It means being there as the kids' parents, raising them with a group of other adults. They tend to raise a lot of kids together, too, often 15-20 in one household.

"That sounds like a lot of kids to be raising!" she says aloud, sincerely.

"Well, the parents all work together and the kids start raising themselves pretty quick? And when they're really young, they don't have quite so many kids to think of."

Jenwy forces a chuckle.

That feels really weird... but Other Her presumably went through that herself, so she needs to pretend she's used to it?

She really wants to talk with Other Her now.  But she doesn't see how she could.

The girl she saw in the Animal management class notices her reaction. "You seem... shyer than usual? And I mean... you grew up in that kind of family your whole life, like everyone else? Weird."

"Really, when was the last time I played with babies?"  Surely Other Her wouldn't have either.

"But - I guess I've been feeling weird today," she says, repeating the same line she'd said earlier.  "Had some weird dreams last night."

"That would explain things, huh. Anyways... I'm having a class that requires athletic clothes next, so I think I'll head off to change into them. See you later then."

"See yah!"  She raises her hand in farewell.

Hopefully she swallowed Jenwy's explanation?  Which reminds her, she still needs to make sure... what was his name, John Stefson?... doesn't go telling anyone about her initial confusion. 

And then she glances back at her planner to see what her own next class is.

Her next class is first aid, and it explicitly mandates athletic clothing. Stephen Johnson is in the dorm where she first met him, wearing a skirt just as short as hers, and she can easily find him to talk to him.

Athletic clothing.

She drags her feet a bit walking back to her dorm to change, not sure whether she feels more self-conscious wearing this Very Short Skirt or just leggings without any skirt at all.

And then she sees... John?  Sten?... whatever his name is.

She reflexively straightens her collar around a nonexistent nametag, and says awkwardly, "Hello... Thanks for listening last night."

"Sure, you weren't too annoying."

But she doesn't go in just yet.  She's got something more to say to the guy... but how to lead up to it without hinting the wrong things?  "I'm, well, feeling more at home here today.  Did you tell anyone?"

(As soon as she says it, she realizes it's exactly what the changelings would've said in Oaken Conspiracy.  But then... she isn't really not a changeling, is she?)

"No? It doesn't matter that you were randomly weird one time, why would I tell anyone about that?"

"Thanks!  Just, er, I'd rather not have anyone else hearing.  Thanks for being so nice then."

She suddenly realizes that "don't tell anyone else" probably does ring differently and more normally when tons of kids are living together in a large dorm without parents.

"I'm not telling anyone. Your... weird moment is safe with me."

"Thanks!"  She flashes him a smile, and then if he doesn't have anything more to say, ducks into her room.

Oh good, at least the underwear is colored not to call attention to itself.  At least something isn't as bad as it could be.

But... it shows off her legs almost as much as if she isn't wearing anything at all!

Does her room have a mirror so she can stare at herself with horrified fascination?

The room doesn't but she does remember that the training rooms do, and she does have the time to sneak a glance before the first aid class.

But to do that, she'd need to walk out in public wearing this.

But Other Her must've done it all the time.

Everyone else's doing it.

She needs to do it to fit in.

What would everyone she knows in all Ev think if they saw her -

 - they'd think she'd have to have joined a weird cuddling-utopia like that one Cloddidot wrote that article about, right?  Or maybe that she's infiltrating one of them as a spy?

Which is sort of not totally unlike what she's doing?  Right?