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Who: Chloe and Miyume
Where: Female Dorms
When: Monday, April 4, 2022
What: Neighbours being neighbours

Moving in had been a simple affair. Since Chloe didn't really have much in terms of personal belongings, it had been a matter of getting there, unpacking, and then grumping around the room. She was by no means social, so going outside and 'meeting people' wasn't exactly high on her priority list. After the warm reception she got yesterday, what with all the stares and whispers that some people didn't even bother trying to hide, she was pretty sure what kind of people the school was populated with. The German knew from the beginning what kind of reaction her presence would elicit so she couldn't say it was entirely unexpected.

For the moment, classes hadn't started yet so she was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling while lost in thought. How the heck had she been accepted here of all places? If she thought grade school surrounded by Japanese people whispering about her was bad, it was probably nothing compared to what was to come. She was a total outsider here. Sure, she could speak their language, but most, if not all of them, hated her guts without even talking to her. The German let out a heavy sigh before closing her eyes.

This was going to be a long few years...

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Miyume hadn't slept well.

It had been her first night away from home since her last overnight stay at the hospital. One might think she would be accustomed to sleeping in beds that weren't her own. Her roommate hadn't arrived yet and Miyume still had no idea what kind of person she might be. The thought of living with a stranger, particularly one she didn't get along with, left her with an uneasy feeling. So perhaps, it hadn't been surprising that she'd had a nightmare. Or at least, she assumed it had been a nightmare from the cold sweat she'd woken up in.

It didn't matter, though. It had just been a dream and that she couldn't remember any details at all just made it even more useless to dwell on. Certainly, it was simply some combination of stress and loneliness. Maybe there was nothing she could do about the former but she could try to do something about the latter, at least.

After Miyume showered and dressed, she headed over to the room next door. She was fairly certain someone was there. She'd heard someone moving around in there yesterday or so she'd thought. Swallowing her nervousness, Miyume knocked quietly on the door.

That's funny. She could have sworn she heard a knock. Of course, that couldn't be the case considering who she was though, right? Cautiously, the German rose to her feet and strode across the room to the door. She paused before opening it, wondering who in their right mind would want to visit her of all people. With a small shake of her head, Chloe opened the door to see who it was.

The tall German was not expecting a diminutive puppy of a girl standing there outside her door. She had been expecting someone more... what was the word... intimidating? Chloe's ice blue gaze seemed to look right through the girl, pausing before she said anything.

"...Yes?"

Her neighbor was tall. Really tall. And blonde. And blue eyed.

Miyume just kind of stared at first, mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. She hadn't expected her neighbor to be a foreigner. She seemed to shrink under the weight of that cold, blue stare. Then it seemed to click that she was staring and Miyume's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Um, hi. I live next door," she stuttered. Her mind went completely blank after that.

Well, to be fair, the last thing this girl was probably expecting was a hulking German to open the door. The look on her face was an extreme one of both surprise and then crimson embarrassment. Did she detect a bit of fear? She wasn't exactly sure, but the way the other girl shrank from her, there might have been.

Chloe awkwardly cleared her throat, straightening up and squaring her shoulders as this was technically and introduction. Her father had always taught her to be as polite and proper during an introduction as you could be.

"... Chloe Abendroth. Pleasure to meet you."

She said, her accent making the Japanese sound a tad bit strange.

The other girl's Japanese did sound a bit strange but not nearly as much as her name did.

"Ku-ro-e? That's a pretty name," Miyume said, fidgeting somewhat awkwardly with her skirt. She was very aware of just how foolish she must look just then. Mangling Chloe's surname would just make her look even sillier.

"Hazama Miyume," she introduced herself with a suspiciously enthusiastic bow.

The German scratched the back of her head awkwardly. Her name was pretty? That... was the first time someone had said anything like that, she had to admit. When the girl introduced herself and bowed. Chloe quickly did the same but much more calm and more a bow of her head.

"..."

And so they stood there awkwardly. Now that they had introduced themselves, what were they supposed to do? Go their separate ways knowing that each of them existed? Chloe wasn't really sure... this had never actually happened to her before. The German cleared her throat awkwardly before stepping back and opening the door a bit wider.

"...would you like to come in?"

Her voice was flat, but inwardly she was hesitant on whether or not this was a good idea. Every instinct told her to push people away, not invite them inside.

"Sure!"

Miyume brightened at the invitation, not just because she didn't want to go back to her lonely room right now, but because it broke the awkward silence. She smiled at Chloe and waited to be let in.

The German awkwardly opened the door wider and stepped in, holding the door for the other girl so she could enter. What was it that people usually invited people in for? Ah, tea. She had tea that she could make. Did this neighbour of hers like tea? Why was she offering tea? Why was she offering her to come inside? Chloe silenced the questions racing around in her mind.

"... tea?"

"Tea? Oh, I love tea!" Miyume exclaimed.

Not the most brilliant conversation opener but she was nervous and wasn't used to talking to anyone except Ayana. The edge of anxiety her bad dream had yet to dissipate, too.

"What kinds of tea do you have? Do you mind if I sit down?" she babbled on.

Chloe motioned to the available seating at the small table. She had many types of tea, but most of them were somewhat obscure compared to what others might be used to.

"Black."

Was her response as she moved around getting things ready. She had a small electric kettle that boiled water off on the one side that she stared up. Reaching into a personal cupboard she extracted a small bowl of... what appeared to be somewhat cloudy and translucent rocks before placing them on the table. Two cups were set out, and Chloe stopped the water before it could fully come to a boil. She placed loose black tea leaves in the bottom of a teapot she had extracted from her cupboard, pouring the not-quite-boiled water over the tea leaves. The aroma was almost immediately apparent; a strong black tea smell with curious bits of spice and other smells.

The German's cool blue gaze fell on Miyume, almost as if she were assessing something about her. She looked... somewhat tired. Nervous. Stressed, even. That settled it then; Chloe steeped the tea for five minutes for a more calming brew. Once the tea had steeped, she turned to look at Miyume.

"Sugar, cream?"

"Sugar, please."

Miyume waited at the table, fidgeting with her skirt a bit like a little kid who couldn't quite stop fidgeting. Her expression remained warm and cheerful, however, absent of all traces of disdain. She peered curiously at the cloudy, translucent rocks Chloe had placed on the table.

"What are these?"

She pointed to the rocks.

"Kluntjes." Chloe responded, wondering how best to describe what they were. "...basically sugar."

Once the tea had steeped for five minutes, she topped the pot of with boiling water. Chloe then placed a few Kluntjes in each cup, one at a time, before beginning to pour the tea through a sieve over the rocks. They made a pleasant crackling sound as the hot liquid hit them and the aroma of tea filled the room. The German reached over to a small cooler beside her bed and pulled out what appeared to be a packet of thick cream. Using a spoon, she dolloped a bit into her cup from along the edge of it, letting it spill into the tea from left to right. It gave the dark tea an interesting cloudy quality. She did not stir it, and she looked to Miyume, politely waiting for her to take the first sip.

Miyume's tea would begin a bit bitterly, but would even out to a pleasant sweetness. The tea, since it was not to be stirred, had three levels to it in terms of taste; a person would taste the cream first which would help them prepare for the bitterness of the tea that came next, and then the cup would finish sweetly with the kluntjes at the bottom, ready for another cup. The kluntjes would last for quite a few cups, so it was also a cost effective way of sweetening tea.

Miyume took a sip from her cup. It had more of a bite than she'd been expecting at first but she began to taste the sweetness soon after. The taste was a bit strange to her but still very pleasant. She decided she liked it.

"This is really good! Kurundojesu are very tasty! Thank you," Miyume said, mangling the foreign word practically beyond recognition but she smiled with such earnest pleasure, it was clear she'd truly tried her best.

The mangled word either didn't seem to phase the German in the slightest, or she just didn't care. She sipped silently and calmly at the tea, leaning back slightly in the chair. Her gaze fell on Miyume's face. She really did look drawn and tired. Inwardly, she felt a small pang of concern for the much smaller, much frailer girl. Whoa hey where had that even come from? The German pushed it back down.

"The cream helps with the bitterness."

She offered in a (hopefully) helpful tone. Not that she didn't think Miyume could handle the bitterness; she had already expressed that she liked the drink, so it was more of a 'you can also try it this way'.

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