Lost in her thoughts as she was, Libby jumped a little when Kurt ported in, startled slightly, although she really shouldn't have been. And then she opened her mouth as the realization hit her (really, she should have realized it before) on how the fact that Kurt didn't even have to lug his laundry down here, that he could just port down here with it, made it even more egregious that he wasn't doing his laundry more often.

But the reprimand, the criticism, retreated almost before she'd finished with the thought, pulling it back as she reminded herself that it wasn't really her place to say anything, and, even if it was, nagging him about it wasn't the way to do it. She'd have to remember that sort of thing now. Being a good helpmeet wasn't something that came natural to her, not like it did with Patience, and so this, maybe, could be good practice for her.

"Of course," she said, nodding, giving Kurt a faint smile and trying very hard not to comment on how it was a good thing that she had stepped in to help with this, but she really had to ask, eying the bag he came with and the one that was already there, "Are these really all yours?"

How in the world did he even have this many clothes??

Well, at least he knew that the bedding needed to be washed regularly, too! Or, well, semi-regularly, as Libby was starting to suspect, but she gave a softer smile at that. "We'd better get started, then," she said, moving her small, neat little pile of skirts and blouses over on the table to make some room, "especially if we plan on hoping to get out of here before nightfall!

"We should probably start with the bed things," she decided with a nod, "since they'll take a bit longer in the dryer."

And as Kurt started to sort through the one pile, Libby almost instinctually began to work through the other, because she wasn't kidding when she said she was used to dealing with mountains of laundry, she was just used to it being enough for eight people, not just one single teenaged boy.

"I'm not really sure how they did the room assignments for the last trip," Libby admitted, "but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing who I get paired up with."

With Vi spending more time over at Steph's now, she was really starting to feel a certain kind of loneliness that she'd never really known before, that she never really could know before, with how she grew up.

"I was with Jo last time," she recalled, "and so that was a great match. I wonder if they try to keep the same pairings? Or do they try to mix it up a little, especially with new students?"

Libby gave Kurt a small smile at that, with a nod. "Especially since you don't want to overload the machine," she said, "and they might need different temperatures...

"Anyone in particular," she then ventured, because talking about proper laundry techniques did not exactly a riveting conversation make, "you think would be fun to room with?"

Libby's eyes went a little wide at the suggestion of the rooms being co-ed, a thought that hadn't even crossed her mind. Although perhaps it should have (was there anyone with a co-ed room? She felt like there was someone, but couldn't put her finger on who)...

She cleared her throat a little bit as she tried to ignore the nervous clenching in her stomach at the idea, and just kept separating the clothes. "I don't think Vi is going," she said, quietly, regretfully. "She turned into a kitten earlier this week, and she probably won't turn back in time for when we leave...She has Steph to take care of her, though, so that's good."

Maybe she'd even like that better; that way, she wouldn't be missing Steph the whole time she was gone, either.

"That is true," Libby agreed, with a small laugh. "If the room ends up being the most interesting part of the trip, I'm sure we'll have much bigger problems than who we're sharing it with. Besides, everyone's so great here, anyway, it's hard to imagine anyone being a bad roommate."

There were plenty of horribly awkward and flail-inducing options, sure, but none of them would be awful, or anything...

Libby supposed she probably shouldn't have been surprised that that pile of laundry was actually also a slumbering Gray, but she did wonder if she should find a blanket to put on him...

....and if she should just go ahead and do his laundry for him, too. If he didn't wake up, she probably would. The urge to do so was only going to grow exponentially the longer he slept...

"It's still morning," Libby confirmed. "I got here only a little bit ago; I'm meeting Kurt to help him with his laundry."

And then she considered Gray's.

"Would you like help with yours, too?"

At this rate, her guilty conscience was going to lead her to just doing the laundry of everyone in the dorms.

"The machines do make it a lot easier," Libby agreed with a smile, definitely having been subjected to a few lean years where the convenience of a machine was not an option. "Although sometimes the old fashioned way could be fun, if you got everyone involved. And the Littles always loved the bubbles and suds."

They were useless for actually getting things done, of course, but at least they were cute!

Like chasing greased pigs, really.

So a good time had by all.

It did not take much to entertain a Hazlett.

"How very convenient," Libby noted with a small grin. "I'm sure your brothers appreciated that, too."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true at all," Libby insisted, especially as someone who sometimes did think that she'd much prefer not to deal with a sibling like Patience, but, now that she'd gotten that wish, realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "In fact, I'll bet, since there are so many times when you end up just falling asleep, that makes them appreciate it even more when you can contribute, Gray.

"And, yes," she smiled at him softly, "I am going. I wouldn't miss it for anything. Are you?"

"Probably not," Libby agreed, her smile gone apologetic, "sorry. Although I guess it's possible. We do go to school in a castle, why not a cruise on a pirate ship? And, if anything, you could always just pretend that it was..."

Aaaand guess who now wanted to go find a book about pirates and would probably be imagining that very thing every so often next week...