Day 53: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

The commotion just after the intercom's jingle displayed the same kind of erratic energy that the Head Doctor had been exuding all day.

"Come on, get those papers out of the way - no, I don't...! Ah! Good evening, everyone, and I hope you all enjoyed the activities we had to

Comments

F1

[ai_no_minako]

"But I don't want a new roommate. The old one was just fine."

The nurse sighed for probably the tenth time since dragging her charge out of the music room after the intercom announcement. "Ruth has gone home, Annabel. She's back with her family now, so maybe you should consider being happy for her. Maybe she'll come visit you on Sunday?"

Minako subsided again, biting her tongue before retorting that she fully intended to be back where she belonged well before Sunday (even if she hadn't made all that much progress toward it so far, that could change at any moment) because clearly the woman didn't want to hear any of it. She wasn't really all that unhappy about having a new roommate; meeting new people was often interesting and kind of exciting. But really, Kagura had been a nice girl and it was weird for her to just... not be there anymore.

Once back in her room she flopped rather dramatically into her desk chair, just as she would have back at home, and the nurse sighed just like her mother would have at home as well before taking herself out of the room again. It was almost enough to make her homesick, if not for the fact that Minako was... well, kind of relieved not to have to listen to her mother's lectures for a few days. Even if that might have sounded odd to admit, that part was kind of like a vacation.

The rest of it, though, sucked. Plain and simple. Minako leaned an elbow on the desk and picked at her dinner without too much appetite, wondering just where she should wander off to tonight. Maybe the secret door in the fridge Neku had mentioned? Or should she explore somewhere else? Maybe she could find a way to turn off whatever force field or whatever was keeping her from transforming. Whatever it was, she definitely needed to find something useful to do tonight, or she was going to scream in frustration.

[see_my_back]

Sakura gathered up her things and moved when the nurse pushed her back toward her room. Nothing new about that, but when she walked in the door it was a very different blonde now sharing her room.

Huh.

It couldn't really be said that she'd been the best of friends with her last roomie, so a new one would either be just as annoying or hopefully somewhat bearable. She nodded once to the other girl, waiting until the nurse left before she could really say much else.

"Hi," she tried, as soon as the door was firmly shut behind her. The girl hadn't tried to get into her shurikens or other weapons, had she? Sakura had to fight the urge to go rummaging for her things. "I'm Sakura."

[ai_no_minako]

Considering that Minako hadn't been all that absorbed in her dinner to begin with it wasn't hard for the sound of the door opening to immediately grab her attention. She dropped the fork and turned to look as the new roommate entered, offering a cheerful smile in response to the greeting... though she couldn't help the brief glance toward the girl's hair. Sakura? Which had come first, the name or the hair color?

Oh, well. It wasn't like she was one to talk, being one of the few blondes at her school. Or make that two blondes, given that she and Usagi were the only ones.

And wow, did she suddenly miss Usagi a lot right now.

Minako quickly shook off that mood and turned her attention back to the present. "Hi! I'm Minako. Aino Minako, nice to meet you!" It was even true, too. For the moment.

[see_my_back]

At least this girl was pleasant, unlike her last roommate. Sakura smiled faintly in return and nodded. Sure was cheerful too. Maybe she could relax just a little.

"It's nice to meet you too Minako-san," she agreed, "I... didn't really expect to have a new roommate. But I guess you probably didn't either."

She let out a sigh and picked up her dinner tray, looking it over curiously. The things they threw together for meals here sometimes just plain baffled her. She sat on her bed, setting the tray within easy reach and spreading her notes out across the rest of the space.

[ai_no_minako]

"No, I definitely didn't. They said my last roommate was released... hopefully she's okay." Minako tapped a fingertip against her lips thoughtfully for a moment, then grinned and shrugged. "But it's always nice to meet new people, right?"

She glanced down at her dinner tray, picking up the fork to eat some more before deciding that she wasn't really interested in it. It was getting cold anyway, so... well, maybe if she went to the kitchens tonight she could find something worth eating before she started looking for secret doors. What her roommate was up to seemed much more interesting, so Minako pushed the tray away and leaned forward, eyeing the papers curiously.

"What's all that for?" she asked, trying in vain to read the writing from where she sat. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Looks like you're doing homework or something."

[see_my_back]

Released could mean any number of things, but since none of them were certain, it always left an unpleasant feeling behind. At least when Naruto had beeen released he came back shortly after. What that might have meant he went through was anyone's guess. He seemed to be well enough though. Maybe that's how it was for all the people who went home. Maybe.

"Homework? Er- sort of. Just notes mostly. I'd been going through some medical textbooks, trying to put together a universal list of the medications available and their effects. Some of the notes are from the bulletin, or maps, or important information, but I have it all memorized anyway. I just like keeping a backup. It's gotten a little disorganized though, and I have a meeting to run to right after dinner."