Room for Rent

[downhomeguy]

Over the course of the summer, I had come into a large sum of money through a life insurance policy of a deceased relative, and a gracious amount they had left me in their will. Being a college sophomore, this took me by surprise. My parents insisted that I put it in an account for after school. But being the ambitious person that I was, I decided to invest it. But first, a little about myself.

My name is Cooper, and I grew up an only child in a humble household of two blue collar workers. I spend the majority of my youth outside of the house, whether it was fishing for spottail bass in the river or hunting whitetail deer in the woods that covered the county we lived in. After 18 years in a small town, I decided that a large college was the only place for me. I enrolled in the state university on several scholarships based on my academics. Though I had been an accomplished athlete in highschool, my 6'1, 160 pound physique wasn't nearly enough to carry me further. Enrolling in the criminal justice program at the university, I set my sights on law school.

But back to the present. I decided that my best mode of investment was in an apartment. Not only would I be free of paying for housing, but I would be able to rent out the spare room. So I spent the majority of my inheritance on a sizable building that was situated in a complex designed for students. In my rush to start reaping the benefits of my investment, I posted an ad in the student newspaper for a roommate. I listed where the apartment was, and my cell phone number. I didn't specify whether I was looking for a male or female, and really I didn't care. Of course, I wouldn't say no to a female.

 

[Perplexia]

RJ Holloway wasn't going to college for the parties or the boys, her primary goal was to get an education, get a job, and get out of the closed minded town she was raised in.

She came across an ad for a room to rent. Although she looked like the typical goth, she was far from it. Her hair was naturally black, and her skin naturally olive. The clothes she wore she made for the most part. Her tastes in music varied to the more sophisticated palettes, as did her choice in movies and literature.

RJ sat and stared at the phone. She needed to call before this room was taken.

 

[downhomeguy]

(Sure)

After putting away the last of my things, the kitchen utensils and devices, I fell into the couch and flipped on the TV. Opening a can of Mountain Dew, I slipped it into a neoprene koozie and put my feet up on the coffee table. My feet fell on top of several magazines, and knocked them to the floor. I picked them up, and scanned the titles to see what I had gotten. "Time", "Newsweek", "Soldiers of Fortune", and "Military History". An odd assortment, I know, but my love of military history and politics had made those a necessity every month.

My cell phone rested on the coffee table, next to my keys and wallet. I glanced down at it, and noticed that the screen was still black. That meant no recent activity. I sighed, and turned my attention to CNN for the daily news. I didn't worry over the fact that I hadn't gotten any responsed. The ad had only been in the paper one day. And I wasn't desperate for a roommate, just anxious to start collecting on my investment.

 

[Perplexia]

(look above for more details)
RJ tapped lightly on the phone before picking it up.. "its ok you can do this speaking to another person is natural human qualities.. why the hell am i so nervous its just a room ..get over it already" She dialed the number. It rang once and a voice answered from the other end.

"Hello"
"Hi, I'm calling about the room you have for rent? Is it still available?"

 

[downhomeguy]

I had muted the TV...something about gun control. If the caller ID hadn't told me that I didn't know the number, I would have waited until the segment was over and called back.

"Sure is. In fact, you're the first person to call about it." There was the southern accent again. I had always tried to covertly mask it in front of people I didn't know well, due to all the sterotypes associated with it. But I hadn't thought fast enough to do it.

"Did you want to come by and take a look at it?"

 

[Perplexia]

RJ smiled, "excellent, I'm glad to hear its still available, not that i would wish you not to rent it to someone, i just meant. RJ stopped herself from babbling "I'm sorry, yes i would like to see it. When is a good time for you?"

As she waited on the other side of the phone her fingers tapped against the table. She stopped them and sat on her hand. The truth was she really didn't converse with that many people. Its not that she didn't like people, well in actuality perhaps its because she saw them at true value. There had only been a couple of people in her life she had valued. The latest had been her boyfriend Luke, they had plans on going to this school together, their lives were mapped out, until he was killed in an accident. That blow had set RJ back enormously. He had been the only person she loved, the only person she trusted, and the only man that she could ever picture herself with. Now he was gone. She almost had put off going to school, but he would have wanted her to go on.

 

[downhomeguy]

"Uh..." I put my feet on the floor and turned my head around, looking at the space. I wanted to make sure that it was in good condition when anybody came by to look at it. I had hung a variety of prints on the wall. One was a sunset over the beach. The other, directly across the room, was of a low fog hanging over a forest floor at daylight. Both of them had been taken by a friend of mine back home, and nearby where we lived. I wasn't really a symbolic person, but I felt that they represented opposites, and deserved to be hung facing each other across the room. Furniture straight, carpet not used enough to be dirty...everything was ok.

"You're more than welcome to come by now if you'd like. Whenever is fine with you. Was the address in the ad?" I couldn't even remember if I had included it.

 

[Perplexia]

"No, it wasn't" she replied lightly pulling her legs up under her. "I think its too late now, I'm not in town just yet, I'll be there tomorrow morning to register, um so i guess anytime after that is good." She began to chew on her bottom lip.
Oh please oh please she stated in her mind, let that be good enough i need this room, or i'm in the salvation army till i find a place. "Um, so when are you expecting the occupant you choose to move in?" she asked lightly.

 

[downhomeguy]

"Oh, I don't really have a timetable. I'm not in desperate need of anybody, so whatever works for the tenant."

I read off the directions to her. The place wasn't hard to find, it was situated just a block from the football stadium, which could be seen from almost anywhere near campus.

"Whenever you decide to drop by is fine, I'll be here all day. And if you get lost, just give me a call."

 

[Perplexia]

"great, i'll um see you tomorrow then around twoish"

After finishing the phone call, she finished packing and went to bed. With her bags in tow RJ stopped by Lukes grave on her way to the bus station. She placed a white lilly and a red rose on his grave before leaving.

The bus was there at 8 am and took her to the city about 2 hours away. The tears she had cried had left her eyes swollen. Registration was a nightmare, she was glad she had locked the bags at the bus station.

Finally she had her classes set, and had taken the bogus orientation they required. Stopping by a McDonalds on the way to the apartment she sat and reflected. She had to find a place, she had to get a job, and she had to never go back to that town.

Full of her nugget and with soda in hand she made her way to the apartment. The building was rather majestic, oh lord i'll never afford it was her first thought, but he had listed the rent and hopefully he'd stick to it. She took the stairs and stopped staring at the door.. "Ok smile be polite don't creep him out" she mumbled to herself before knocking on the door.

 

[downhomeguy]

I had been relaxing on the couch and reading an article in one of my magazines, something about lessons learned from the Battle of Trafalgar. Things like surrender is not an option, nothing trumps experience, break the rules, inspire confidence, the usual lessons. Hearing a knock, I tossed the magazine on the table and stood up. I had thrown on a pair of jeans and t-shirt for a punk irish band. Pretty much everybody expected me to listen to country music, and I did. But something about traditional and contemporary irish music had led me to learn two of the complementary instruments, and bodhran and the whistle, and join a local Irish band.

Sliding into a pair of Rainbow flip-flops, I took one last glance around the room to make sure it was presentable. Unlocking the deadbolt, which stayed locked usually, I turned the knob and opened the door, squinting against the afternoon sun into the silhouette of somebody standing at the door.

"Hi. I assume you're the one I talked to on the phone yesterday?"

 

[Perplexia]

When the door opened RJ's 5'3 frame came eye to eye with a shirt. She tilted her head up and smiled, "Hi, I'm short, i mean the one yes. RJ, my name..oh god." She put her hand over her face. This was going terribly. "can i just go out an come back and try that again?".

 

[downhomeguy]

I laughed, opening the door up a little bit wider.

"Why don't you just come in and take a look around?" I could understand her being nervous. Having to register for classes, go through orientation and find an apartment all in one day? It would have been enough to scare anyone into acting strange. And I was used to so many people reacting to my height. Even at 6'2, I was taller than most people I associated with. Stepping to the side, I motioned for her to come in.

 

[Perplexia]

RJ blushed a little and nodded, entering into the apartment. It was so neat, and non typical for a guy. She was impressed. RJ eyes glanced around the apartment and smiled, then they caught the print. She walked straight to the sunset print. "Where did you find this?" she asked her eyes got a little glazed when she looked at it. It was a print from a photograph Luke had taken a year ago that he sold the rights to for his college tuition.

 

[downhomeguy]

I stuck my hands in my pockets, and glanced at the picture. "A friend of mine got it for me. He said it complemented that one" I said, pointing across the room. "He took that one early one morning back home when we had gone out into the woods."

I turned my attention to the sunset print, and pointed at a speck against the sky. "If you look closely, you can see the mast of a shrimp boat coming in for the day. I always say that goes to prove that no matter how long you've been out or what you've been doing, you've always got to make the last leg of the journey in the dark."

 

[Perplexia]

"It's actually a crab boat called Priscilla" she said lightly. "They were bringing in the last load for the evening." she tore her eyes away from the picture and away from his sight enough to contain herself. She walked to the kitchen and pretended to inspect it.
"Well it looks good, the ad said two bedrooms but didn't say how many baths?"

 

[downhomeguy]

I raised one eyebrow and watched her walk through the kitchen. Something wasn't right. But either way, I probably didn't have any business interfering.

"It's got two bathrooms, one for each bedroom. They're down this way if you want to look." I passed the door that led into a small laundry room/pantry, and down the hall. An identical hall with a bedroom and bath lie directly across the apartment, the side that I had unceremoniously occupied. Two doors stood beside each other, one on the right and one straight ahead.

"Knock yourself out" I said, gesturing to the doors.

 

[Perplexia]

She smiled lightly as she walked down the hall opening the doors finding a beautiful bathroom and more then enough room in the bedroom that had furniture. His choice in furniture was quite sophisticated, there were some pieces that would easily go as antiques. "did you decorate on your own?" she asked lightly adding "it's absolutely breathtaking".

"I'm definitly interested in the apartment, when should i call for your decision?"

Her puffy green eyes looked up at him as she spoke.

 

[downhomeguy]

I sighed, sticking my hands in my pockets and looking up as I tried to come up with a proper response.

"Yeah, mostly. The beds were my aunt's, then I found a matching set of dressers at this little antique store one day. Had a helluva time getting them in my truck. And the desk...well, this one is a little less luxurious as mine, but I got them at various other small stores."

That was pretty much all the decorating that had taken a lot of money, not to mention effort. The leather desk chairs he had picked up were standard Staples fare, and the dish chairs were nothing special. As for the living room, he had payed extra for the included furniture to be leather. It had cost quite a bit more, but he had always been a fan of comfort.

I pondered her second question for a few seconds. "Probably within the next few days. I'm not in a rush, but I'd hate to have to turn down anybody only to find that you don't want the room."

 

[Perplexia]

"oh" she said lightly in response to the second question. "well i definitely want the room, i can assure you that i am willing to move in today if possible. I made a rash decision about going to school. I wasn't going to go.. But I had already paid and finally convinced myself that i needed to. So i actually don't have a place to stay.. I mean i can stay at the salvation army until i find another place if you decide to find someone else thats more suited to be a roommate." She then looked at his shirt "The Pogues, did you know they were the first to start the Irish punk movement. Anyway, i guess i can call you in a couple days before i continue my search. Thanks for your time." RJ looked up at him and smiled offering him her hand.

 

[downhomeguy]

I shook her hand with a grin.

"I did. I also know that Spider was too nervous to sing, and was reduced to playing the beer tray until he could learn how to play a proper instrument."

I let go of her hand, and gave her another smile. "That's fine. And don't worry, I won't let anybody take it until I hear from you."

 

[Perplexia]

She smiled not wanting to seem to anxious, but she had kind of hoped to move in today. "That kind of funny, i think that Spider has come a long way, have you see the internet animated series he participated in called 'Brackenwood'. It's actually not half bad. It did help that James Walbourne joined in with him though." She laughed a little, "sorry i babble, its just rare to find someone that knows anything outside of the US's culture. Well i guess I'll get going to leave you at peace. It was nice meeting you.. I'm sorry i never got your name."

 

[downhomeguy]

"Sorry" I said, having forgotten all about my name. "Cooper...Cooper Jackson."

 

[Perplexia]

She smiled "well Cooper Cooper Jackson, its a pleasure, I'll call you soon to see if its still available. Just so you know in case you missed it. I want the room" she laughed again and headed for the door.

 

[downhomeguy]

"Message received" I said, laughing. I followed her to the door, and closed it behind her. Watching her cross the small walkway that connected the apartments and out into the yard, I retreated back into my room. Sitting back down, I took a heavy wad of Skoal and deposited it in my lower right lip.

Now I was in a musical mood. I pressed play on the remote to my iPod, which was in a speaker set, and it picked up with the song I had left off on..."Sickbed of Cuchulainn"...figures.