Ring, ring-ring, ring.
Click-clack.
A slender arm reached out from beneath the covers and expertly switched off the ringing alarm clock.
"So damn noisy. I have to work overtime tonight, too... haah."
Wearing nothing but a pale yellow tank top, Misato rose from her floor bedding. After a yawn, she shuffled groggily over to the sink to freshen up.
The room was a mess, with all kinds of beer cans strewn everywhere. A glass ashtray sat on her desk, crammed with lipstick-stained cigarette butts.
The dining table was also covered in leftover takeout containers and packaged-food wrappers that had been piling up for who knew how long.
By the time Misato left the sink, she was wide awake. She moved briskly and efficiently, changing into fresh clothes and tossing the old ones into the washing machine for a quick wash. (You ask where the old ones were? I put the old ones in... advertisement retracted.)
While her clothes were washing, Misato started quickly cleaning the room.
She filled bag after bag with rubbish. It took five whole black rubbish bags to hold everything that had accumulated in the room.
She took her clothes out of the washing machine and hung them on hangers to dry.
Once she changed into her work uniform, she was a career woman once again!
Except this career woman now had to haul all those bags downstairs one by one...
I'm going to be late again, damn it!
Just as Misato was struggling to drag the rubbish out the door, a new neighbor moved in across the hall.
He was a tall man with his hair tied in a short ponytail and some untrimmed stubble on his chin. Everything about him exuded maturity.
Seeing Misato's predicament, the man lent a hand and helped her toss the