Theme Week Seven: Character

                The new apartment was a mess. Cardboard boxes littered the wood floor and crumpled newspaper was strewn everywhere. Clothes were piled high in the corner and the mess triggered extreme anxiety in me as I tried to find a place for the junk that defined me. I was making headway; the clothes were hung in the closet and hidden away in drawers and the boxes slowly emptied.

                There was a knock on the door and I peered through the peephole. A group of three people stood outside, two guys and a girl. I unlocked the deadbolt, unchained the door, and turned the lock on the knob, wondering why I was opening the door for strangers when my front door had three locks on it. A guy with scraggly black hair and a deep tan waved at me. “Hi! I’m Paul.” He gestured to the short stocky guy beside him and said, “This is Jay and this here is Little One. We’re your neighbors!”

                “Hi, I’m Sam,” I said, trying to judge the scene. The rich scent of sweat wafted through the door. Coupled with the thick heat, the smell was unbearable and I stifled a gag. Little One was a short girl with long brown hair. She wore a black linen skirt that fell to the ground, covering her feet. On top, she wore a tight black tank top with white spirals on it and a black lace shawl around her neck. Mouse-like and timid, she stood back from the other two with a forced smile on her face.

                 “We saw you guys had moved in yesterday and wanted to introduce ourselves. What are you doing? Looks like you’re pretty bored. Do you want to hang out?”  Paul asked.

                Dumbfounded by his candor, taken aback by his abrasiveness, I scanned my brain for the best way to decline. “I’m actually busy unpacking right now…”I stammered. Noticing a pack of Marlboro Reds in Jay’s hand I said, “I could take a cigarette break though.”

                We walked down the stairs and congregated on the front steps of the building. A coffee can sat on the third step, already half-full with cigarette butts. “So if you’re ever locked out of your house I can go into your apartment through your bedroom window and unlock it for you,” Paul said.

                 I made a mental note to lock the windows in my bedroom as soon as I got upstairs. Staring at him with a grim smile on my face I said, “Ummmm, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind….”

                “Yeah, you know, I try to be helpful. Anyways, if we’re ever too loud just pound on the wall and we’ll be quiet. We stay up all night so I hope you’re a night owl. Usually we’re still sleeping right now too but it’s too hot to sleep.”

                “Oh. Uh, where do you guys work?” I asked.

                “We don’t work. Little One is on disability because she’s a midget and I am on disability because I can’t work either. Jay’s looking for a job but he can’t find one.”

                No wonder the landlord had liked us so much when we met her. I sucked furiously on my cigarette, tempted to put it out and go upstairs. It was my last one so I stayed. “Well….so what do you guys do then, if you don’t work?”

                Paul paced furiously in front of the steps, as if he was warming up for the greatest secret ever. “Have you ever heard of World of Warcraft?”

                “Yeah….so you guys like games? That’s cool. The last game I ever played was the original Mario, although I must say, I was pretty good at it…Do you like to play games too, Little One?”

                “Yeah, she loves games but she’s not as good as me and Jay,” Paul said. “We play Magic too. Have you ever played Magic?”

                Little One never uttered one word the entire time. She stood behind Paul, staring at him as he spoke, like he was a prophet. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of her face and she visibly melted, smiling to herself even though he had just insulted her. I wondered how the girl could stand listening to his incessant chatter, why she let him speak for her. What power did he have over her?

                I felt bad for her as I walked up the stairs, something wasn’t right. Her passivity was unnatural, she was visibly uncomfortable. Paul led her up the stairs, dragging her behind him as he bounded up the steps without concern she was not as quick. I shut the door, turned the lock on the door, bolted the deadbolt, and put the latch in place, happy to be back amongst my piles of boxes.