On a Thursday
11:30 AM
Behind the School Auditorium
"Kuro, would you cut it out?"
"Cut what out?"
"Trying to hijack the school's vending machine," Nemo said, eyes looking around the perimeter carefully. "Do you really need to do this? Is this really that important to you?"
"Look, I've been browsing a lot about vending machines the last few days." Nemo was not surprised at this point. She knew it was always from her late-night browsing sessions. "See, this vending machine is special. It's an older model, with the blueprints and manuals leaked online because of patent issues. I knew this guy from discord who was kind enough to tell me the steps to hack this machine so we can get some free stuff off of it."
"What you just said explains so little but oh so much to me."
"Look, nobody knew this vending machine was even here in the first place, and it got all sorts of goodies! Pocari, Pepsi, even Dr. Pepper! You obviously want the Pep, right?"
"Hell no. Dr. Pepper tastes and smells weird."
"Must've tasted it after you watched Steins;Gate, huh?"
"I-I did not!"
"Nemo," Tomoko stopped whatever she was doing for a full attention toward her. "You're so gullible sometimes."
Nemo could only stare down in beet red embarrassment. Tomoko was right, she drank the Pep out of curiosity, and paid the price for it too. It was now just a matter of time before the next teasing started from her. Probably something dirty or the like.
Yet it never came.
Looking at Tomoko, Nemo couldn't help but be captivated at how serious she looked.
Tomoko was moving her arm inside a loose side-pane of the vending machine, the pane where one could mess with the wiring inside. Beside her squatting self was a box of tools, screws of every head, a hammer, and a mini crowbar, all of them showing signs of use. A closer look showed what appeared to be bloodstains, which would explain the band-aids around Tomoko's fingers.
"How long have you been doing this?"
She had to bite. Nemo had seen her effort. It would be rude otherwise.
"Since two days ago, why?"
"My God, Kuro," Nemo pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sometimes you're an idiot. An absolute idiot of two days old."
"You won't get any drink and then you'll be the idiot, idiot."
"Look, the only reason I tagged along was when you said we'll be able to get free drinks." Nemo's open-palm was directed at the vending machine before her. "This isn't 'free drinks', Tomo, this is thievery. What are you going to even do after this, huh? Are you going to give everyone some free drinks until the machine dies, or something?"
"Nemo," Tomoko turned her head to Nemo, her hands still fiddling about the inside of the machine. Her unnaturally shaking hand clattered against the steel, as if something had zapped electricity against her skin. "If I succeed in this, you have to help me. It's an obligation."
"No, it's not an obligation. It's not. At all," Nemo sighed. "Why should I even help you anyway?"
"Because we're friends."
"Kuro, I'd do anything for you, I'd fight for you, hang out with you, and hey I'll even do sleepovers with you, note the plural, but this isn't what friends do." Nemo sighed, clearly about to give up. "Look, just forget this whole thing ever happened, okay? It's not worth the time, because I know what will happen after this. You will fail, we'll waste our lunch break, and then we'll be late to class. So please, Kuro, let's just go get something to eat before our break ends."
As if it was planned, the vending machine lit up a bit weirdly before it shut down, and afterward its buttons flashed erratically to a sound similar to pachinko machines, but three octaves louder. With a fist pump in the air, Tomoko was as happy as she could be, screaming sweet love to whoever was watching in the air. God, Buddha, Jesus Christ, she went through a whole pantheon before looking back at Nemo.
"It's done."
"What's done?"
"I resetted the machine."
"You did what?"
"Resetted the machine."
"What does that even mean?"
"Watch this." Tomoko pressed the button for Pepsi, and with a sound came down a cold can against metal. She picked it up, popped the can open, and drank it like it was the best damn drink in the universe. "Oh my God, sweet nectar!"
There was a pause from Nemo, unsure of what she had just seen.
"What just happened?"
"Don't you get it, Nemo? I just made this machine our own personal drink machine! This is what rich people do when they put vending machines in their office! You can now get free drinks from this machine, Nemo! We can get any drinks we want free of charge! Nobody knows this vending machine exists, and we'll milk this baby dry until the school year ends!"
"I don't know, Kuro," Nemo looked to the side, but her eyes on the prized machine. "This seems like something that'll land you in jail. We're already in our third year, we shouldn't be doing this kind of zany scheme anymore, you know. Besides, you've already been suspended once, I don't want you suspended anymore."
Tomoko smacked her fist against Fanta Grape, and a can fell against metal as ordered. She picked it up, popped the can open with her index, and handed it to Nemo. It was so natural, a motion of charisma that only Tomoko could achieve. So natural as if she was breathing, had Nemo not known how much of an idiot she was, she would think Tomoko was a master temptress.
Without hesitations, she picked the can instantly. It was as if all doubts were washed off of her body and mind. It was the simplest option, the detour that was more enticing than the straight road. It was this kind of zany scheme that Nemo had never experienced in her life before, and the poison was just too tasty to pass up.
So she took the fanta grape and drank iit. She drank it clean. So spotless that when she turned it upside-down there was not a drop of fanta that touched the ground.
Tomoko and Nemo looked at each other. They knew by eye contact alone what she needed to do. Slowly they raised their respective cans, and clinked it against each other. Their faces were beaming with a wide smile, signalling something great in their future.
"Cheers!"
Tomoko and Nemo Becomes Vending Machine Tycoons
It's not My Fault that I'm not Popular
(All Watamote-associated elements are the property of their respective owners)
When Yuri was brought against her will by Tomoko and Nemo into some remote part of school, she was quite annoyed. Thought exercise was her daily bread to her Tomoko butter, but now she might as well bloat herself with that surplus of excess fat. Everything was supposed to be in moderation!
Still, it was rare for the two of them to drag her to the same place, maybe there was a surprise in planning? Yuri had to make sure. Maybe the two of them did something together for her sake? Only one way to find the truth.
Speaking of surprise, Yuri did not know that there was a corridor behind the girl's locker room. It was hidden quite well, with its only entrance tucked between the auditorium and the indoor court. At the end there was only a resting area with an isolated vending machine. Half-expectantly, Yuri had waited for a trap door or something of the like, only for Tomoko to point at the vending machine.
"What am I looking at?" Yuri asked.
"It's a vending machine," Tomoko said matter-of-factly.
"No, I mean, what am I supposed to do now?"
"Press the button," Nemo instructed. Yuri sensed playfulness in her tone, a dangerously critical evidence for Nemo's current mental-state, which meant she knew something Yuri didn't. "Any button."
And that kind of ticked Yuri off.
With a loud "hmph!" Yuri smacked her fist against a button, the button for Mountain Dew Baja Blast, with a very exaggerated force of fist. There was a beeping that came after a long silence, and afterward a can of Baja Blast clunked against metal underneath. Yuri looked at the bin and fished out the gamer drink gracefully, popped the can open, and casually chugged a third of its content in one go.
Of course, Tomoko didn't hesitate to kick her on the shin.
"Ow, what was that for?" Yuri, who genuinely did not know what she did, retorted. "All I did was press a button."
"Who raised you?" Tomoko screamed, her frustration at half-mast. "Who raised you, Yuri Tamura? They need to explain to me because what their daughter had just done was pure idiocy!"
"My parents," Yuri scoffed, no hint of remorse. "And what I did was completely rational. Tough."
"What kind of rational action is punching a button on a vending machine?"
"Thanks for the baja," Yuri answered, ignoring Tomoko's dismay.
"You're welcome, and I'll say it again if you take another drink from the machine," Tomoko pressed her palm against the glass pane, then the steel, hoping nothing was permanently broken. "The problem is if we're gonna be able to get another Baja with the button you just punched!"
"But it didn't break, did it?"
"Oh you better pray it didn't break," Tomoko pressed her index finger against Yuri's collarbone, tapping it threateningly against her. "Because if it's broken because of you, I'll make sure your nose is broken too."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
Before the shouting contest turned into a horrendous fist fight, Nemo stepped between them and tried to diffuse the situation. It was easy to grasp Tomoko's intentions, but Yuri's were a bit trickier. It was clear for Tomoko, she was only half-mad at her friend, but Yuri was only slightly ticked off, nothing a slight elbow grease couldn't fix.
"Alright, let's all calm down. The point is we got a vending machine dispensing free drinks! Kuro did something with the machine, and now we can get any drink from it. Gratis."
"That's nice."
Yuri sipped the baja blast this time.
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
Yuri sipped the baja blast again in-between talking.
Tomoko resigned herself and sighed. Deep breath. She knew Yuri the best out of her circle of friends. She should know what she would be capable of right now. She was just very excited, nothing she hadn't seen before.
"Nemo, it's Yuri. She's actually very ecstatic right now," Tomoko reassured, before Nemo punched Yuri or something similar. "So, Yuri, want to help me set up a vending machine empire?"
"Explain."
"Well, I was thinking along the line of reselling our sodas. We just need to get some ice and plastic cups ready on the sly, then we'll sell it to people we know."
"Like our classmates?" Yuri asked.
"Precisely!"
"Won't they just get their sodas from the vending machine like normal people would?"
"Yuri, we're not selling them sodas. We're selling them a cup of iced soda and a dream. It'll work just fine. Nemo and I already discussed it before and her idea was really great!" Tomoko grinned slyly, wide as a horse and from ear to ear. "We can get some free ice from the infirmary, and as long as we refill those ices when no one's looking, we'll be in the clear! If that doesn't work out, we'll just buy from nearby stores for dirt cheap. I'm sure some stores wouldn't mind side-hustling an ice business!"
"That's nice and all, Tomoko, but-" Yuri paused, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. "It doesn't seem like we're running something legit here.
"So I'll make it like we're running something legit." She shook the insides of her vest pocket, and roughed up a five hundred yen coin. She looked at it for a second before she paid for three juices; they were one hundred and fifty each. "And that's my base investment on you guys. Let me know if my stock is worth a lot of zennies now."
With that, Yuri left, waving her hand goodbye.
Nemo squinted at Yuri, who stopped at the corner to wink at Nemo and specifically only at her. At that instant, Nemo knew what Yuri wanted to say to her.
"What's wrong with Yuri?"
"She's giving us her investment, Kuro." Nemo smiled. It was wider than she ever did before. "Maybe something good will happen for us."
Friday
Lunch Break
Tomoko did not believe how much cash she had gotten herself from just selling sodas on a cup. She was partially talking nonsense crap, but the result had betrayed her expectations in a good way. The bigger cups made it look deceptively bigger compared to the cans, and ice was truly the key that held and completed the business together. With close to 50,000 yen of gross profit, and Tomoko could boast this because she counted the doughs three times over, she was feeling like she was on top of the world.
Nemo was as ecstatic, if not more than, as Tomoko was. Her eyes were sparkling over the many Soseki in her palms as her fingertips rustled against them. It felt unreal, as if she was dreaming an impossibility. Considering her business partner, she was expecting an incident that would destroy everything they worked for in a day, two days, give or take a week, but for now she was quite satisfied with their result. She reclined on her chair and basked herself on the glory that would be capitalism.
The plan was foolproof, thanks to Yuri's investment. Now, they could legally buy the drinks in the vending machine and sell them at an unfair price with only a cup and additional ice cubes. It was downright stupid how much they were selling, so stupid that they thought it would be super dangerous to continue doing this line of work.
Now, Tomoko just needed to hatch her secret plan.
Monday
"Tomoko"
"What?"
"This is silly."
Nemo and Tomoko were waiting in-front of the school building in a saleswoman outfit. Before them were their drinks they bought from the vending machine, completely foregoing their previous plans altogether. Now they were waiting for the morning clubs to come in to buy their drinks, with or without ice, and hopefully earn some profit.
"Why did we go through this?" Nemo asked.
"Because the teacher found out we were trying to scam people."
"No, the teacher found you trying to scam people," Nemo retorted.
She had known the answer, but Tomoko would not without being threatened.
"Sorry," Tomoko said after a hefty sigh. "Maybe I was just a bit too excited about this. Doing business with you was unbelievably fun, Nemo. It wasn't as lifeless as working in a cake factory at least, and I got a friend to joke around with."
"You worked in a cake factory before?"
"Don't ask," Tomoko sighed in defeat. "Look, it's my fault, I'm sorry, but she has given us another chance to prove ourselves good, so let's capitalize!"
Nemo knew the story didn't end well, but if they were together through it all, maybe it wasn't so bad afterall.
"Whoa, what the hell, you're selling drinks in the morning now?"
"Kibako."
"Tomoko."
Tomoko and Nemo knew she would travel the morning route, but they were still surprised when she actually showed up. There was bad blood between the two of them, and Tomoko and Minami had not reconciled their differences yet. However, they felt they were close acquaintances with each other, in a strange and ridiculous way.
Still, there was hardly any malice in her eyes today. Maybe she was in a good mood.
"...Fine, give me two, no, three orange juice."
"We only got lemonade. Read the menu," Tomoko pointed at the piece of adorned paper before her. "Orange juice is sold out."
"You just opened!"
"It's sold out on Friday," Nemo replied.
"Since when were you guys selling drinks?"
"Friday was our first day. Our homeroom teacher got us set-up to sell drinks on saturday but long-story short we want to do this every weekday," Nemo replied. "We kind of have to now, so if you want some drink in the morning, buy from us."
"What are you doing with three cups of iced drink in the morning? Are you trying to feign sickness from in-school suspension?" Tomoko chided, her usual smug expression in full force. Minami could not help her urge to smack Tomoko, with how she looked down on her right now, but she held her explosiveness in. She must not, never, be goaded into the same mistake again. "Or are you going to use three consecutive piss breaks to dodge the daily tests?"
"Lay off me, Tomoko, I only needed one anyway."
"Then why buy three?" Nemo asked as she stopped herself from pouring another two cups.
"Futaki and Sachi might want them, so I'm buying two."
"They're not for us?" Tomoko asked.
"Don't push your luck, Tomoko," Minami took her lemonade from Nemo's hands and placed two five hundred yen coins on the table. It was clearly enough to buy twice the lemonade with that much spare change. "But keep the change. Good luck on making some changes, losers."
"Yeah, go away you prick!" Tomoko cheerfully retaliated in return.
Minami lifted her finger as she disappeared into the school building.
"Can't believe she only got suspended for a month for scarring your face like that," Nemo sighed. She did not want to open that chapter in Tomoko's history again, but she just had to discuss it with Tomoko openly. "How's your eye, by the way, the eye surgery was a success but how's the follow-up?"
"Boring stuff. Thankfully the damage could be treated and minimalized, and Kibako's family paid all of the hospital expenses and then some," Tomoko looked down. "Just that it felt kind of weird how we're basically acquaintances now. My brother really hates her though, probably because she talked smack about his porn stash, but my parents are totally indifferent, if not a bit hateful toward her family and Minami personally, like watching a ticking time bomb ready to explode again, expecting it to blow up on me."
"Tomoko, you're kind of an idiot."
"Honestly, I think I'm just eccentric, or weird."
"Nah, definitely an idiot."
"You're merciless today," Tomoko laughed, appreciating the harshness of it all. Her eyes then turned the other way as she noticed movements from the school gate. Or rather, it was the distinct sound of high school athletes against the asphalt. "Brace yourselves, Nemo, we got customers."
"Aye, aye, boss."
It was said that they earned close to 240,000 yen from that day alone. Almost everyone that Tomoko knew was buying her drinks, even some people that did not especially know her. Nemo did not forget to give Futaki and Sachi their drinks, while Tomoko was able to prove herself capable to her homeroom teacher. Maybe 100 or 200 yen weren't enough to sustain a living, but a pool of 200 and more people placing them on the table was enough to keep their empire running for another week. With profits deducted for replenishing their inventories, they were still making about 80,000 yen!
Maybe it was her destiny to become vending machine tycoons with Nemo.
"This is kinda boring, to be honest."
"Yeah, let's just do some other business after this."