Was This a Personality Mismatch or Something Much Darker?- Part 4
Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters. Harry Callahan
“But you have paid for a month. Are you going to ask for a refund? Those things get messy.” I guess I have to decide between money and my happiness. This place feels like the haunted house of Bly Manor!” Amy, aren’t you exaggerating? Anyway, you aren’t happy, that needs to be fixed.” “I’ll figure it out.” With that, the call ended.
Amy was pretty much an adaptable person. So in her mind, she was scheming how to make the best of the situation. Some factors here were modifiable. Others were not. For instance, the house had only one bathroom. She doubted there were plans to change that. The adjacent washroom had no washbasin. A new one would not appear either. If it was intended, there would have been one ab initio. Yes, she was thankful she had invested in hand sanitizers but that is not ideal. People’s hands need washing when soiled. That is not negotiable.
“I need to climb the stairs to the first floor if I want to wash it. If I set up a plastic washbasin, the water would need changing. Water is available on the first floor. So, I am back to square one.” Amy mused. The next day, she went up to the kitchen to make breakfast and saw someone else she had not met before. He was taking out the trash. She guessed he was the housekeeper. She doubted it was her housemates who piled the kitchen sink to the heavens. She thought of what to complain about and what to keep to herself.
“Hi. I am Amy. You are?” “My name is Bill.” “Are you the housekeeper?” “Yes, I am or sort of…” “Which is it?” “ Do you have any problems?” “Yes, many. Why don’t you have a wash hand basin downstairs?” The guy tried to offer Amy some explanation. “My room is cold. The heater does not work.” “I’ll get you another one.” “Thank you. How often do you clean?” “Every week.” That was the best news Amy heard since she arrived at the horror house.
She waited for Bill to finish up cleaning the kitchen. Then she settled into her cooking role. She made a mental note to cook only on the days Bill cleaned. “What days do you clean?” “It varies. Sometimes, Fridays or Wednesdays. I come to take out the trash daily.” Not a very helpful answer, Amy thought.
Amy finished her cooking. She put away the food. The weather looked awesome so Amy decided to go for a walk. As she did, she could not help but notice the neighborhood. It was awesome, a stark contrast to where she currently lived. “What if these guys had another apartment with more decency? I’ll ask, you never know”. Another thing Amy noticed was the number of eateries around. If someone decided they weren’t cooking, there were many options.
Amy was not ready to trade her food supplies for take-outs. She could do it sometimes but not a total swap. She loved to cook. She later texted the landlady about alternative accommodation in the area. The landlady responded saying she did have other options. If Amy wanted, she would schedule showings. Another good news!
Amy thought to ask. “Is this exclusive accommodation or shared?” “It is not exclusive. You’ll be sharing with one person. How’s 1 pm for a viewing?” “That works for me. See you!” When it was time, Amy walked over to the new address. Yes, it looked decent, better than where she checked into. The bathroom was next to her bedroom and had a wash hand basin. The only thing Amy wondered about was if she would get along with her neighbor. This was the genesis of her troubles in the first place.
Amy decided she would move to the new place the next morning. She woke up and went upstairs to take a bath. Someone was in the bathroom. She waited in the kitchen next door. She heard the toilet flush. She heaved a sigh of relief. As she waited for whoever was inside to exit, that did not happen.
The next thing she heard was someone making a call. Then she heard another flush. The call was still on. After a while, she heard the shower come on. She sighed! But the call had not ended. “Is this human being making a call and showering at the same time? Is there a new technology I am unaware of or someone is being an asshole?”
After waiting for a total of 25 minutes in her towel, she knocked on the bathroom door. No answer. She knocked again. No answer. She then said: “If you are making calls, you should not be doing it in the bathroom. Are you forgetting there is only one bathroom here?” After another ten minutes, the bathroom door opened, Amy looked up and saw the creepy dude.
“You chose to make a phone call in the bathroom in a house with over 5 guests?” “No, I was doing my thing, not calling. Come and see for yourself.” Amy looked at the guy with dismay, thought of saying a bit more but decided against it. “Please come out. I want to shower.” With that, he exited and she went in. As she lathered, she thought to herself for the umpteenth time: “I need to get my own place.”
