Anonymous 2009/11/19 (Thu) 05:47 No. 22914 Walking past them, I head over to the couch, plopping myself down on one of its comfy seats. Reaching out to a nearby cabinet with my hand, I pick up the handset, dialing the number of my mom’s cell phone.
As I wait for dear mother to answer the phone, I can’t help but look over at the dinner table, where the girls seemed to be having a pleasant chat amongst them. Not that I particularly care, but I do wonder what it is they’re talking about. Geh, maybe they’re all planning something.
“…ohh, what is it now!?”
My mom finally answers the phone in an annoyed tone of voice. Hey, come on, is that how you greet your one and only son, dearest mother?
“Hey mom, I need some money. Please send some over or I’ll end up starving,” I reply immediately. Keep everything simple and to the point. That’s one of my rules. For dealing with family members, that is. It’s hardly ever applied anywhere else, but it’s still one of my rules. Or maybe I just wanted to say that. Whatever.
“Again!?” she shrieks in frustration. Whoa, come on, mom, don’t do that. Might burst my eardrum or something. Seriously, her voice carries a pitch high enough to shatter glass.
And…oh dear, here comes the usual routine. Blah, blah, blah, my father is so ashamed of me, some potshots at my current admittedly not very respectable line of work, some crap about how my sister is so much better off than I am, bitter reminiscence of my earlier, brighter days during mandatory education when the teachers said I was a gifted child, my apparent gambling problems… Okay, mom, I get it, I’m a loser and a college dropout, but can you send me some cash so I don’t die now?
“Mom, I swear, this is the last time,” I say, having responded to her entire spiel with nothing but “yeah”s and “okay”s. Well, that’s what I said last time, too, a couple months back. But hey, I could be worse. I could be asking for money every week instead of once a half-year.
“Fine,” she finally relents, sighing into the mouthpiece, “But this is absolutely the last time, okay?”
“Yeah, I get it. Loooove you, mom,” I say.
“Oh don’t give me-”
“Heeey, what are you talking to yourself for, anyway?”
“What? Who is that!?” my mom demands.
“It’s the TV,” I hurriedly say, blocking out the transmitter with my hand as I turn my head to Elly, who’s looking at the handset I’m holding curiously. “Shut up…!” I hiss to her.
“W-what?” she steps back in surprise for a moment, before her face contorts into an outraged one. “What’s with you!" I’m just asking a question and you’re-”
“Just keep it down, please!” I plead before bringing the mouthpiece back up, rushing my words, “Okay, see you later mom!”
“Wai-”
With a click, I hang up the phone. Uh oh. Not good. She definitely suspects something. Well, whatever. She lives like kilometers away and there’s no way she’d take time off her busy schedule to come inspect the house. So I shouldn’t have to worry too much, right?
I breathe a sigh of relief as I relax in my seat. There’s one more problem to deal with now. And the pair of eyes glaring a hole into you would belong to it. Elly stands before me, her arms crossed together and her temper flared up. Amazingly enough, however, she seems to restrain herself, and instead points to the telephone.
“What is that thing?” she asks.
Are you serious?
“It’s a telephone,” Kana saves me the trouble, walking up next to Elly. “It’s a device that allows for communication between individuals far, far away from each other.”
“How do you know about it?” she asks, apparently deeply impressed.
“My previous master had a very early model,” Kana replies with a smile, “And I like telephones. They make a delightful ringing noise. I think a telephone ring sounds very beautiful. My master didn’t seem to think the same, though. Yahaha…”
Yeah, I’m not even going to ask.
“More importantly,” I begin, standing up from the couch, “Since you’re going to be staying here, I guess you should all pick out a room.”
“I’m staying in the same room as Yuukarin, of course!” Elly says immediately, running over to Yuuka, who’s slowly approaching us.
“Rejected,” Yuuka says with a completely deadpan face and voice.
“So cruuuel,” Elly moans, slowly slumping forward onto her front like a wilting flower. Hah. Immediately, however, she seems to recover, standing up and latching onto Ellen. “Then I’m staying with Fluffy here!”
“Fueeeh,” she squirms a little in Elly’s grasp, though she makes no real effort to escape, “Um… okay, Miss Curls.”
“…Fluffy? Miss Curls? What’s that all about?” I wonder out loud.
“Geh, don’t call me that!” Elly says, cringing.
“…Huh?”
I’m lost.
“Um, our names sound kind of similar…” Ellen begins to explain while Elly’s still clinging onto her, petting her head. Huh, I guess Elly and Ellen does sound kind of similar, doesn’t it. “So Miss Curls said we should call each other by nicknames.”
Oh, I see now. I look at the ends of Ellen’s hair. Fluffy. I then look at the ends of Elly’s hair. Curls.
“I just said don’t call me thaaaat,” Ellen says, slightly annoyed and venting her anger by giving a playful noogie to Ellen, who squeaks and timidly covers her head with her hands, “It’s enough to just refer to one person by the nickname, right?”
“Curls, would you prepare some tea for me?” Yuuka says coolly.
“Yes, of course, Yuukarin~!" Hah. "…Hey, wait, I said don’t call me that!”
Despite her complaining, Curls… er, I mean, Elly, heads into the kitchen with Kana following after her. I guess the maid doesn’t trust Elly to properly brew a pot of tea. A few minutes later, they emerge with freshly brewed tea and cups for everyone.
…
After that we ate dinner, which wasn’t very satisfying for me, because the meal was courtesy of Kana. Every time I brought the spoon up to my mouth, I’d hear her giggle and suddenly become very reluctant to bring it inside.
“This room looks good,” Yuuka says, looking into an empty bedroom that I never really bothered to go into. Thus, it was almost completely empty save for some furniture that came with the house, which were, until very recently, covered with layers of dust. Though Kana freaks me the hell out, I feel obligated to admire her work as a maid.
Yuuka nods in approval of the room before carrying her roll-up futon and pillow inside, dumping it on the ground. Right, time to move on to the next empty room.
“Oh wait,” I stop outside another empty bed room, realizing something important, “We only have two more futons left,” I say to the trio of girls behind me.
“Whaaaat?” Elly says loudly, looking at me like I’d just committed some heinous crime, “Sloppy preparation! You should’ve gotten one for everyone!”
“You weren’t here when I went to go buy them,” I say, frowning. Does she expect me to predict the future? “You’ll just have to sleep on the couch.”
“No. You sleep on the couch,” she says defiantly.
“Are you saying you’re going to sleep on my bed?” I say with a sly grin, “You sure you want to?”
“Oh, good point,” she says, making a grossed out face.
Hah, you may be insulting me now, but it’s still my victory if I get to keep the bed.
“That’s okay, she can use my roll,” Kana says, raising her hand, “I don’t really need it.”
“Huh?” I turn to her. “Are you sure about that?”
“You heard her!” Elly says greedily, leading Ellen into the room by her hand, each of them carrying a roll under an arm.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Kana responds with a smile, “I can just stay in your bed after all, master.”
What the…?
“A joke,” she says, sticking the tip of her tongue out at me, “I’ll sleep on the couch in the living room. Don’t worry about me, master.”
“Uh… right,” I mutter lamely, flustered.
“Good night, master,” she bows.
“G-good night…”
…
Late at night, I’m in front of my computer, as is usual. Just browsing sites, chatting, and laughing at stupid things like always. I let out a yawn, stretching my limbs. I’m feeling this tired already? Must be the stress from today’s events… sure did wear me out.
“Uwee hee hee…”
My senses sharpen as I hear the dreaded giggle again. Is that maid up to something again? Or… was she really not responsible for the whole bathroom thing, and it’s just that I’m seeing and hearing things. Ugh, thinking about this is going to drive me crazy if I’m not already insane.
[ ] Go to sleep.
[ ] Play some games to calm yourself down.
