Washing Day:

Washing basket in hand, Wheeler made his way to the covered communal laundry area. He'd finally decided that it was time to do some washing, seeing as his room was getting to the point where he could not see the floor for all the dirty clothes that were accumulating.

Flipping up the top loaders lid, he tipped in the load of clothes and poured in the environmentally friendly "Earth's Choice" washing detergent before setting the machine and moving off to unravel the grey water hose.

Wheeler sat and chatted with Kwame and Ma-ti who were sitting on the grass in the sun together, playing a game of checkers for the 20 minutes that it took for the washing machine to complete its cycle, and once done, he moved back over and began unloading the clothes back into his basket to be hung on the line. Having grabbed out the last of his things, Wheeler peered into the washing machine, making sure he hadn't left anything behind. He was surprised to see what looked like a little tangle of cord that he did not recognise to be anything that he owned.

"What the hell is that?"

Intrigued, Kwame and Ma-ti paused their game in order to come and see what the source of Wheeler's bemusement was. Wheeler reached in and fished out the little tangle of string, holding it up between two fingers. The three boys stood and examined it as Wheeler gingerly untangled the ravel. Three cords, joined by a small, lacy blue triangle at the back, and a larger, matching blue triangle at the front.

The realisation of what he was holding dawned on Wheeler just as Linka appeared to retrieve her dry washing from the line. He knew what that was… Oh god… And judging by the look of mortification on Linka's face, it wasn't a hard guess as to who it belonged to.

"Uh, I found this. Washing Machine." he managed stupidly.

"Da, it is mine…" Awkward pause.

"It is yours, Linka?" asked Ma-ti, looking confused. " What is it?"

"Um, clothes…" was her uncomfortable response.

"Where on earth would where wear something like th… Oh." Slightly more innocent than Wheeler, it took a moment before it's purpose registered for Kwame. He looked away from the young blonde, embarrassed.

"What? What is it?" asked Ma-ti confused by everyone's reactions, but sensing that perhaps it was best left as something he knew nothing about, he moved away from the group with a small, "Nevermind.", compounding the awkwardness further.

"Oh, well, um, I'll just hang it up for you with my stuff then…" trying to make her feel as though it was not a big deal, Wheeler put it on the top the clothes in his washing basket and moved off to the washing line. Picking up the delicately miniscule underwear, Wheeler paused, looking at it thoughtfully. "Um, Babe… Where exactly do you put the pegs with these things?"

Unable to respond, Linka just covered her red face with her hands. "Bozhe Moy."