Despite a common area branching into three bedrooms, a kitchenette and a bathroom, there was no table for eating. Iejei stole into Uuzhit's room and carried out a rolled-up mat.
"Why can't you two be seen together?"
As they had been told by Iejei, before talk of dinner, Asakay had received a call from the governess notifying him that his and Inyoninko's stuff was being sent over. The governess had also congratulated him and Inyoninko on making a new friend, a powerful one at that, and for several minutes, Asakay had stood froze, listening to the governess gush about how prestigious Iejei's family of media moguls were.
Iejei looked to Uuzhit as she and Inyoninko laid down the mat. It was not nearly big enough for four people to sit around a feast of food but Inyoninko and Uuzhit did not mind sitting on the floor.
Uuzhit sat to the side, working on his laptop. He caught Iejei's glance. "Her family's top tier," he muttered, resuming his work. "A family like that would expect their daughter to marry an ambassador or some kind of celebrity."
Inyoninko looked to Iejei. Blue eyes were lowered. "I can't date an outsider."
"Now that's racist!" Inyoninko shot a glare at Asakay. For some reason, he was wearing an apron and waving around a spoon. Silently, she agreed with him though. "You can't marry someone."
"Date." Inyoninko and Asakay stared at Iejei. She did not like her own correction and looked to Uuzhit. He was still working. The three looked at one another and sighed together.
Asakay looked Iejei in the eye. "I'm starting to feel for you." Iejei giggled. Her smile was dazzling but the sound of her giggle sent a shiver down both his and Inyoninko's spines. "Don't be gettin' all mushy on me. You're still evil."
Iejei's smile softened. "I won't eat your chips," she promised.
He whipped his head to her and waved the spoon in her face. That made Inyoninko look to the kitchenette. "You promise?"
Iejei lifted her chin and beamed. "Promise. I'll only eat Uuzhit's."
"She's cool."
Inyoninko saw the pot in the corner of the kitchenette. Something was boiling. She looked to Asakay. "You brought a pot?"
He frowned at her. "What pot?" He looked in the kitchenette. "Oh yeah. No. It was under the sink."
Inyoninko looked to Uuzhit but he was engrossed in work, so she looked to Iejei who noticed and stared back.
"What?"
"Do all the dorms come with cookware?" She glanced at Uuzhit. "I doubt he cooks." She looked Iejei up and down. "Do you cook?"
Iejei sat up, giggling. She waved off the question. "No way," she cried, "I can't! Our maid does that."
"So every dorm comes with cookware."
"Only dorms above ground level." Inyoninko turned to Uuzhit. He was not looking, still typing on his laptop, but he continued to explain. "Dorms closer to the lanes don't need it. They can go down and get food from the lanes or the oratorium."
Inyoninko nodded to herself and turned to Asakay. "So what's in the pot?"
Asakay shrugged. "I found some packets of tea powder, so I."
"Oh no!" Iejei stared at him in horror. "That's whitening powder."
"Whitening powder?"
She nodded. "Hair. Skin. Clothes. You know?" Asakay and Inyoninko looked at each other. Neither recognized it. "It's super strong. It'll turn a black man albino."
"Now that's super racist."
Inyoninko chuckled to her side.
"You people actually use that stuff?"
Iejei sat back and looked at her hands. "Just for hair," she whispered, "maybe skin."
Inyoninko looked her up and down. "If it's used for clothes. Isn't it harmful for you? Like burning yourself."
Asakay cringed. "Oh god no." He held up his hands and looked at himself. "I'm tan! I love me!"
"It's a nice tan," Iejei muttered.
"So why you lookin' to be white?" Her skin was pretty fair. She glanced at Uuzhit, the whitest person in the room. He did not seem to notice. She looked between Inyoninko and Asakay, then her gaze fell. They both sat back. "Oh shit that's racist."
"Do people here like white skin?"
Iejei shook her head. She glanced at Asakay. "We prefer skin like his." Asakay started posing with the spoon, making Iejei smile. She faced Inyoninko. "Or darker. Our deity, Amitirzh, has a mortal lover of dark skin. He's a musician that visits her night club every other week."
Asakay frowned. "Since when do gods have lovers?"
Inyoninko scoffed, holding back a smile as she regarded him. "Many gods have mortal lovers, just some prefer lovers among themselves."
Iejei smiled. "You two are from Shsyryo, right? I don't believe Shsyryo takes any lovers."
They shook their heads.
"God of diversity and rejection."
"God of the outcasts!"
Iejei giggled. "Isn't that a little backwards then?"
Inyoninko nodded. "They're all backwards."
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