Ashiya looked up from a mystery novel hearing the laundry room door "How's it going, Nakao?"
She loaded one of the washers closest to the seats "I'm washing clothes twice a week hoping to catch him here and have an opportunity to say more than a greeting. At this rate I may as well have been assigned to Dorm three."
"You still haven't spoken to him?" The novel was set aside as Ashiya thought of something the school doctor once said to her "Have you tried…no, I'm the last person who should be giving romance advice."
Nakao sat two seats away since there was only one other guy in the laundry room "Is the guy you like still cold toward you? Everyone in class seems to like you, well except Izumi Sano, so why…wait, do you like Sano?"
"We're just friends."
"Um, excuse me." A short cute boy bowed toward them "Sorry for interrupting."
"Can we help you with something?" Ashiya smiled at the kid.
The boy shuffled uncomfortably "Do either of you know how to clean marker off of wood?"
"Yeah, I've got some stuff that works if it's not too bad. My name is Mizuki Ashiya and this is Senri Nakao."
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Shotaro Kadoma. Thank you for your help."
Nakao looked the boy over "You don't really look like a Shotaro."
"I get that a lot." He nodded "My parents were set on naming their third child after grandfather."
"That would have sucked if you were a girl."
Kadoma nodded wanting to say 'You have no idea.' She went to check on her clothes in the dryer relieved that she might not have to pay for the damage.
"So, you and Sano, huh? Talk about liking someone you can't have." Nakao shook her head.
"Being friends is fine with me."
Kadoma took her time folding her clothes as she listened to Ashiya and Nakao talk about their homework assignments and make tentative plans for the weekend when it occurred to her that they were chattier than the guys in her class. Guys nodded at each other as a greeting if they were friends, they used other gestures if they weren't. She recalled conversations of single word sentences and grunts completely unlike those two.
"Hey Kadoma, if you're done we can stop by my room for the wood cleaner."
"Yes, thank you."
"Nakao, you want to come or stay here by yourself?"
The three went to Ashiya's room in dorm two where she dropped her laundry basket by the closet a grabbed a tube and rag from a drawer then headed to Kadoma's empty room in dorm one.
"You don't share a room?" Nakao asked although there were very few person objects in the room.
"There is one other first year that doesn't have a roommate either." Kadoma moved her homework from the desk revealing a large black kanji symbol.
Ashiya and Nakao looked at each other "No way."
"Is this for real?"
Ashiya began cleaning 'Die' while Kadoma wanted to know why they were so surprised.
"This also happened to my desk." Ashiya nodded and scrubbed harder.
"Someone wrote this for you?" Kadoma was now also surprised.
"It was done by someone who didn't know Ashiya when they did it." Nakao filled in without details.
"It was simply a misunderstanding" Ashiya confirmed.
Kadoma looked from one to the other "Excuse me for saying this, but you two don't talk like most guys."
"Don't compare us to the other monkeys; we're much cuter." Nakao was indignant.
Ashiya flipped the rag over turning her head toward Kadoma "Do you know who did this?"
"I forgot to lock my door this morning" Kadoma didn't want to tell them it could have been anyone.
Nakao put her hands on her hips and frowned "Were you spending too much time with the wrong upper classman?"
"What? No, I…um…you see…"
"Nakao, you can't just assume he was talking to someone else's crush."
"Fine, maybe not talking, maybe they were sharing his bread."
"I told you I won't do that again" Ashiya looked more hurt than angry.
"Then why are you settling for only being friends with Sano?" Nakao's eyes were teary.
"Nakao, you of all people know I can't just-"
"Pardon me for my interruption and for asking this, but you two aren't male are you?"
Nakao thought Kadoma was crazy "Why else would I be at Osaka Academy?"
Ashiya gestured to herself "The short hair and uniform ought to be a hint."
"Please excuse me for disagreeing, but hair length and school uniform won't hide your nature from anyone who looks past the surface."
One Ashiya was satisfied that Kadoma wasn't going to blow their cover Nakao made it clear that Minami Nanba was off limits.
"So who do you like, Kadoma?" Nakao grabbed her hand as they settled on the floor for a gossip session.
"Well…um…I sort of like Kujo."
"No way!" Ashiya squealed "Vice-Captain of the karate team?"