Chapter 5 – Baths, Dress-ups, and Good Nights at Mecchen House

A wicked cackle from Katsumi made me reconsider for a moment. A door slid open, and Katsumi quickly covered her mouth. Her tension released when she realized it was just Miki with a container full of colorful items, a towel over her shoulder, and a toothbrush in her mouth.

Her gaze lingered on Katsumi before she walked into the bath area and closed the door behind her. Katsumi let her tension go and looked over at us. “Anyway. I’m glad you all agreed. Now, my plan can go forward. As soon as your feminine materials are ready to wear. ‘Till then, I have a few things to prepare. Don’t go anywhere, or I will physically hunt you down and super glue you to every girlish thing I have for all eternity.”

[Flash fan-art of Katsumi by Anirhapsodist]

This was becoming like revolving doors. No sooner did Katsumi exit, her weighty footfalls sounding on each step (how, I wondered, could she ever expect to sneak up on anyone when she was this noisy?...Like an anti-ninja), than Ms. Ishida finished up in the laundry room.

With a yawn, she said, “It sounded like you three and Katsumi came to an agreement. Am I right?”

I looked at my roommates and we all gave her a little nod. She smiled again with her eyes formed in a cute curl. “That’s wonderful. I knew you could work something out. If you’re going to use the third-floor room, I need to just move a few things aside, but you all should be fine up there. If that’s the plan.”

Sure seemed like it.

“Excellent. I just want to tell you I’m so sorry about the condition of the second-story room. I’ll make sure it’s usable as soon as possible, in case you’re forced to stay here for a while.”

The concept of staying at Mecchen for a while didn’t give me a shudder, but pondering what Katsumi might do if given that much time, did.

Jamie looked a little disturbed by that but said, “Thank you, Aneko. Hope not too long. One question. How do I put this… Umm… This isn’t much of a party place, is it? I mean I’ve seen my older sister’s dorm, and this place is pretty mellow, kinda. Is this the norm?”

She chuckled a bit and was still chuckling when she’d turned off the light at the end of the hall. “This has really been one of our off-nights. It’s a school night, and I’m the only one without classes tomorrow. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but I’m a part-time college student, aside from taking care of Mecchen House. But, so far as action, stick around on a Friday evening and you’ll see an entirely-different beast. On the whole, it was a pretty fair night. You three sure added a kick to a largely-mellow Sunday of shopping and relaxation.”

She knocked on the door to the bath and said, “I’m leaving a light on for our guests. Are you going to bed soon?” Miki said something through the door that only Ms. Ishida could understand. She said a quick, “Okay, pleasant dreams,” back to her.

She turned to us and said, “I’ll be up for a little while yet. I have some stuff to tidy up. Also, Tara and I are reading a book together, so I’ll be upstairs in her room or my room if you need me. The laundry will be done soon. It’s all in the dryer. If there’s nothing else…” We were silent. “Then fair night, sleep well, don’t let Katsumi bite and see you in the morning.” And then it was just us left in the living room.

Jamie let out a deep sigh and muttered, “Like passing through an estrogen hurricane… and this is just the eye. We still have Little Miss Make-Girls to face. Unless we make a break for it.”

Nathan glared at Jamie. “If that’s the way you feel about it, then you should go. The door is over there. Go ahead.”

Jamie’s face hung open and his voice was a low, careful tone. “What is this? Some sort of feminist Stockholm Syndrome?”

I rubbed my eyes and offered some insight, “We all made a promise to that girl. And I figured we’d keep it together. We are roommates, after all.”

Jamie put his fingers to his forehead. “Oh yeah? And that’s all we are. I don’t care about cartoons and your programming. I may feign it from time to time, but I got other stuff to concern myself with. I listen in and pick things up. It’s called awareness. Sure, we sometimes dine together, but we share a room. I don’t bug you, I don’t bug him, and we’re cool. You let me do what I need to do, and I don’t step on any floppies. But this wall of muscle decided we need to bond. Maybe he gets it from Oprah, who knows? Next thing I know, we get sucked down the magical path and wind up at girlie-house playing dress-up and swapping stories and getting hugs, all peachy keen… I’ve had enough. I can only play the good sport so long. I keep my mouth shut, I try not to get too many way-too-wide-eyed girls upset, and that’s that. I make good, I tell them what they want to hear so they leave me enough time to get out of Dodge. I don’t really care about any of these people. How can I? They’re not real!”

I raised an eyebrow. “Take a good, long look at yourself, brother.”

He raised his eyebrow higher. “Brother? Oh, I’m so not in the mood to decode whatever pop-cultural or anime reference you’re making. Okay. I’ll admit they’re pretty, in a sketchbook-pinup sort of way. And I’ll admit I as well seem to be… redrawn in the same way as them. But there are problems we have to look at… right… now. First, Miss Capitalist with a mouth like a PA system and the small and rather… flaccid department.”

I stopped trying to challenge eyebrows. “We acknowledge that, and it’s quite weird.”

“Weird is not the right way to describe it. Second, we come to the ‘small’ matter of we’ve been spat out by whatever brought us here nine months later with very little to our name and no way to get home. I’d say makeup, meeting the girls, and shaving our legs should take a huge freakin’ backseat to all that. I’ve been quiet the whole evening, but I’m done being quiet. I’ve been outnumbered, but that time is over. We didn’t even try to go through that path again. It is, I presume, the way we were brought here. What if it was a temporary rip in the universe and now it’s gone?”

I stood. “We can’t really linger on what-ifs of what is past. But consider the possibility that we do go back through that whatever that brought us here and it just takes us later or to another universe. We have stability right now at least. We have a place to lay our heads for tonight. We’ll deal with tomorrow when it comes. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

Jamie sighed. “I wish I’d caught my bus…”

Nathan stood up too. “Don’t talk like that. You would’ve died…”

“I suppose….Nah. I’d rather die a human being than someone’s artistic fetish.” He looked down at his hand.

Nathan drew closer to Jamie. “Is there nothing redeeming about this world to you?”

He closed his hand. “Nope. You?”

“There’s plenty that interests me here. Things are so beautiful that I’m struck dumb by the sight of it all. I wish I could find a mirror to just look into for a while. I must look different.”

Jamie huffed. “Gonna look even more different when that gender-mad-scientist-girl gets going. You’ll have tons of makeup. Glossy lips. Soft skin. You’ll be the belle of the ball.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes. “And your point is?”

That took Jamie by surprise. “Dude?....Are you gay?”

“Please tell me how not being bothered by that....is automatically gay?” Now it was Nathan’s turn to get huffy.

“Excuse me. I’d have to say dressing in drag is about as gay as it comes.”

Nathan shook his head. “You have such a narrow mind.”

“And yours is all muscle. Oh, bet you’re gonna get angry about that. Go ahead and punch me. Come on. I know you want to. It’s why you took us out on that secluded path, isn’t it? Wanted to just get all your anger out, work on a bit of that ‘Roid Rage. Or maybe you wanted to do something else? Oh yeah, it all makes sense. Well, you’re not gonna violate me. Not even girls have had a piece of this!” He gestured to himself. “And that’s the way it’s gonna stay!”

I’m not sure that came out the way Jamie intended…

Nathan looked right at Jamie. His features were rigid and tight. Then, tears began to slip from his eyes and down his cheeks.

“You… big meanie!” He buried his eyes in his hands. I wasn’t nearly as surprised, on account of when Nathan cried when Jamie passed out. But, despite everything, this took Jamie by surprise. He relaxed his hand.

“Dude. I’m… It’s. There’s. Well.” He seemed only able to speak in single words that didn’t make any sense strung together.

Miki emerged from the bath with a towel wrapped around herself. Her eyes centered directly on Jamie. “This is the part where you say, ‘I’m sorry’ to your roommate, and my friend, Nathan.” Her short, slick hair dripped a little on the floor. She kept her eyes centered on him ‘till he threw his hands up and finally said, “I’m sorry… for what I said to you. I do have a narrow mind about things. And a fat mouth. It’s why I don’t say much. It just gets me in trouble. Once I get going on a thing, all the BS just flows right out of me like an enema.”

She put an arm on Nathan’s shoulder and her towel slipped just a bit. “If you need to talk later, I won’t mind. I’ll be doing some cool-down exercises for a while. Thank you for your competitive spirit. Good night, Nathan. Good night, Kelly. And Jamie…”

Jamie leaned back with his arms folded. “Yup?”

“Good night. I don’t hold a grudge.” And, with that, she slipped into her bedroom.

I made a mental note about how well sound seemed to transmit through these walls. Jamie seemed aware of this as well; he used a very quiet voice when he spoke again, “Seriously, I’m sorry Nathan. You don’t have to cry. I can say it again if you need it.”

“Need it?” Nathan dried his eyes with a hand. “I don’t need it, Jamie. I just feel disappointed in you.”

He cupped his eyes with his hands. “It wouldn’t be the first time most people had that reaction. But so long as I can cultivate the idea that I’m an actual, caring human being, then I can get by. Wasn’t a requirement in my home. I’ve had to mimic it as best I can.” He cracked his neck once.

Nathan went from tears to wide-eyed concern about Jamie in a heartbeat, and it seemed Jamie preferred the former. He gave Jamie a bear hug. “I never knew! It must be awful.”

Jamie grimaced and pulled his face away enough to speak, “It’s living. Just a part of me. I don’t like talking about it because it gets me riled up. You do what you have to. The receptors or whatever are dead and gone anyway, I figure. I don’t miss them. Really, don’t get so weirded-out over it. It’s not a big deal. I avoid situations that point out what people consider my negative aspects.”

I could see where he was coming from, but on the whole, I didn’t buy it. I’d seen Jamie with emotions many times. Had it all been some sort of ruse, miming the motions without feeling anything deep down? Considering that possibility, I had a desire to give Jamie a hug as well, but I decided against it.

He coughed a bit, and Nathan finally released him from the hug. He stretched a little, raised his hands, and said, “So, in short, totally disregard all that personal stuff I said. I don’t really mean that about you. I’m just frustrated by the situation and… me. It’s just me. I’m a total jerk.”

Nathan offered a calm smile. “Jamie. You don’t have to beat yourself up about all of this. I don’t hold a grudge either. You said some mean stuff, but I can put it behind me. It’s stuff you said, it’s not you. My dad always told me you need to do what you can, no matter what, for others. Even if people slap your face for it, show them a smile, keep at it and forgive them. Because your deeds will shine through.”

Jamie clamped his mouth shut and slowly let out, “I don’t believe the same way, but it’s what you and your dad believe, I guess. It’s cool.”

Nathan accepted that with a long, quiet sigh. It was good to see them make up. I’d known Nathan for twenty years, but Jamie just for two. There was so much I didn’t know about him. Only Nathan seemed bold enough to provoke these hidden aspects.