Snippet #1401573

Hannah looked at Mizuki, surprised. She had a feeling that even if the girl were to wear something other than a kimono, her delicate figure and interesting hair color would make her stick out like a sore thumb. Well, hair dye and colored contacts are popular among teenagers today...maybe it won't be that big of a deal.

"Yeah, sure," she shrugged, flipping her suitcase open and tossing it carelessly on the bed. After fifteen years of sharing a house with Hayden, the word "organized" didn't carry much weight with her. At least the prospect of clothing-shopping still appealed to her. Actually, it more than appealed to her. Hannah was excited. There were no malls on the island, after all.

"This could be fun," she commented. "From what I've heard of Hong Kong, the streets are pretty much packed with retail and designer stores. We could try on everything from formal dresses to punk attire- you'd look funny in a leather jacket, but a sweater-scarf combo might match your face better. Oooh, you should try on a skirt for once, you'd look nice in a- oh, hi, Pai-an."

She wasn't really sure how much Pai-an knew about their plans to explore the city, but Hannah interpreted her words as "You can go to the city. Just stay out of trouble."

"We're all fine here," she said cheerfully as her suitcase slid off the bed with a resounding crash, scattering clothes all over the floor. Hannah winced and casually kicked some of it back into a pile with her foot. "Er...yup, we're all good. Thanks for checking in."


"No running water?" Hayden said in disbelief, standing inside what this "hotel" called a "bathroom". It was a...room. With no windows, thank God. And a hole in the middle of the floor. And...no sink. As flexible as Hayden was to new circumstances, he couldn't deny that he was rather used to an easy life; his parents were pretty well off, and the dorms at the island had just been incredible. Okay...so I guess I'll just take showers in the rain or something...maybe they have a river?

"Screw that, let's get out of here," he said, walking out of the bathroom. He was sharing a room with Romeo, and the mess inside was indicative of that fact. The suitcase was somehow stored safely in the closet while its entire contents had either been emptied on the bed or scattered randomly around the room. But it didn't bother Hayden too much- at least he knew where everything was.

"Romeo, you done packing? Let's go find the girls and get out of here. We can jump out the window if the instructors are watching."