After dragging the second to last box out of the truck and then carrying it to the stairs and into my new home, I was almost finished moving. As I walked down the stairs, I stopped to take a look at the entire apartment. The place was mediocre; hardly anything to get excited about. Yet still, my body was shaking with joy. This newfound sense of independence was almost too much for my brain to handle.
"Nothing like the feeling of being my own person. Finally. I already know how I'm gonna decorate this place! It'll be perfect. Yes... yes! I'll make it so -"
"Hey miss! Are you gonna get this one too or what?"
My daydreaming and senseless mutters to myself were abruptly interrupted by one of the workers who were supposed to be moving my things. However, before they were able to start their job, I told them to relax and chill out and that they just needed to move a few pieces of furniture, then I'd get everything else. Getting my own place had me on this crazy ass power trip for months and gave me this feeling that I could do everything on my own.
"Ah! Right! Yes, yes! Dont mind me, I was just uhhh.. You know! Watching-"
"Okay, kid, that's great. Now could you come get this please? Thank you."
The man cut me off. He clearly seemed to be in a rush, and I don't blame him. It was getting late. He just wanted to get the job over with, and if he hadn't cut me off when he did, I'd probably be babbling on and on and talking more than necessary. I began to walk back to the truck with increased pace, then another one of the workers, who seemed to be about my age, walked up to me. He had a tall frame, and his face was almost...familiar.
"You sure you wanna carry this last one? It's pretty heavy and not to be insulting, but uhhh, you don't exactly look like you could lift this one. "
I couldn't tell if he was trying to be condescending or if he was just concerned, but either way, I was determined to do this on my own.
"I have no time for your sexist assumptions. I don't need your help." I said coldly as I walked past him and to the back of the truck. He followed behind with equal pace.
"What the- Sexist?! Girl, I'm just tryna -"
"My name is Mallory, not "girl"."
He chuckled a bit, and I could feel the mockery in his tone.
"Hahaha! Alright Mallory, I'm just trying to make sure you don't get a damn hernia tryna lift this heavy ass box, but if you wanna be rude about it, go on and lift it yourself."
I laughed at his response, asking with a grin on my face.
"Is this how you usually talk to your customers?"
He scoffed and folded his arms
"You're lucky I need this job. Otherwise, I'd already-"
"That's enough. You can get back to the front now. Unless she does end up needing help."
The worker from before who seemed to be his senior stepped in before things could escalate, and thank God for that. I looked over at the boy as he walked away with a defeated look on his face and felt kinda bad. "Was I a bit too rude? Eh, doesn't matter. I'm never gonna see these people again so what's the point in apologizing now?" I thought to myself as I wrapped my arms around the large box and started to lift. It didn't budge... Okay! No! There's no way after talking all that shit you're gonna not lift the box? Absolutely not! I paused for a moment, thinking about how I should go about things. The kind man from before looked at me with concern before asking.
"Do you want me to-"
"No. I mean um.. No thanks.."
I concentrated, and then finally, I got it up into my arms. Then, I slowly began to carry it back to the staircase.
"You good, Mallory? You look like you're straining yourself a bit!! Haha!" The younger one joked before getting scolded by his senior once again. I ignored him and focused on getting the box to my doorstep.
After a solid 2 minutes, I got it there and placed it gently on the ground in front of my door before pushing it into the living room. As the truck drove off I thought to myself, "I can finally say it; I've finished moving into my new home." I walked over to the mattress for my bed that was placed so conveniently close and collapsed onto it. I laid there face down for at least an hour, trying to find the strength to get up. My back and legs felt so sore, and my arms hurt like hell. I definitely strained something. "That asshole was right..." I mumbled to myself.
"Right about what exactly?"
I jolted up upon hearing a voice. How did I not hear her enter?
"You left the door open. For my safety, please don't make that a habit of yours..."
Oh, of course. I was so tired, I forgot to close the door. Never mind that though. That's not important right now. I got off of the mattress and tried to put on a smile.
"Ah, yes yes, I'm sorry about that..... I guess you're my roommate?.. "
She stared at me with a blank expression before talking again.
"Yup, wouldn't be very ideal for me to be here if I wasn't.."
This is perfect. Judging from how little she says and how she dresses, she's clearly just as introverted as me. This means no unnecessary small talk, just peace and quiet. Interactions might be a bit awkward but that's fine!
"Right right, I'm Mallory."
"I know, we exchanged names already."
Fuck! I introduced myself again, hoping she'd just repeat her name because I forgot but I guess she doesn't care about confrontation.
"Oh right, we did..."
I tried to search every corner of my brain to remember her name.
"You forgot my name didn't you?"
Oh come on! Don't rub it in more!
"Uhhhhh, Haily?...."
She sighed a bit before speaking.
"Heather. That's my name."
"Ohhh, Heather! Like the musical!"
I tried to change the topic, and to my surprise, she smiled slightly.
"Yes, exactly like the musical."
A wave of relief washed over me. Maybe we'll get along well! She turned her back and began to push some of my boxes out of the way before opening her mouth to talk again.
"You should take a shower."
I'm sorry? That was a bit blunt and uncalled for. Did I really stink that bad?
"Huh? Why...do you say that?"
"Because I want to shower, but you seem like you need it sooner than me."
Jesus christ...does she need to be such a bitch? Is it intentional? Probably not but jeez.
"Right.... I mean I was planning to anyway."
I quickly walked to my room with my head hanging in embarrassment. I knew she wasn't trying to be rude on purpose, but it sure felt like it. Once I got to my room, I debated for a bit if I should just start unpacking right then and there or take a shower then go to sleep. I looked at the time on my phone.
"It's only 5:34pm... but you know what? I'm exhausted and I deserve some extra rest today."
I got my things then headed to the bathroom. After a long refreshing shower, I put on some clothes and headed back to the living room where I found Heather, sitting on the couch, reading. She had neatly packed my boxes into a corner in the room, and moved my mattress and broken down bed frame.
"You moved my things?"
She nodded in response, not taking her eyes off of her book. I didn't know if I should thank her for that or not, but as I was thinking about that, I recognized what she was reading; Demon slayer.
"Oh, you like manga?"
She looked up upon the mention of manga
"Yes, quite a lot."
Perfect! This is perfect! We have something in common! I mean I already assumed that she was into anime and manga and all that weird stuff, but you can't exactly go up to someone and be like "You look like you watch anime!" That statement can't exactly be taken positively in this context. It would either be racist or insulting to her looks.
"You are staring. Do you want something?"
She said with a blank tone, her eyes back in her book.
"Uh no but um, who's your favorite character?"
I asked, hoping to start a conversation that could get us closer some how.
"Hmm, probably Shinobu."
"Ah! Shinobu yes! She's my favorite too!" That was a lie. She's a close fourth, but for the sake of this conversation she's first.
"Ah, she is? I love her so much. Her character really resonates with me."
I walked closer to her to peer into the book
"Oh? Why is that? Do you have some unknown trauma bottled up that you try to hide all the time?"
She paused once I said that before flipping a page.
"...She's purple. That's why."
Shit, I just made things even worse. I tried to be deep and get a better understanding of her, but it didn't work. I sighed, feeling defeated and upset that my attempt fell flat.
"But... You're assumption... it was good too." Heather said, as if she was trying to console me. I felt a little better, but I still decided to walk away from the situation. I awkwardly nodded my head before speaking.
"Ah, yeah.. I think I'm gonna go to sleep now..."
She looked up at me before looking to the corner where she placed the parts of my bed.
"Now? Well, unless you're planning to build up your bed now, you should sleep on the couch here." She suggested before getting up and walking away, with her book still open in her hands.
I watched her walk to her room before I turned around and plopped down onto the couch. This was a severe change from my life a month ago. Living in such a confined space with an acquaintance who agreed to split the finances with me. I've always dreamed of something like this. Getting out of my suffocating prison of a house and entering the real world. Even sleeping on a couch is comfortable compared to my life before. "This couch isn't too bad actually.. This is... pretty nice. Yeah! This is really nice! Hell yeah!" I rambled to myself, my excitement making me toss and turn in the couch. My thoughts were running crazy until I eventually succumbed to my exhaustion.