What if I were to create a "Boarding School Literature Collection"? On "Rose Lourdin" and "The Scars".

"Rose Lourdin" is a short story by Valery Larbaud set in a boarding school.
And "The Scars" is a short story by Anna Kavan that also features a boarding school.
Both are wonderful works that I feel would be absolutely indispensable if I were to personally create a "Boarding School Literature Collection".

Rose Lourdin is the name of the narrator, "I".
It seems that "I" is currently active as an actress, and the story is written in the form of her reminiscing about her girlhood.

When "I" was a girl, she was at a boarding school in the countryside.
At that school, "I" was an unhappy and gloomy little girl.

One day, "I" hears of the existence of Rosa Kessler, a beautiful honor student and the school's most popular girl.
She was a thirteen-year-old, one grade ahead, and because she came from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, she was nicknamed "The Prussian".
Later, "I" passes by Rosa Kessler while she is walking arm-in-arm with two classmates, and falls in love with her.

However, an opportunity for "I" and Rosa Kessler to become friends does not easily arise.
"I" even begins to fantasize that the dormitory should catch fire, so that she could rescue her, which might spark a friendship.
Or, she thinks about trying to tease her to make her angry on purpose, thinking that even if she gets hit or pushed, it would be worth it.
Not just fantasizing in her head, "I" uses long breaks to sneak into Rosa's bedroom, wear her jacket, and even kiss her name written on her belt.

However, after that, "I" misses the chance to become friends with her and spends her days brooding.
And when she returns to school after the New Year's holiday, Rosa Kessler is gone.
Several months pass, and "I" is finally told by another student in the classroom the reason why Rosa disappeared.
In fact, it wasn't just Rosa who disappeared, but also a female teacher, and she is told what the two of them did and why they were expelled, as if to say, "You didn't know until now?" (This part reminds me a bit of "Confessions of a Mask".)

Having graduated from the boarding school and apparently become an actress, "I" visits the town where the school was located, visits the photographer who took class photos of the students, and has a photo of herself and Rosa Kessler printed. And while looking at the girls in their uniforms with dull expressions in the photo, she thinks of her.

Now, about Anna Kavan's "The Scars".
At fourteen, "I" is sent to a boarding school in the countryside due to her father's health, where she meets "H", a girl with a shadow.
"I" feels pity for "H", seeing that she always fails to win first prize in studies or sports because something happens just at the last moment.
The two leave school without ever becoming friends, and as the years go by, "I" one day witnesses a person who might be "H" in a terrifying form while traveling.

Both "Rose Lourdin" and "The Scars" are set in boarding schools and are told in the form of the protagonist's reminiscences.
Of course, Anna Kavan's work has a stronger fantastical tone, but there are commonalities, such as the fact that the protagonist and the other girl part ways without ever forming a friendship, and that the whereabouts of the other person become unknown.
The girlhood spent at a boarding school, the painful memories of that time... the fact that it is told quickly and briefly in the form of a "reminiscence"—and because it is a short story (like a dream that flashes through one's mind for an instant)—makes it feel all the more sad and poignant.
How is "she" doing now?
I am doing well now, but is "she" doing well too? I hope she is doing well.
Even if she is doing well, she might have already forgotten about me...

If I were to create a "Boarding School Literature Collection", there are many other works I would want to include, such as "Frost in May" (Antonia White, Misuzu Shobo).
But first, for short stories, "Rose Lourdin" and "The Scars".
These two are absolutely indispensable.