Chapter 2 - Meeting the Girls of Mecchen House (cont.)

Nathan didn’t reply immediately. Miki cracked her neck and yawned. Jamie was eating. She looked over at Ms. Ishida. “The other girls will be back soon.” Then she grinned a bit. “I totally left them in the dust. And with a full bag.” She picked it up and set it to the side. “I want to learn more about Nathan here. But first, I want to meet the two I don’t know.”

I cautiously presented myself, and Jamie gave an even less enthusiastic version for himself. He was nearly done with his meal. Miki huffed. “That is hardly an introduction worthy of your names! For shame. Your ancestors deserve better than that! Come on! Once more! With feeling!”

I didn’t much feel up to it, but if I didn’t placate her somehow then I figured we’d keep going at this in an endless figure-eight. So I did my best, faux-enthusiasm. It passed, but she encouraged me to keep trying. Jamie got dogged a few more times before he finally mustered enough enthusiasm to pass as well, but not before Miki pressed him on the head with the palm of her hand. He grumbled and glared for quite some time after that. She turned her attention to Nathan.

“You’re ripped! Where do you work out? What school do you go to?” She was positively beaming. I fidgeted a bit. Was this another tactic of theirs?

Nathan paused a moment and started to form words with his mouth. He licked his lips a few times before he finally unraveled his history. An Associate of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in Women's Studies, which he finished a year ago. He loved tennis. Miki blurted out she adored lacrosse, but she hadn’t tried tennis as much.

Jamie used to kid Nathan about his degree, but for reasons of practicality. There’s not a lot you can do with something like that, aside from teaching the subject, and even then you’d need more education to get hired. Nathan’s father rendered the issue moot. He hired his son even before he finished his degree and put him to work in his biggest gym downtown. He made more than Jamie and me combined. A fact which was a matter of constant apology and embarrassment by Nathan. He paid more than a normal third of the rent to make up for it.

He mentioned working at a gym. Miki didn’t look surprised. She listened patiently, and when Nathan had laid all the important points out, she stroked her chin and announced, “Most impressive! I deem you a worthy opponent. We must have a race, three times around the house, immediately. Whoever wins will be crowned the Greatest Competitor of Mecchen House!” She rotated her arm in a circle with a flourish, as though it were a flag.

Nathan seemed good-natured about her proclamation but perplexed. I decided it was time to step in. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Nathan just ate. And as you said, you just ran all the way here. It would put you both at a disadvantage.”

Miki seemed to chew on that for a moment. At least, it seemed that she could be reasoned with. That was a positive sign. For a moment. I could sense the light bulb forming above her head. Her face brightened. “That means we’ll both have an equivalent disadvantage! Works for me! May the best challenger win!”

I was getting steamed with this. I stated, “Nathan is not in the mood for any more of this sort of…” But I was cut off by Nathan leaning towards me. He smiled weakly, “It’s okay, buddy. I accept her challenge. Sounds like fun. It might take my mind off things to do some exercise.” Then he winced a little. “It is how we got into this anyways. It can’t hurt anymore, can it?”

I didn’t say anything. I just looked over at Jamie. He was looking at the wall. I just waved to Nathan and said, “Have fun, buddy.”

Miki grinned. “We’ll both have fun. This will be a challenge which will be long remembered in the history of Mecchen House!”

Ms. Ishida chimed in with, “Please remember to be careful of the new flowers in the back, Miki-chan.”

Miki grinned. “We’re taking the long path, so none of the flowers will be in any danger.” Ms. Ishida and Jamie had both finished eating. Half of Nathan’s food was still steaming, and mine was near done.

Nathan stood, and Miki pointed him to the ‘starting line.’ Ms. Ishida folded her arms under her chin. It was a very pretty image. I wouldn’t mind it as a jpeg on my computer. A motherly anime woman. She was art.

She burped quietly to herself and smiled. “My apologies. Oh! Would either of you like some rice? There’s plenty left.” I politely turned her down. Jamie got up and said he was gonna use the restroom. She smiled and told him it was just around the corner to the left. When he was gone, Ms. Ishida cleared the empty plates and set them in the dishwasher. I brushed back my hair a little and sighed.

So much to deal with, so much to discern. I felt awash in a living painting that held me captivated and perplexed. It was a strange world. But I had to move forward, I had to engage in it because, come something different, this was the world.

I stood and talked to Ms. Ishida. “I just want to thank you so much for offering us food. I know our story sounds more than a little far-fetched, but that’s how things are. We’re all a little floored to find ourselves in a place like this.”

She rinsed her hands. “I can well imagine. I do have an open mind. I’d like to help. I’ve read books on dimensions beyond our own. I think it’s really amazing, but…” She smiled sympathetically. “It’s hard to wrap my head around it. I think you’re a good guy. Your friends are really nice, too. It’s been no problem having you around. I’d even let you all stay a night if the girls are okay with it, as I said.”

I wished I was better at explaining it. Thinking about dimensions made me feel a bit melancholy. What visual proof did I have that my world was not just a more ornate artistic-rendering as well? I bowed and thanked her. I heard the front door slide open once more. That had to be Nathan and Miki-chan leaving. But I heard a flourish of voices: some muttering, some light and flighty.

Then fast feet across wood. Not quite as loud as Katsumi’s movements. Soaring from behind the wall came a spinning, blond shower of hair and blue eyes in hover. Eventually, they came to earth, perfectly, around a beaming girl. She was even less than Katsumi’s height, and her bright, yellow locks clung in soft, caramel points. She flashed some teeth and waved so much it looked like she had ten hands.

She felt like Ms. Ishida’s grade-school daughter with that height, but her adolescent frame seemed to say otherwise. She was really fair-skinned. Her flesh was so pale it glimmered whenever the light through the window caught her. She seemed somewhat British, like Jamie claimed to be, but it’s hard to tell ethnicity in anime. I knew Nathan was a proud mix of Salvadoran and Cuban. And I figured myself to be the mutt of all traits. Everything and nothing in particular at the same time. Didn’t bother me too much.

I offered a few courtesies to the new girl.

“My name is Yokota Tara. Nice ta’ meetcha!” She thrust her hand into mine and shook up a storm. I smiled a bit and bowed to her. Ms. Ishida gave her a pat on the head and inquired, “Where are the others?”

“Just behind! Woah! Katsumi is in front of the TV and she looks like she’s menstrual in a big big BIG way!” I suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. This was usually the sort of conversation that got me killed by female friends. I chimed in with silence and a nod.

Tara seemed to take that as a sign to offer her aid. “Katsumi is Ms. Nakagawa Katsumi. She makes dirty games and writes perverted stories.” Ms. Ishida laughed. At least Katsumi herself didn’t seem to have heard, fortunately. Ms. Ishida corrected her. “That’s only half true.”

“Yeah!” Tara grinned. “The truth is they’re twice as dirty and two times as perverted.” I knew about the dating sims. Apparently, the stories were in the same vein, so far as Ms. Ishida expressed to me with a few quick words before Tara added, “Boys turning into girls! Mwahahah! So naughty! And forever too. They’ll have to learn to wear bras all the time. Unless they’re flat as a board, but that wouldn’t be fair. They should jiggle and giggle and bounce!” Tara then jumped around to demonstrate. She did all three.

Still, I didn’t find myself affected by it, like sometimes, when watching anime girls doing that sort of thing. I had to wonder over that. Maybe Tara just seemed too young for me? I never was much for lolicon, but then her chest wasn’t the typical loli, just her personality.

Behind her came a girl with a bag in one arm and a heavy purse slung over her shoulder. Her face was a pointed triangle ending in a prominent chin, her eyes floated past me like I was part of the wall. Her features seemed split into two halves. On one side, her hair was tight with shimmering, rigid spokes and a too-short ponytail pulled behind her. On the other side, feathered bangs touched at her forehead and a draping lock of grayish-cobalt hair fell over that side of her cheek. Her chest was traced in her front like a marble statue’s form.

Her purple shirt seemed to fight with the color of her hair, and the red-pleated skirt around her legs seemed ready to join the battle as well. I was the last person to care much about clothes, but even my eyes hurt at how much her fashion offended my senses.

She clutched a book in her arm. She still failed to notice me. Then she spoke to Ms. Ishida. “I got the pepper you wanted, Ms. Ishida. I’ll leave it on the table. I’m going to be reading in my room until bedtime.”

Ms. Ishida thanked her politely but said, “Well, we have a few guests. So, we may need to take a vote later…”

“My vote is no. I don’t want them here. You can convey that for me. Is there anything else?” Ms. Ishida shook her head. “Be well, Reiko.”

She nodded a slight bit, drew a container of pepper from her bag, and set it on the table. Jamie entered, brushing off his hands. Reiko noticed him. Her eyes narrowed. There was a dishtowel hanging from the fridge. She seized it and threw it at Jamie’s face. He fumbled a bit but caught it.

He narrowed his eyes back but toweled off his hands. Then Reiko was gone.

Ms. Ishida explained. “That was Kiyoshima Reiko. She keeps to herself and sometimes helps me with cleaning and meals. She’s the newest girl in the House. Room down the hall on this floor. I do wish she’d make more of an effort to socialize with the others, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”

I felt slighted. Not only did she not even recognize my existence, but she was on the first floor and she couldn’t be bothered to show for a vote, which I suspected would take place around here. Unless it took place on the roof so Katsumi could toss us off when we were voted out. I swallowed roughly from that thought.

Tara swung back and forth on her heels. “She’s a grumpy cuss!”

“Gus,” Ms. Ishida swiftly corrected. Tara giggled. “Yeah… Only both!” She shifted her attention to Jamie. She eyeballed him a few times, then claimed him with an exuberant hug. Jamie fell backwards, which didn’t stop Tara from hugging.

Jamie winced and fidgeted. He grumbled, then seemed to go sullen. She looked up with widened eyes, like a curious cat inspecting him. He picked himself up and pointed a finger at me. “Umm… Kelly, we need to talk.”