"Click."
Nolan opened the door to his apartment. Ever since the debt collectors took Heidi away, he'd been living in a neglected, grimy building—basically five three-story shop houses slapped together with extra walls and a prayer. Nolan ended up here because the bank had seized his house, and the rent was dirt cheap, fitting his meager budget.
As he walked in, he heard noise coming from the only room past a tiny hallway that served as a kitchen, with a bathroom door right across from it. He let out a sigh when he saw a man sprawled out on the floor right in front of the TV, playing a console game. The man, who looked about 25 with messy short hair, a bit of stubble, and still in his office shirt and glasses, glanced over.
"Oh, you're back already, Nolan?" he asked.
"Yeah. Why are you in my apartment, Donovan?" Nolan asked, dropping his bag and sitting on the edge of his mattress.
"Sorry, just crashing for a bit. My wife is throwing a fit upstairs, not in the mood to go home," Donovan answered, turning back to his game.
"Whatever," Nolan said, unplugging his smartphone from the charger and lying down on the mattress.
"Cool. Once she comes down here looking for me, then I'll head out," Donovan replied, eyes glued to the TV without looking back.
"Yeah... yeah," Nolan muttered, checking his phone screen with one arm tucked behind his head.
The room fell quiet again, the only sound being the game Donovan was playing. Nolan's apartment was just a four-by-five-meter box with nothing but the kitchen hallway and the bathroom. There was no real furniture—just a single mattress, one table, and a TV stand. Nolan scrolled through his photo gallery, looking at pictures from when he was still with his mom and dad. He looked scrawny back then, but happy, just like his parents before the divorce. He kept swiping until he saw a photo of him and Heidi, both of them looking full of life.
After swiping again, he saw a digital brochure for a coliseum tournament. The grand prize was 100,000 gallars, with a shot at the global tournament where the money was even bigger. "Ck," he clicked his tongue and swiped the screen away.
"Dammit, that ugly prick. Yesterday he said if I beat a belt holder, I'd be allowed into the tournament, but he just nodded along and told me to come back in three days for another regular match... bastard... maybe I should just slaughter that loan shark and free Heidi... but then what? I'm safe because I'm only 17 and have power, but Heidi definitely isn't, and it would just end up throwing her into the Real Arena," Nolan muttered to himself as he closed his eyes.
"Click."
"Fuuuh."
Nolan opened his eyes and looked over. He saw Donovan lighting a cigarette. He got up and walked over to him.
"Got any left?" Nolan asked.
Donovan reached into his pocket and tossed the pack to Nolan. He took one and "click," "fuuuh," he took a drag. He leaned against the coffee table behind him and watched the game Donovan was playing.
"So, how's the coliseum? You getting into the tournament?" Donovan asked.
"No clue... they're still blowing me off," Nolan answered, blowing a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling.
"Man, you're better off focusing on your school grades. Find a job that pays decent; even just being a server supervisor pays a lot," Donovan replied while playing.
"I need fast cash," Nolan shot back shortly.
The two fell silent again. It was clear Donovan didn't want to keep a conversation going that would inevitably lead to personal stuff. He went back to playing while casually puffing on his cigarette, then he pulled the smoke from his mouth.
"Oh yeah, I ran into the landlord earlier. Sounds like someone's moving into that empty room next to yours," Donovan said.
"Is that so... who is it?" Nolan asked.
"Don't know, the landlord didn't say. But apparently, they're coming from some far-off village near the Red Tower," Donovan answered, controlling his character on the TV.
"That's a long way... why even come here? They should know life here is a struggle; everything is expensive and the AI won't drop the prices," Nolan replied.
"Shh, don't talk like that. If a passing drone hears you, it'll be a whole thing, and I don't want to get dragged into it," Donovan warned.
"Yeah... yeah... I know... haaaah... maybe I should just rob a bank," Nolan muttered, leaning back against the table and staring at the ceiling with the cigarette still in his mouth.
"Don't be a moron, man. Seriously... stop talking like that. You're only 17, so you're fine, but I'm a different story. You say stuff like that around me and a drone flies by, I'm instantly a co-conspirator or some adult teaching a minor the wrong ideas. Next thing I know, I'm getting swallowed by a monster in the Arena. I still want to live and keep my job," Donovan replied, his voice casual but firm.
"Yeah... you're right. I'm shutting up now," Nolan replied, blowing out a cloud of cigarette smoke.
Suddenly, "knock... knock," the sound of someone rapping on the door echoed. Both Nolan and Donovan looked toward the door leading to the hallway.
"There's your wife, coming to get you," Nolan said.
"Seems like it. Alright, I'm out. Can I still keep the key to your place?" Donovan asked as he pushed himself up and stood.
"Keep it. Might as well guard my apartment while you're at it," Nolan answered.
"Hah... what is there to guard in here? Your mattress? Once you're famous in the coliseum, I'll frame the mattress you used to sleep on," Donovan joked, stretching his body out.
"Screw you... but okay, when I'm famous, I'll save my mattress just for you," Nolan joked back.
"Haha... deal. I'll be waiting. Here, you can have the rest of my smokes. Anyway, I'm out," Donovan replied, tossing the pack of cigarettes onto the table.
"Okay, thanks. Close the door behind you," Nolan said, now lying on his side in front of the table.
"Yeah," Donovan answered, opening the door and heading out.
Then came the sound of Donovan walking through the small hallway and opening the front door; a moment later, the door clicked shut. Nolan yawned and picked up the game controller, unpausing the game Donovan had been playing before he left.
"Thump."
A loud sound thudded against the wall behind the TV. The partitions between these apartments were so paper-thin that you could hear exactly what the neighbors were up to. Then came the faint sound of heavy footsteps and the scraping of something being dragged across the floor inside.
"Hmm... sounds like the new tenant is here," Nolan muttered while playing his game. "Coming all the way from a village near the Red Tower to this hellhole of a city... poor soul," Nolan added to himself.
Nolan reached up to the table, grabbed another cigarette, and lit it without pausing his game. "Thump... thump," the muffled sound of someone pacing back and forth echoed from next door. "Ding." A notification popped up on Nolan's smartphone. He checked the message; it was from Donovan.
"Hey, your neighbor is a total babe, probably the same age as you. I saw her just as I was heading back with my wife. Go meet her," Donovan's text read.
Nolan replied with a single word: "Annoying." Then he set the phone back on the floor right in front of him, continuing his game with the cigarette dangling from his mouth. "Thump." Once again, the faint sound of footsteps echoed, followed by a "thud" as a door shut. A moment later, "knock... knock," someone was rapping on Nolan's apartment door.
"Huh? Who's this late at night? Donovan? Why is he back already?" Nolan thought to himself as he stood up.
Nolan walked toward the door and through the small hallway. Since there was no peephole, he couldn't peek to see who it was, so he decided to just open it.
"Hi... I'm sorry if I was being noisy... I'm your new... neighbor... huh... you... Grey?"
Nolan froze. His mouth hung open like his jaw had suddenly gone weak, and his cigarette tumbled to the floor.
"You... um... what was your name again?" Nolan, alias Grey, asked.
"Nina... how could you forget? Ugh... the smell of cigarette smoke... you smoke?" the new neighbor asked. It was Nina—the girl he had just saved.
"Yeah... You're my neighbor?" Nolan asked.
"Looks like it. Nice to meet you, neighbor," Nina said, holding out her hand with a smile.