Chapter Four: Morning Glory

The mornings of Tokyo International Boarding Schools are generally peaceful times. A variety of birds have made theirs homes around the six buildings of the campus, and as soon at the sun begins to rise, they begin to sing. The morning sun reflects in the streams that decorate the courtyard and leaves a gentle glow on the sides of the school buildings, and on the visage of the founder statue, while the sakura trees and other plant life gently sway in the calm breeze. This gentle scene carries on for about an hour, before thoroughly destroyed by throngs of irritable, sleepy students dragging themselves to class. Class generally starts at 7:30, but for the guilty, the days start much sooner.....

A large, scenic beach fills Lupin's eyes. The oceans constant wave of motion relaxes him as he sits on a beach chair, while his darling girlfriend rubs suntan lotion on his back. The sun casts its reflection on the rippling waters while seagulls circle overhead.

Lupin sighs. "I don't think I'll ever be this happy again. Don't you think......", Lupin tries to remember his girlfriends name, and feels guilty when he can't, ".....darling?"

The pretty girl replies "BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Lupin replies, "huh?"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Lupin opened his eyes only to see his dorm room before him. Stacks of books and half finished essays lay haphazardly on his desk, while an overstuffed hamper lurked menacingly in the corner. The only other furniture would be his well-worn bed and a three drawer dresser, the only decoration his photographs. Mostly of scenery and friends, his precious photos hang tacked or taped to every bare surface available. Only one photo has the luxury of a frame, which lies next to his alarm clock.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Lupin grumbled and looked at the clock.

"5:30? What gives?!" he grumbled under his breath while attempting to sit up. He lurched towards the door and cracked it to see who dared disturb him so early.

An elderly black man stood before him. He had the look of a man who may have been a weightlifter at one point, before the effects of time withered his body. He had a thick mustache, which covered most of his mouth, and a shiny, bald head. He was wearing some blue coveralls, with a label that said "Paul Williams-Chief Sanitation Engineer".

"Ah hell...." Lupin said as he noticed this.

"Your Arsene aren't you? Mrs. Zenigata signed you up for some 'volunteer' work, which means your ass is mine for five months. Get ready and meet me downstairs in five minutes. Some turd thought covering the lobby with glitter and some purple shit would be funny. Looks like the jokes on you, buddy-boy! Wear something you won't care about destroying. " and with his statement made, the stern looking man walked back downstairs.

Lupin stood in his doorway, half-asleep and thoroughly bitter, and cursed Dean Zenigata for the next few minutes before getting ready for his new found job.

Six and a half minutes later, Lupin trudged his way downstairs in some seriously frayed jeans and a torn shirt. In big bold letters, the shirt advised everyone to "Party Naked!" though the "D" was missing a sizeable chunk. Paul was sitting on the cleaner of the two sofas in the lobby, examining the purple powder that coated pretty much everything.

"I expect you to be more prompt next time Arsene." Paul said when he noticed Lupin. "When I say five minutes I mean five minutes."

"It won't happen again, and call me Lupin." The young man said rather brashly.

"Sure thing Arsene. First things first. Grab that broom in the corner over there and sweep up as much of this crap as you can. This purple dust comes up pretty easily but this glitter has some kinda glue on it, so you'll need to wet a sponge and put some elbow grease into it to get it off. Now hop to it. You've got about an hour and a half before any of your school chums start coming downstairs and laughing at you, so you'd better be quick. If you need anything, I'll be on the front step smoking." And before Lupin could protest, he stood up, dusted off the back of his pants, and was out the door.

"Grumble grumble" said Lupin as he grabbed the broom and began.

Twenty minutes later, the lobby started to look a little less purple and glittery. Lupin managed to get all the powder off the sofas and was in the process of moving the fake plants outside for a good shake. He opened the door and walked out into the courtyard, doing his best to ignore Paul relaxing on the steps. He put the plant down, and with a thorough shake managed to make a storm cloud out of dust.

Paul chuckled a little bit from his resting spot and lit up his pipe.

Lupin grimaced and set the plant down. "Well your certainly earning your paycheck! Why is it the chief of sanitation, the lord of cleanliness, gets to relax and enjoy his pipe while his lowly servant is forced to labor for him?!" he fumed angrily.

"Because the dorms are supposed to be cleaned by its tenants, not the custodians." He said cheerfully while he puffed his pipe. "I'm just here to supervise. When we clean the gym tomorrow, however, you'll get some help. Now quit your belly-aching and finish up."

"Oppressive bastard", Lupin thought to himself as the front door of the dormitory opened. Out walked Kichiro Jigen, sporting his favorite black Adidas track suit and a white headband to hold back his massively shaggy hair. He spotted a filthy Lupin immediately and tried to stifle his laughter.

"Hey turd! Having fun?" he said while snickering.

"Hell no! I've been up for the past half hour cleaning up all that crap I.......er.......some punk made in the lobby. I haven't even had breakfast yet, thanks to Good morning sunshine there! " He said while pointing to Paul viciously. His stomach grumbled to prove his point

"Oh, Hi Mr.Williams!" Jigen said respectfully when he noticed the pipe-smoking individual. "How are you doing this fine morning?"

"Good, good." Paul said in a polite tone while Lupin looked at Jigen with spite. "Off to jog around campus again?"

"Yup, got to keep in shape if I want my track record to stick around. By the way, one of the boards on the bridge by the Science building is busted. Almost went headfirst into the creek that morning."

"I'll get one of the boys to look at it as soon as possible." He said with a smirk, and gave Lupin a sly eye.

Lupin grumbled some more

"Thanks Mr. Williams. Hey Lupin, you want me to grab you some grub on the way back?" Jigen asked.

"Sure." Lupin said in a surly yet grateful tone while Jigen started to jog off. "Be sure to be back before announcements too!" he yelled after him. Jigen just smiled and waved back. Lupin took a deep breath and, fake plant in hand, headed back inside to finish the job.