EP 03: The Stubborn One Wins
1794 Words
It was terrifying.
My response of "I'll think about it" that night was flipping terrifying. But I guess it's better than stuttering an "Okay."
After Caly left, I didn't think about it, obviously. My resolve was absolute the moment she even tried thinking about it - I won't.
I only replied that way because I was cornered. I wasn't seduced or anything, the girl was just even more scary up-close. I swear.
"You mean you've changed your mind?"
"..."
So why did I end up actually thinking about it? Let me replay the events that transpired starting from a few days ago.
"Morning. Isn't it about time I get your answer now?"
I rolled over on the bed and used the pillow to block the sound of her voice. The hole in the wall was fixed yesterday, but unbeknownst to me, this smarty-pants has found another way to beat the living daylights out of me.
"Hey, I know you're awake. Come open the door and give me your sweet yes."
Lifting the duvet from my body, I used it all to cover my head, hoping the noise she's making would drown in these waves of thick sheet of cotton batting, but to no avail.
Her voice and the sound of the continuous ringing of the doorbell just keep echoing in the four corners of my room.
"Levi~ You bastard~"
"Urgh!" I groaned as I lifted my body from the comfort. I'm aware that my face is probably like that of a serial killer driven by bloodlust as I stared at the soft and cozy pillow I left, regrettably so.
I turned to where her voice kept coming from. The bluetooth, or whatever. The point is she's connected to the television.
God, this girl is insufferable. The amount of patience I originally had for people is thin enough, and she keeps reducing it into a strand of hair.
Initial plans of not using my credit card leave me as I crawl my hands over the nightstand table.
I'm not holding it well, you see.
"Open the damn door now, seriously-"
The sound of cracking glass probably reached outside as she also stopped ringing the doorbell.
Peace takes over the room. The faint sound of the air conditioner being the only one making noise. However, the inner peace of mine was cut short due to the sudden realization of what I just did.
Looking at the broken screen of the television across me, I can only massage the bridge of my nose after a sigh.
"For the love of god," I muttered.
Right after that, as if my day had become a series of unfortunate events, I heard a starting sound of a machine. Specifically, a chainsaw. All the alarms went off inside my head as I turned to the door with bulging eyes.
"What the hell!" I yelled and sprinted out of the room towards the door.
As I fumble undoing the locks, I hear her screaming. "Are you alright? Don't worry, I'll save you!"
"You're crazy!" is what I said the moment the door opened. It reveals to me a chuckling Caly in the same black suit, holding a bluetooth speaker playing the sound of a chainsaw that deeply poked my bones.
"Good morning. Pfft. Your face..."
I feel a storm brewing over me as I watch her look to the side and cover her mouth to stifle her giggles.
"Heh," I smirked, and before she could whip her gaze to me, my fist had already met her cheek. I think she deserved it. I have no regrets.
Or so I thought.
"It'll take about four weeks for a full recovery."
I only punched her on the cheek, but for some reason, I was to blame for injuring her wrist.
"You hear that, dude?" she says while waving her bandaged hand. "One month. And the play is in a month and three weeks."
I admit, she's kind of talented at playing with my mind. She probably had a whiff of my guilt, and now she's trying to put it to max to get me to say, "Alright, I'll help you get the lead role."
Tch. This pig.
After what she'd made me do?
"No," I uttered, breaking the silence that took over shortly. I watched her face scrunch in distaste then continued, "My answer is no."
"Why are you- Don't you have a heart?!" she yelled in frustration.
"Are you forgetting what else is there?!" I retorted, and she pressed her lips into a thin line.
The owner of the hotel personally told us we're banned from stepping foot in their establishment again after causing a commotion. What Caly caused was panic not just on our floor, but on the lower floors as well. Stories spread as fast as viruses with mutations as people added and subtracted ideas. It was a serial killer; It was a chainsaw woman; It was a terrorist - were the words passed down from our floor. In addition to that, I wrecked the screen of the television in the room I was in.
The stay at the hotel was expensive enough. So, with the replacement of the broken television, the disturbance charge, and this pig's medical treatment included, I'll have to put to use my credit card now to afford a decent place.
But I don't want to.
"I don't have enough cash to check in a hotel now, pig witch," I muttered without thinking.
"Give me a break. You got a credit card on you. Why don't you use it?"
I pressed the tip of my tongue inside my cheek. "Not a chance."
There was a brief silence before she spoke up again.
"Then, want to stay at mine?"
My ears perked up at that. I looked at her in disgust, asking, "What?"
"My place, perv."
More than anything, I know it's a bad idea.
We're like oil and water - we just don't get along. With our clashing personalities, ceasefire sounds like getting blood out of stone. Nevertheless, I still didn't want to risk using the credit card my father gave me, so I accepted the offer.
After she treated me to fast-food, we went to her apartment. Her place is not that bad. It was actually roomy enough for two people. Her furniture looks far from cheap, either. The only problem is that she doesn't have a bed.
"I don't like it. I like futons more. Like those in animes," is what she said.
She's really weird.
"Lend me some money for now. I really need a bed," I ordered while I plopped on her sofa. "I'm going to sleep for a bit."
"Hello? Are you stupid? I'm injured right now. Look at my swollen cheek, too!"
"So? It's not like you're going to lift the bed yourself. And did you just call me stupid, you pig?"
This is what I was talking about.
Long, verbal warfare later, we ended up not buying. I stayed on the sofa, which I think is soft enough, and her, on the futon, in her room. Just like that, the night passed by. The next morning, I slept some more, basking in the comfortable temperature of the room, snuggling on the soft sheets of cotton - is what I'd like to say.
But I'm currently in the same space as Caly.
"Hey, broke kid. You're hungry, aren't you? You cook. I can't with my broken arms," she blabbers as she lightly kicks my hip.
I only glared at her as she continued to do so.
"What broken arms?" I repeated in disbelief, still on my back. "And can't you do it with your other hand?"
"You can do it with both your hands, so why don't you?"
"You really are a pig, aren't you?"
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we spent the following days. And to conclude the recent scene, I became the cook. It was a good idea of her to be on watch as I manned her kitchen because I might not be able to control the evil forces inside of me.
"It's salty."
"It's too bland!"
"You put what?!"
I slapped the table, making her flinch.
She glowers later as I firmly told her, "You. Just. Eat." I know it tastes like s**t, but I'm trying to look at the silver lining here.
"There's the internet, you know. You're not a Martian, aren't you?"
"Piss off."
Caly decided to take a few days' break from going to the theater as her wrist still aches, so for the next three days, we're stuck in her place.
Luckily, she doesn't go out of her room unless it's time for me to cook. When she sits by the sofa, I go to her balcony to smoke while I try to come up with new story ideas. A lot of times I think of scenarios, I hear her singing and reciting the lead's lines for the audition. I also always catch her standing by the mirror in the living area, practicing her expressions.
These were tolerable for a few days, until she wouldn't stop singing and kept the lights open in the living room to practice till dawn.
"Go to bed!" I yelled and turned the lights off. "The neighboring units must hate you to death!"
She stomped towards me and put the light back on. "Joke's on you! I've got no neighbors," she returns, then sticks her tongue out as provocation.
"It's an order!"
"I'm not a slave~"
My mood was definitely like that of a bear with a sore head as I brushed my hair back with my hands, then pressed the other side of the switch once again.
Desperate for sleep, I wasn't thinking when I announced in the dark, "If you sleep now, I'll help you get the lead."
Oh, Levi. You keep digging your own grave.
Silence.
She seemed to freeze for a moment, before she turned the light on again. I'm met with hopeful, brown orbs. "Really? You mean you've changed your mind?"
"..."
What the heck did I just say?
"Oi," she calls when I remained silent, pulling a small lock of my hair that fell on my cheek. "You mean that, right?"
"It's..." Ah, whatever. Let's just get this over with. I have nothing to lose. "It's not guaranteed you'll get the role you want, but I'll do it."
A genuine smile took over her face. "Hey, if you're going to do it, don't do it half-assed."
I can only heave a sigh as I turn the light off for the last time. "Right. Now sleep."
Really though, I had nothing to lose.
But I didn't know agreeing to this one would make me gain someone that I could lose.
- Writer
