Dirty Laundry, Coming Clean

I had trouble sleeping, so I opened my medicine cabinets and checked the supplies. Gauze, bandages, antibiotic cream, and various medications were in one cabinet. Blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, tourniquets, and other medical equipment were in the other. Clearly, this room was a nurse's station before it was a bedroom, but why keep two beds in here? I mostly ignored the bed closest to the bedroom door, preferring to sleep deeper into my room.

As 1am hit, a wave of sleepiness finally descended upon me. I laid down in my black and light grey nightgown, and drifted off to sleep.

Unlike most nights, I was gifted with a dream this night, though I remembered only bits and pieces of it. My older brother, Karadano, leaving the family business to run his physical therapy clinic. My parents trusting me to tend to the mortuary alone, overnight, for the first time. Inviting the boy who slapped my best friend, his girlfriend, to the mortuary overnight to give him a warning. Serving him my special "Buresuresu Suimin" tea, and smiling politely as I watched him drink. Still smiling to myself as I closed the mortuary door, after he had departed, and went home by myself that chilly night, not needing his company anymore.

"Goooood Morning, Everybody! It's 7am, and Nighttime is officially over! Let's enjoy another lovely day here at The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center!" Monorakun's low, growling voice announced to everyone. Groaning to myself, I got up, stretched, and went to get dressed. Seeing my last clean dress, I remembered that I would have to utilize the Laundry Room today.

I have always found doing laundry to be a tedious, yet necessary, task. Before my older brother, Karadano, left our home, he usually did the laundry, though he always made me wash my own underwear, bras, and tights. He never even wanted to touch them, so I always had to put them in a different basket. I usually teased him for it, but I would separate them anyway.

I headed to the Dining Hall for breakfast, deciding to do laundry afterwards. Teruteru had made pastries filled with various fruit fillings, with our choice of orange juice, apple juice, or milk. Nothing too fancy, but considering the last few days, I figured even Teruteru needed a break. I sat down with Kyoko and Rantaro to eat, neither one saying much of anything.

I got two pastries with strawberry filling, and finished them off with some orange juice. As I took my dirty dishes to the Kitchen to be washed, Teruteru approached me, with a look in his eye that immediately made me want to ignore him.

"Another breakfast fitting the ambience of this place, am I right? Doesn't the appearance of the pastry remind you of me, especially the sticky, gooey, yet delectable insides that you have to lick from your lips?"

...Seriously, Teruteru, I am in no mood for you. I turned to him, hiding the glare that I wanted to shoot him, and politely smiled instead, responding, "No, actually. Come to think of it, you remind me a lot of sushi."

Teruteru's eyes grew wide. "Oh, you mean I'm strange and exotic, only meant for those with exquisite tastes?"

My smile grew wider. "No. Sushi makes me wish to vomit."

Turning my back to Teruteru, I put my dishes in the sink and returned to my room to gather my clothes. I then made my way to the Laundry Room and looked around. As expected, there were 16 washers and dryers, each with a scanner for our E-Handbooks. I saw Hiyoko in here, as well, with her laundry hamper in tow.

Before I could do anything else, though, Monorakun showed up, climbing out of a dryer and tumbling head-first into the floor.

"Oww! Dammit! Not as graceful as I used to be, I see," Monorakun complained to himself.

"Kyahaha!" Hiyoko laughed happily. "Monorakun's face-first on the floor, right where he belongs!"

Monorakun turned his head over to Hiyoko, looking her up and down. "Wait a minute. Are you one of those girly-boys? If not, you must be the flattest girl I've ever seen!"

Hiyoko's mouth dropped in indignation. "OF COURSE I'm a girl, you stupid Build-a-Bear reject! At least I don't look like I got kicked out of a cheap video game where you watch security screens and get eaten by robot animals!"

Monorakun, meanwhile, had gotten to his feet, and was sitting back on his haunches. "Alright, I told Gundham this earlier this week, but there's a sign put up in here. It explains the rules for this Laundry Room. Read it over, and ask me any questions."

Hiyoko and I turned our attention to the poster near the doorway. Together, we read the poster to ourselves.

Laundry Room Rules:

1: Your E-Handbook is used to scan your washer and dryer. Your E-Handbook display will then change to allow you to set your washing or drying preferences.

2: Laundry detergent is dispensed automatically, as needed. Fabric softener may be selected, if desired. There is only one brand used here, so no complaining!

3: Please remain near your washer or dryer until it is finished! The washer or dryer will disconnect from your E-Handbook if you stray too far away, causing the washer or dryer to shut off.

4: The lint catchers will clean themselves after each drying session, so no need to remove them.

Please enjoy this Laundry Room, and help keep it clean!

"So wait, we have to stay in this room the WHOLE TIME, and watch Mr. Washing Machine and Mr. Dryer? How boring!" Hiyoko complained.

"I have laundry to do as well, Hiyoko, so I could keep you company, if you wish," I offered, glancing at my own laundry hamper.

"Oh, so it's me and Wednesday Addams here? Do you cover your mirrors so you can't see your reflection? Or do you even HAVE a reflection?" Hiyoko spat at me.

I glanced over at the washing machines, then back at Hiyoko, an idea forming in my mind as I smiled. "Would you need assistance with loading your laundry? I will ensure you do not end up inside the washer, despite how filthy your mouth is."

Hiyoko scoffed at me, childlike. "No! I don't want Miss Living Dead Girl touching my kimonos! I can do it all by myself!"

I considered the washing machine before me, towards the middle of the row . There were a total of 16 front-loading washers, double-stacked on either side of the room, with 16 front-loading dryers along the back wall. They had Cold, Warm, and Hot. Low, Medium, and High for water levels on the washers, along with other advanced settings. I considered Hiyoko again, but decided even with Hot water on High, it might not be enough, entertaining though it may be.

"He-LLOOO-ooooo! What, have you never seen a washing machine before?" Hiyoko was beside me, chiding me in a most irritating manner.

Deciding I had enough of her attitude, I gently opened the washing machine door and looked inside it. When Hiyoko looked inside it, to see what In was looking at, I grabbed her by the back of her neck, pulled her head deeper into the washing machine, and politely replied. "Yes. Have you?"

I allowed Hiyoko to shriek and flail around for awhile, not relaxing my grip on her. After she had properly worn her body and voice out, I pulled her head back out of the washer, not letting go as I stared directly into her eyes.

"Consider this a rather uncouth warning, Hiyoko. When left in a room alone with someone, keep your attitude and insults to yourself. I, for one, do not wish to hear them."

I then let her go and returned to my hamper, loading my clothes into the washer, hoping my message got through. I put my clothes into the washer, and then put my mesh bag full of tights in with them. I scanned the washer with my E-Handbook, causing the washer to lock, and adjusted the settings. After starting up the washer, and realizing I couldn't leave the laundry room, I decided to see if I got any sense into Hiyoko.

"So, while we are stuck in here together, what has made you such an insufferable, foul-mouthed brat?" I asked Hiyoko, not bothering with my usual niceties.

Hiyoko snorted, looking over at me without approaching me. "Because, as the heiress to the Saionji Clan, everyone exists to serve me. You know what it's like to have jealous people put pins in your shoes, or try to poison your food, just because of your station within your family? If you showed you were weak, you were cast down, or worse, even killed!"

While I could relate to the poisoning thing, to an extent, the rest I had never experienced.

Hiyoko continued. "Being stuck in this place together, it doesn't matter if we all get along or not. We just have to survive while the other stupid people die off, one by one. That's the situation we're in here, whether we like it or not."

Perhaps the most intelligent thing I have ever heard come out of her mouth! Even if I didn't fully agree with her, I could still understand her logic.

After some time, the washer went off. Gathering my clothes, I put everything except my bras into the dryer, then considered the situation at hand. I usually hung my bras to dry, but leaving with my E-Handbook would shut off the dryer. I was NOT about to leave my E-Handbook alone with Hiyoko, either.

Suddenly having an idea, I tried scanning a second dryer, which worked and gave a split-screen for each dryer's settings. I set my dresses, tights, and panties to my usual settings, then found a "Tumble - No Heat" option on the other dryer. Figuring that would have to do as a compromise, while hoping my bra straps would not become entangled, I reluctantly tossed my bras in the other dryer and started it under Tumble - No Heat.

Deciding to kill the rest of the time in here by checking the Group Chat, I opened that up, but nothing too interesting was going on there.

Hiyoko and Fuyuhiko trading insults.

Tenko calling Teruteru and Mondo degenerate males.

Sakura chiding Tenko for doing so.

Mahiru talking about pictures she took in the Courtyard.

Kyoko and Korekiyo talking about something Toko found in the Library...

I froze. Toko found something in the Library?