-Chapter 7-
"Ow."
"Get back to work."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Toji Suzahara give Shinji-kun another quick rap on the head with the straw end of a long handled broom. Shinji-kun absently rubbed the top of his head, shaking loose a few strands of straw from his hair.
"Hurry up. If we don't get this place cleaned soon, the Class Rep's gonna be jumpin' all over us."
"And there goes your plans for the evenings, huh Toji?"
"Shuddap, Kensuke!"
"Hey, you guys!" said a commanding voice. I saw the Class Representative lean her head through the doorway. "Get your lazy butts to work. This place has to be spotless in ten minutes!"
Her head disappeared around the corner.
"Hey, um, I'm cleanin'," Suzahara called after her. He suddenly slapped his forehead and began mumbling, "Stupid, stupid."
Shinji-kun and Aida seemed to eye him suspiciously. Suzahara turned on them quickly, slapping their arms hard.
"What are you guys doin' to me?! C'mon. Get cleanin'."
With that, Suzahara began a crazed frenzy of sweeping, twisting and turning about the classroom, sweeping as though a man possessed.
Shinji-kun let out a deep breath and gazed at the floor for a moment and then at me. I felt the weight of his stare as I plunged the dirty wash cloth into the waiting bucket of water. I let my hands soak in the icy water as the strings dictated to me, thinking that perhaps the coldness might find its way up to my chest and numb my heart. I felt my heart beat heavily but it didn't stop. I pulled the wash cloth out of the water and felt the ice run down my arms and drip back down to the bucket. With a deliberate movement of my hands I wrung out the coldness and feeling returned to my senses.
In front of me was a small, bright red stain. It streaked across the tiled floor, arching towards Shinji-kun. I took the damp wash cloth and began to scrub earnestly at the stain. The stain lifted onto the cloth and when I wrung the cloth tightly, the red coloring was released and the true color of the towel could be seen again: a pale blue.
Meanwhile, Suzahara had stopped sweeping and leaned heavily on the broom.
"How come Asuka never has to clean?" he asked.
"Probably one of the perks of being the Class Rep's best friend. Say, is that why you're.you know."
"Do you ever shut up, Kensuke?" Suzahara yelled, apparently all too aware of all the eyes focusing on him. "It's not like that. It's.well.ah what business is it of yours?! Don't make me smack you!"
Toji spun around fiercely and began sweeping the classroom for the third time in a row.
"Can you guys hear me?"
"Hai."
"All right," continued the Major. "We're going to start the test now. Good luck."
I closed my eyes, my body suspended in the warm LCL. I focused my thoughts. Rock, mountain, strength. Liquid, water, adaptable. Burning, fire, destruction. Air, wind, swift. My thoughts swirled about in the darkness. When they formed together a face was created. His eyes were dark blue watery ponds. Behind his eyes was a terrible burning pyre. His bones were made of air and his heart was made of a living stone. Ikari-kun?"
"All right," a voice said in the darkness. "We're done."
The face vanished, falling away as the LCL was pumped out of my entry plug, leaving me alone with my thoughts. With a great mechanical hiss, my entry plug was disengaged and I climbed out. Shinji-kun and Asuka crawled free of their entry plugs and together we made our way into the room where the Major and the Doctor waited.
The doors opened swiftly and we entered. Asuka led, followed by Shinji-kun, and finally myself. The Doctor was busy with one of the computers, probably ensuring that the data was collected properly.
"Way to go, Shinji!" the Major said almost the moment we came in. "You're up another six points. At this rate you'll be the best pilot on record."
"Oh, puh-leeze!" Asuka broke in. "This dumkopf still has a long way to go before he could even be considered competition."
"You never know, Asuka. Someday Shinji might be giving you a run for your money."
"Yeah, right. Here. Let me see those scores. Ha, see! Still fifty points behind me. And look. Wondergirl is even lower than Baka-Shinji. Besides, Unit Two is still the only Eva unit designed for battle and I am its only pilot."
She handed the print out back to the Major. The Major accepted the paper with a look of amusement upon her face.
"What you've said is true, Asuka. However, don't forget that Shinji and Rei here have been in some pretty hairy situations themselves and came out all right. Don't be so eager to write them off."
Asuka's body tightened at that remark as though the Major's comment had touched a delicate nerve deep within the core of her being that threatened to cause an explosion. Asuka seemed to be fighting hard to contain herself. If she was, it appeared that the Major didn't notice as she casually turned away, handing the paper to one of her subordinates to be filed away.
"Oh, Shinji," the Major said, still with her back to us.
"Hai."
"I've got to meet somebody after work to discuss some business, so you and Asuka will be on your own for dinner."
"Oh great," Asuka said. "I've got to put up with this baka another night alone."
"Hey," Shinji-kun said suddenly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Asuka didn't answer. She merely crossed her arms under her breasts, stuck out her tongue, and turned away. It appeared the Major was ignoring them. And I was forgotten as always.
"Ow."
"Get back to work."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Toji Suzahara give Shinji-kun another quick rap on the head with the straw end of a long handled broom. Shinji-kun absently rubbed the top of his head, shaking loose a few strands of straw from his hair.
"Hurry up. If we don't get this place cleaned soon, the Class Rep's gonna be jumpin' all over us."
"And there goes your plans for the evenings, huh Toji?"
"Shuddap, Kensuke!"
"Hey, you guys!" said a commanding voice. I saw the Class Representative lean her head through the doorway. "Get your lazy butts to work. This place has to be spotless in ten minutes!"
Her head disappeared around the corner.
"Hey, um, I'm cleanin'," Suzahara called after her. He suddenly slapped his forehead and began mumbling, "Stupid, stupid."
Shinji-kun and Aida seemed to eye him suspiciously. Suzahara turned on them quickly, slapping their arms hard.
"What are you guys doin' to me?! C'mon. Get cleanin'."
With that, Suzahara began a crazed frenzy of sweeping, twisting and turning about the classroom, sweeping as though a man possessed.
Shinji-kun let out a deep breath and gazed at the floor for a moment and then at me. I felt the weight of his stare as I plunged the dirty wash cloth into the waiting bucket of water. I let my hands soak in the icy water as the strings dictated to me, thinking that perhaps the coldness might find its way up to my chest and numb my heart. I felt my heart beat heavily but it didn't stop. I pulled the wash cloth out of the water and felt the ice run down my arms and drip back down to the bucket. With a deliberate movement of my hands I wrung out the coldness and feeling returned to my senses.
In front of me was a small, bright red stain. It streaked across the tiled floor, arching towards Shinji-kun. I took the damp wash cloth and began to scrub earnestly at the stain. The stain lifted onto the cloth and when I wrung the cloth tightly, the red coloring was released and the true color of the towel could be seen again: a pale blue.
Meanwhile, Suzahara had stopped sweeping and leaned heavily on the broom.
"How come Asuka never has to clean?" he asked.
"Probably one of the perks of being the Class Rep's best friend. Say, is that why you're.you know."
"Do you ever shut up, Kensuke?" Suzahara yelled, apparently all too aware of all the eyes focusing on him. "It's not like that. It's.well.ah what business is it of yours?! Don't make me smack you!"
Toji spun around fiercely and began sweeping the classroom for the third time in a row.
"Can you guys hear me?"
"Hai."
"All right," continued the Major. "We're going to start the test now. Good luck."
I closed my eyes, my body suspended in the warm LCL. I focused my thoughts. Rock, mountain, strength. Liquid, water, adaptable. Burning, fire, destruction. Air, wind, swift. My thoughts swirled about in the darkness. When they formed together a face was created. His eyes were dark blue watery ponds. Behind his eyes was a terrible burning pyre. His bones were made of air and his heart was made of a living stone. Ikari-kun?"
"All right," a voice said in the darkness. "We're done."
The face vanished, falling away as the LCL was pumped out of my entry plug, leaving me alone with my thoughts. With a great mechanical hiss, my entry plug was disengaged and I climbed out. Shinji-kun and Asuka crawled free of their entry plugs and together we made our way into the room where the Major and the Doctor waited.
The doors opened swiftly and we entered. Asuka led, followed by Shinji-kun, and finally myself. The Doctor was busy with one of the computers, probably ensuring that the data was collected properly.
"Way to go, Shinji!" the Major said almost the moment we came in. "You're up another six points. At this rate you'll be the best pilot on record."
"Oh, puh-leeze!" Asuka broke in. "This dumkopf still has a long way to go before he could even be considered competition."
"You never know, Asuka. Someday Shinji might be giving you a run for your money."
"Yeah, right. Here. Let me see those scores. Ha, see! Still fifty points behind me. And look. Wondergirl is even lower than Baka-Shinji. Besides, Unit Two is still the only Eva unit designed for battle and I am its only pilot."
She handed the print out back to the Major. The Major accepted the paper with a look of amusement upon her face.
"What you've said is true, Asuka. However, don't forget that Shinji and Rei here have been in some pretty hairy situations themselves and came out all right. Don't be so eager to write them off."
Asuka's body tightened at that remark as though the Major's comment had touched a delicate nerve deep within the core of her being that threatened to cause an explosion. Asuka seemed to be fighting hard to contain herself. If she was, it appeared that the Major didn't notice as she casually turned away, handing the paper to one of her subordinates to be filed away.
"Oh, Shinji," the Major said, still with her back to us.
"Hai."
"I've got to meet somebody after work to discuss some business, so you and Asuka will be on your own for dinner."
"Oh great," Asuka said. "I've got to put up with this baka another night alone."
"Hey," Shinji-kun said suddenly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Asuka didn't answer. She merely crossed her arms under her breasts, stuck out her tongue, and turned away. It appeared the Major was ignoring them. And I was forgotten as always.