Garderobe Chronicles

Two

Not long after Arika Yumemiya arrived at the Garderobe Apartments, she was introduced by Chun Mei to the other residents. The building wasn't too full this year, apparently, but there were still enough girls to make poor Arika's head spin.

Chun Mei's black hair fell around her face, having untied her hair since she was home. Dressed in much more casual sweats she walked beside Arika, explaining the layout. The larger top floor had the most rooms, with the building thinning as it descended to the ground. "Would you mind if I put you nearby my room?" she asked seriously.

"I don't mind at all," Arika smiled shyly.

They went down the hall and Chun Mei knocked, then called out, "Tomoe?"

"Yes?" a woman's voice called out.

"We have a new resident," Chun Mei answered, "I'm showing her around."

The door opened revealing a woman with green hair, her expression apologetic as she smiled, "Sorry." She reminded Arika of Shizuru, at least in her gentle, calm expression, as she continued, "I'm Tomoe Marguerite, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Arika Yumemiya, it's a pleasure," Arika said, bowing slightly as her twin braids bounced forward then back.

"How cute," Tomoe murmured to herself, smiling slightly. A bit more loudly she told Arika, "I hope you'll like it here."

"Thank you," Arika beamed as she and Chun Mei moved on.

After Tomoe closed her door Chun Mei murmured, "Tomoe is a nice girl, but don't get between her and someone she likes."

"Eh?" Arika blinked.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable but also feeling responsible for warning the girl Chun Mei elaborated, "Tomoe gets... very intense when she's in love."

They went down the hall to the opposite end, where Chun Mei knocked once more. This time the door opened quickly, revealing a attractive brown haired girl, her smiled warm if a bit frazzled. "Yes?" she asked.

"Meet Arika Yumemiya," Chun Mei gestured to her then said to Arika, "This is Akane Higurashi, she's in the same year you are."

Akane made a cute face as she explained, "I missed some time last year for personal reasons." She smiled at Arika, "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Arika bowed. She looked at her curiously, "Did I see you working at the Linden Baum? Your uniforms are cute!"

"Yeah, thanks," Akane blushed.

"Keep a eye on her," Chun Mei told Arika with a impish smile, "she keeps trying to sneak her boyfriend into the dorms."

"Chun Mei!" Akane blushed furiously as she protested, "You know I would never try to sneak Kazuya into the dorms!"

"So who was that I saw trying to climb up the one side of the building?" Chun Mei asked her pointedly.

Akane went red. "He just wanted to give me a good night kiss...," she sighed.

"I'm sure he did," Arika agreed, fighting back a laugh. A bit more seriously she said, "I hope you'll help me out where you can, Miss."

A bit more naturally Akane answered, "I'll do my best."

As they headed for the stairs Chun Mei noted, "The other girl on this floor is Sara Gallagher, but she's not here right now." She smiled at Arika's questioning look and added in explanation, "She's in the newspaper club and has odd hours. I make allowances, as long as she doesn't disturb the other residents."

"That makes sense," Arika agreed.

The next floor was a bit smaller, and only seemed to have four suites. Chun Mei gestured as she explained, "I'm on this end, here. There are two empties here, I was thinking of putting you right beside me, and Erstin in the other."

Arika made a agreeable noise, "Hmm!"

The last room was occupied by a teacher, surprisingly. Apparently she was having the same sort of housing problems Arika had, and had grabbed the first suite available, "Arika, meet Anh Lu," Chun Mei nodded to the older lady.

"Hi," the brown haired Anh smiled at them both, "I hope we'll all get along well."

"Ma'am," Arika bowed respectfully, making Anh laugh.

"Just Anh, please," she laughed warmly, "I hate formality."

The two girls excused themselves and headed down the next stair. "Anh is a very nice lady," Chun Mei noted quietly, "but whatever you do, don't let her drink."

"Huh?" Arika blinked.

Chun Mei smiled wryly, "It seems Anh is very weak against alcohol. And when she does drink, she gets... uninhibited."

On one hand Arika wanted to ask what she meant, but on the other she wasn't sure she wanted to know. They arrived on the ground floor as she asked, "What's on this level?"

"We have a moderate sized shared bath here," Chun Mei gestured to one side, "the kitchen is over there, as well as a small dining room." She looked a bit sheepish, "We don't have a cook, so you pretty much have to prepare the food yourself."

"I'm not a very good cook," Arika admitted shyly.

"Me too," Chun Mei agreed, "but the school cafeteria isn't bad."

Arika blinked in confusion as Chun Mei lead her down into the basement. "Is there someone down here, too?" she asked, confused.

"We don't normally rent the rooms down here," Chun Mei acknowledged, "but when she found out about them, she insisted. Besides, they suit her hobby."

"Hobby?" Arika echoed.

As they walked past the laundry and down the dimly lit hall there was a loud popping noise, then a puff of smoke came from the doorway up ahead. Both girls hurried forward, peering inside where a young woman was blinking in confusion as a small, robotic device sparked cheerfully on the workbench before her.

"Irina, are you all right?" Chun Mei demanded.

Irina Woods smiled cheerfully, even though smoke was curling up from her clothes. The red haired girl pushed up her glasses, "Oh, I'm fine. Must have been a loose connection..."

"Uhm, your arm's on fire," Arika pointed out, grabbing a cloth and helping to put out the burning sleeve.

Chun Mei sighed softly, "Arika, I'd like you to meet Irina Woods."

"Pleased to meet you," Irina smiled, shaking Arika's hand.

"You too,." Arika agreed. She looked at the now slightly melted device and asked, "Uhm, what was that for?"

"It was going to be a self-motivated can opener," Irina announced proudly.

Chun Mei ran a hand over her face, sighing again. "Do you have to keep building such sketchy robots?" she asked.

Irina stuck her tongue out at Chun Mei, "It could be worse, I could be building love robots or something here..."

"That's a scary thought," Chun Mei winced.

Arika smiled slightly, "Especially if they explode."

"Booby trap for lechers?" Irina offered with a smirk, and everyone laughed.

"Arika should get her room set up," Chun Mei smiled wryly, "excuse us."

"We should have a welcome party for her," Irina offered as they left.

"Let's hold off a few days," Chun Mei called back while walking away, "we may have another newcomer arriving soon."

"Right!" Irina nodded, then headed off presumably to clean herself up.

"A welcome party?" Arika asked Chun Mei as they went up through the first floor, then up again to the second.

"We usually have a little bash for when we get a new arrival," Chun Mei explained as she stopped at her door, "just some snacks and games, pretty much. I was thinking we should wait until Erstin finds out if she can stay here."

"I'd like that," Arika agreed. She hesitated at her door, smiling at Chun Mei as she said quietly, "Thank you so much for welcoming me here."

"No," Chun Mei shook her head with a smile, "even if you hadn't saved my cat, Nina, I'd still feel like you... just belong here."

"I think so too," Arika agreed as she headed into her room.

To be continued...