Urara copied him, puffing out her chest as well.
Meanwhile, her mother let out a soft sigh with a faint smile.
"You two… really are two peas in a pod."
Then she turned back to Urara.
"So? When will the decision letter arrive?"
"I don't know!" Urara replied with her usual cheerful tone.
"Well… as expected," her mother said with a small smile.
"Anyway, take a shower after you finish eating," she added casually as she stood up, "I got other things to do."
"Can I skip showering today?" Urara asked hopefully.
"What—?! No!" her mother immediately replied.
"Please...?" Urara then begged again.
"I said no!"
With that, the family of three continued their evening with lighthearted banter, especially Urara and her mother.
Before long, the evening slowly reached its end.
And eventually—
The night had claimed the day.
Leaving nothing but a slumberish home...
...
...
Meanwhile, during the afternoon...
On the other side of Japan.
Along a long corridor stood a large door with a plaque above it that read:
"Student Council."
Inside the room, an Umamusume sat at a desk, writing her daily report—carefully reviewing matters concerning the students within the academy.
Across from her, another figure sat comfortably on a red couch, legs crossed while sipping tea.
"So… Rudolf? What do you think about the upcoming batch of enrollment?" the figure asked.
"Upcoming batch…?" Rudolf paused, taken aback slightly.
"It was that time already?"
"Oh my… Rudolf, you should be more aware of the time," the other Umamusume said.
"Well, you can't blame me for that, Maruzensky," Rudolf replied with a faint smile. "Not when the work keeps piling up."
"Come on, lighten up a little, Rudolf! Take a break once in a while—it'll do your soul, your mind, and your body some good," Maruzensky added while taking another sip of her tea.
"Thanks for the offer, Maruzensky," Rudolf answered calmly, continuing to write her report.
"But I'll have to pass. There's just too much work to take a break right now."
"Well… too bad... I guess there's not much I can say to convince you—"
Before Maruzensky could finish—
*BOOM*
The door of the Student Council room burst open.
A small figure rushed in.
"Prez! When are we finally going to race together?!"
"You promised me weeks ago!"
"My, my…," Rudolf replied with an awkward smile, "I'm really sorry about that. But I'm kinda busy right now, Teio."
"So...? When are we really going to race, Prez?!" Teio insisted.
"Just give me another day or two, okay, Teio?"
With that, Teio marched further inside and continued to fuss more about it.
Not long after, more students came and went throughout the room.
Air Grooves with her reports, Mr. C.B. with her visit, and Narita Brian with her casual stroll.
And then more across the corridors.
Some in the cafeteria, some in the training field.
Gradually—
The day came to an end.
And somewhere beyond the academy walls, a new batch of Umamusume was preparing to arrive.
Who would they be?
What dreams would they carry?
And what stories would be told from them…