All the international students got together in Naomi and Crystal's dorm room for a Pot Luck Night. I came in half an hour late... well technically exactly on time since the time for it had been laid out as starting between 6pm and 7pm. I came at 6:30pm, just to see who had come. Most everyone was already there, so I apologized for being late and not having made my food and rushed back downstairs. Actually, I wanted to see if anyone had brought spaghetti because that was my idea. I was safe.
The first time I had made spaghetti I hadn't had any salt... and it didn't taste very good. However this time I did so I was hoping it would taste better. It was some time near 7pm when I had finished and left my room with a steaming hot pot, fingered laddle, and a washrag to sit it on. I thought I had everything, but as the door to the stairwell closed I froze in place. Do I have my access card? I thought. Hands full and far too late for it to matter, I brushed it off and made my way to the noisey pot luck. Shoes littered the entranceway.
At first I didn't know where to sit my pot, because the table was full of half-empty entrees. There was fried soba, spooned fruit, fried green beans, nikuman, and Qoo amoung other things. I set my pot on the sink while I checked to see if I had my card. No... I didn't. I had left it in the card port in my room and there was no way I could re-enter it now to retreive it. What made it worse was that my roommate was one of the only people not there. Even worse was the fact that my roommate had a reputation at the time for going out during the day and not comming back until the late morning. I had appearently forgotten to tell him about the pot-luck, so he was all the way out in Shinjuku or Akihabura. And I didn't know his phone number nor did I have a phone.
After finding a decent spot on the table to set my contribution, I went with Naomi and Hayley out into the hall where they were going to attept to find out why Heather and Tehreem were still locked up in their room. I wanted to use her phone to call the IPO office. However, when Tehreem answered the door and after formalities and such when I asked her, she wouldn't let me use her phone. I was slightly appauled. What was the meaning of her not letting me use her room phone. All it could do was call the office. I wanted to get the dorms landlord to use his masterkey to open the door.
After Tehreem refused to let us in her room on the basis that she and Heather were preparing a secret entree, she shut the door and Hayley assured me that I could use her phone in her room. I don't remember if we then went back to the party, or if we went to her room immediately after, but it wasn't long before we came upon it. There are about three buttons on our room phones none of which either of us could read... but just a couple nights before, I had witnessed Naomi press one of the buttons and the manager called back almost 20 seconds later. We tried that button and when nothing happened, we tried the other ones too and sat on the floor waiting for the phone to call us back.
We sat with ou legs stretched out before us and our hands supporting us in the back across from eathother on the kitchen/livingroom floor. When it was evident that no one would respond to our call, Hayley began to tell me a story about what had happened earlier on in the week. On the Tuesday of the festival. Before she came with us that night.
She had tried to work her washing machine, but it wouldn't do anything. She tried to get help from management, but it still didn't do anything. She started crying and began to become home-sick. They took her up to the seventh floor to one of the SCAT teachers (who is American) so that she may be able to help her. They figured out that the water first needed to be turned on before the washer would work. One of those kinks that comes with being one of the first occupants.
I soon found out that the meaning of the story was to suggest I ask this lady if she knows someone with a master key. But first we wuld check the lobby to make sure there were no workers present. So we got off the floor and continued our adventure.
To be continued...
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