Lucky In Love

The Laundrette

"I can't believe you fell into the lake on your first day!" Marcey looked despairingly at me. "And with your suitcase too! You weren't kidding about having bad luck. I suppose you'll have to go to the laundrette now. Here give me your map, I'll mark it on for you."

I passed the map of the campus over to my new roommate where she drew a circle with a pen she brought out from her back pocket.

"Uh, Marcey?" I asked. She looked up. "Why do you have a pen in your pocket?"

She laughed. "In case of situations like this. It seems I'll need to carry a lot more things with me this year if I'm going to be rooming with you." I laughed too.

She handed me back the map. "Good luck. Dotty, the laundry lady is nice. You'll probably like her. You can ask her for a change of clothes." Marcey gestured to my dripping attire with an air of amusement.

"Bye." I called before slopping down the dorm steps.

Nothing very eventful happened on the way there, except getting a few strange looks from people.

The laundrette wasn't hard to miss. The building looked like it had been painted by someone who was colourblind, or at the very least drunk. It was electric pink with mutant blue and green daisies painted all over it. The purple letters that hung above the glass door announced that I'd come to the right place.

I walked inside and was hit with the overwhelming scent of washing powder. There were three empty rows of threadbare seats. It looked like nobody else needed to use this place on the first day back.

Suddenly, a crash came from the back of the room followed by some colourful vocabulary. A few seconds later an equally colourful, plump lady rushed out from a door behind the counter. I immediately liked her.

"Ah! Hello dear. Wasn't expecting anyone on the first day back. No, no." Her voice had a strange Scottish lilt. "Oh, haven't seen you around before dear, no! So what's your name?" Before I'd even opened my mouth to reply she'd started talking again. My name's Dotty. Ach, you look cold dear. Let's get you out of those damp clothes."

She bustled through the door again. Unsure of what to do, I dumped my sopping suitcase on one of the seats.

She popped her head back around the door. "Well are you coming or nea?"

I hurried after her.

The room behind the counter was larger than if expected. The walls were lined with shelves overflowing with... Well... Things. Everywhere I looked there was something pointy, something smelly or something that resembled clothing. I'd found the source of the crashing I'd heard earlier.

Dotty's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Ah, here we go! How's this?" I gaped at her holding up a skin tight skirt.

"Where's the top?" I asked.

Dotty laughed. "It's a dress."

I stared at the 'dress' harder. Nope. It still looked like a skirt to me.

Dotty threw it back in a box. And picked up something else. "What size leggings are you?"

I looked down at my short legs. "A small, why?"

She tossed the leggings at me. "Thought so."

She rummaged around in several more boxes, making everything in the room wobble violently.

When she eventually turned back to me she was holding what looked like a tablecloth in her hand. "I'm sorry dear, but it looks like everyone's really attached to their shirts in this school. This is the only one I could find." She passed it to me.