Bad Luck: Is Anybody There? (open)

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Well….this was awkward.

Nao had been in such a hurry that he hadn’t even noticed until….well, long after he needed to. And by that time he was already halfway done…and by that time, it wouldn’t have helped if he stopped…so he had no choice but to just finish…and hope….

Hope that somebody else came into the boy’s restroom of the boy’s dormitories. The facility had a number of stalls for it’s “patrons” to do their business, as well as a number of wall mounted urinals for those who needed to be in and out quickly. Naozumi was, obviously, stuck in one of the stalls - more specifically, the single stall that lacked anything more than a scrap of tissue on the TP roll - otherwise he wouldn’t be in his current state of distress.

A few potential solutions passed through his thoughts, as he sat there on the cold(now warm) porcelain. He could risk going out and hope that nobody came in while he moved from one stall to the next. He could use his speed so that even if anybody did come in, they would not get a good glimpse of him…but he didn’t have that kind of maneuverability yet with his power, to speed out, turn around quickly, and then speed back in. He would probably end up running right into the sink counter across the way. He could also just…use his shorts…and then wrap them in paper towels and wash them really good…in the laundry room or back at his dorm room….in the middle of the night when nobody was around to ask what had happened.

The longer and longer Nao sat there, the more and more hopeless his plight was seeming. If somebody even came in, would Nao have the courage to ask them for help? He didn’t have much of a choice, did he? And his bum was starting to get numb…

[Akira Koizumi]

It many be a little childish but finger painting was fun. Akira's hands were covered with the three primary colors. With all the mixing of paint, the paint on his hands were turned into a mud color. When Akira finished with his painting, he took a paper towel to wipe his hands off. The paper towel wasn't really working. Akira need soap and water.

Akira used a clean paper towel to open and close the dorm door. He was very proud of himself for not leaving paint behind. His roommate, Chris, couldn't complain to him about being messy. Akira couldn't help it. He was an artist. Artists are messy and creative.

He pushed the bathroom door open with his back. He used his elbows to turn on the water. Akira started scrubbing away.

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What to do, what to do?

….maybe he should just text one of his friends or roommates to come save him…? No…because then they’d never let him forget it. Especially not if it was Ray. And Matt…he would definitely laugh too, wouldn’t he? ….maybe Xun? Right! Xun was a great plan! He’d come to his rescue!

Nao reached down to the back pocket of his jeans…only to find that his phone wasn’t where he thought it’d be. Despair started to overtake the young boy.

It was just then that Nao heard the door to the boy’s restroom open, and heard the footsteps of someone walk in. And then the sound of water running from the faucets. Nao decided to take a gamble. “H-hello? Is…is someone there?” How strange would it be for this mystery person to have been called out to by another mystery person hiding behind stall-doors? “Can you help me?” he asked with anxious hope in his voice.

[Akira Koizumi]

The layer of paint was coming off. The water after it ran over Akira’s hand took the color of the paint. Akira scrubbed his hands with soap and then ran them under the water again. There no more paint.

Akira turned off the water. Akira looked up when a voice started speaking him. No one had walked in after him. Was someone in one of the stalls? He squatted down to look under the stall doors. There was a pair of feet behind one of the doors.

“Hello. Sure?” It was more of a question than an answer. What kind of help would someone knew when in the bathroom? Perhaps he was ill and needed the nurse. “Do you want me to get then nurse?” Akira asked in concern.

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Naozumi heard the sound of the other boy shuffling around to look under the stall doors, and he fought to keep down a blush. While embarrassing, this was not a situation in which one could afford to be nervous. Otherwise, who knows when the chance for help might come again?

The nurse? Why would he need the nurse? It confused Nao that that was the first thing that the other boy considered when Nao asked for help. “No, nothing like that,” he said, waving his hand dismissively, despite his gesture being invisible to the other boy. “I….there’s no toilet paper in this stall,” he said about as casually as if he were talking about the weather. “Do you think you could hand me some from the next stall over?”

Hopefully, this person was a reasonable one and wouldn’t ask too many more questions. It was best to keep these sort of interactions short and painless.

[Akira Koizumi]

Akira was able to hold back a laugh, but he let a smile show. The boy in the stall couldn’t see Akira’s smile. The poor guy was in an embarrassing situation. Akira knew that he would be embarrassed if he were in the guy’s place. Being the kind hearted person that Akira was he was going to help out the poor guy. “Hai.” Akira went to check the other stalls for an extra roll of toilet paper. He found one. Akira passed the roll under the stall door to the boy.

Akira figured that there was no point now to stay in the boys’ bathroom. The guy may not come until Akira leaves.

[Deleted]

“Thank you,” he said in response with almost no second thought. It took a second, but Naozumi did notice the utterance the other boy gave was Japanese. It made him curious, but….was this really the right time to ask? Darn…he wanted to. What if he never got the chance to find out who this mysterious savior was? Yes, it was embarrassing, but…oh, dear…

Naozumi reached down to grab the roll of toilet paper once it was presented to him under the stall. He immediately unrolled a fair helping of tissue and took care of his business. A few moments later, Nao stepped out from the stall and looked around the room, hoping the other boy was still around so he could thank him more properly.

[Akira Koizumi]

Akira stood outside of the bathroom door. He should just go back to his dorm. It was kind of silly to wait outside of the bathroom. The guy may not even want to show his face to Akira because the poor guy would be embarrassed. Then again maybe the guy would want to properly thank Akira for the help. He chuckled at the thought of making friends over a simple roll of toilet paper.

Some students walked passed Akira. They gave him some weird looks for standing outside of the bathroom chuckling. When the students turned the corner, Akira laughed some more at the thought of what could be of been going through those students’ heads.

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The other boy was not in the room as Naozumi had…well, was it really good to ‘hope’ that someone had stuck around after providing such assistance? When he was in such a compromising position? Nao sighed. Of course, it was too awkward. It was better this way, he supposed.

Nao proceeded to wash his hands and dry them. Once done, he took his leave of the restroom. He stepped out and looked both ways in the hallway, as if he was trying to decide which way to go. From the corner of his eye, he spotted another student standing beside the doorway. “…..hello,” he said with a shallow nod. Was this the student who helped him? Or simply another student who happened to be standing there when Naozumi exited. It was so hard to tell without asking awkward questions.

[Akira Koizumi]

Akira figured he should go back to his art in his dorm. And this time he would try and not make such a mess like he did before. Plus it was really weird to standing outside the bathroom door. At least he was guy standing outside the guys’ bathroom. There were already some students who walked by with whatever theories about Akira in their minds.

The artist was about to head back his dorm when a voice stopped him. Akira looked to see a boy who just left the bathroom. The boy was also Asian. Was this the guy Akira helped out? “Hello,” Akira smiled a friendly smile.

Might as well start with a nice greeting. Put the bathroom thing behind them and start new. If these two did become friends it was because of a roll of toilet paper. It would be a funny story to remember. “I’m Akira Koizumi.”

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The other student responded.  Did that mean he was the one who helped Nao or did it just mean the other boy a polite enough to respond when addressed casually.  He seemed friendly enough, though.  Naozumi smiled slightly. 
 
“It’s nice to meet you,” he greeted smoothly.  “I’m Naozumi Makiguchi.”  Nao almost felt inclined to give his name in a very Japanese way, starting with his surname, but to what end?  They’d only just met and there was little reason to believe that Akira was a native Japanese person, or that he even spoke the language.  There were many Japanese Americans these days.  Besides, Akira had given his name in the standard, western way, so Nao was only following his lead. 
 
Nao hesitated.  He still didn’t know if this was the same person who helped him, but given the circumstances, that probability was very high.  Therefore, Nao decided to chance it.  “Thank you very much” he started bending himself slightly at the waist as an informal bow of gratitude.  “For helping me.”  He paused and looked up. “You are the one who helped me just now, aren’t you?”  Now they’d find out for sure. 

[Akira Koizumi]

“Hai. I was the one who lent out a helping hand.” Akira ran a hand through his hair. He smiled a friendly smile. Naozumi introduced himself like a westerner. Either Naozumi was born in America, or he had adapted himself like Akira did. Akira used to introduce himself the standard Japanese way with the surname first, but when he moved to America he just ended up confusing people. So he picked up the western way by saying his first name and then his surname.

Akira remembered seeing Naozumi’s face around the school. He couldn’t remember if Akira had seen him in the dorm building or not. Either Naozumi lived in the dorms and Akira never noticed before, or Naozumi was visiting a friend. But it didn’t matter. Akira had met another person.

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((OOC: Sorry it took so long for me to reply.))

[Deleted]

Nao smiled. "Thank you very much," he said again, lowering his head slightly. That was, ultimately, all Nao wanted to do. Thank the person who helped him. But it would be nice to get to know him a little better as well. Though perhaps outside of the boy's bathroom wasn't the best place to do it?

Looking the other boy once more in the face, Nao felt awkward about where to take it from here. If he should just leave, or stay and try to make conversation. "Are you Japanese?" he asked bluntly. After all, he wouldn't know if he didn't ask. He gave a shade of a smile. "I'm from Okinawa, though my family moved to California when I was six," he offered as explanation for his direct question.

[Akira Koizumi]

Talk about awkward. Things got a little weird. Yes, Akira helped Nao out in the restroom. Yes, Nao thanked Akira. Now what? The two were still standing outside of the bathroom. It wasn’t a common thing for people to stand in front of the bathroom to chat. The only reason Akira stayed was because he was laughing at the thought of befriend someone because of toilet paper. Now the situation was just plain awkward.

“Hai. I’m from Tottori. I moved to Massachusetts with my parents when I was fourteen.” The question was random and out of the blue. But it did take away some of the awkwardness that was between the two boys. “Do you remember living in Japan?” Akira asked to try and keep the conversation going the awkwardness at bay.

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“You are?” Nao said with a brightening of his eyes. And he’d only been living here since he was fourteen? That wasn’t so long ago, Nao assumed. No matter Akira’s age, if he was a student at Hammel, then fourteen wasn’t an age that was very long past. “I’ve never been to Tottori.” Or Massechusetts. Nao’s world was very small, despite what Ray might say, who found it amazing that Nao had even been in more than one country.

Nao offered a nod. “I do. My grandparents and my extended family still live in Ishigaki, so we visit back home over the summer.” It was horrendously hot and humid during those months, but family was a nice thing to have. Unfortunately, being at Hammel complicated the trip more than usual this past year, so he was unsure if it would be possible next summer break. Naozumi might not get to see his family in Japan until after he graduated. “/Do you mind if we use Japanese? I don’t have many friends who can speak./“ And he didn’t want to get out of practice, especially since he still had problems remembering to call home.