"Welcome to our little kingdom!" Hinata greeted me at the door with a laugh. I immediately felt like I was in good hands when I placed my shoes neatly in the hallway.
"My roommate is also at home; she's looking forward to meeting you!" she told me, and I followed her curiously as she led me into the living room. I expected anything, but not something like this... how best to put it?
...Luxury?
It was not a normal shared apartment; it was too good for that. I would guess that they had good connections that had brought to this location.
Hinata offered me tea, which I gratefully accepted before we collapsed onto the comfortable couch. We quietly sipped our hot drink, and I enjoyed the peace that surrounded me.
It was very rare for me to get that feeling.
A door opened somewhere, and footsteps came our way before another young woman entered the room. My fingertips briefly tingled again; my brain was rattling at full speed.
"Hi, Rizuna-chan!" Hinata immediately offered her a cup of tea and the woman sat down next to us. She also smiled kindly at me.
"Hello, I'm Ann Rizuna," she introduced herself, "You must probably be Hayashi Ayuna." I nodded politely.
"Nice to meet you," I replied, and she leaned back relaxed.
"So? Do you like the first impression?" she asked me, and I nodded immediately. She laughed quietly and Hinata placed her cup on the table.
"Shoot it, what do you want to ask?" she wanted to know from me, and I frowned. Was my face that easy to read?
"Mmh, how did you get such a new and big apartment?" I asked quietly and Ann smiled while Hinata giggled.
"Ahahaha, I should have known that!" she caught herself relatively quickly, "My uncle secured this place for us." Yep, so I was right.
We struck up a brief conversation before they showed me around a bit more.
I have to say that I liked this place even more now.
The apartment had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was a large kitchen, a large living room and a storage room. The walls were painted light and therefore gave a welcoming impression.
So, my decision was clear.
"What do you think? Can we see you as a potential new roommate?" Ann asked me at the end of the tour, and I grinned slightly.
"If you can bear me, then gladly," I replied.
It was clear that I had found a new place for myself in the promised twenty-one days.
What should I say? I was overjoyed.
"When could I move in? I don't want to push, but I can't stand being at home for long," I said, and we burst out laughing.
No matter what happened, I knew I had found new allies in both.
------------------------------------------------------
The moving was a comedy show.
My parents protested loudly as I, along with Kuina and Hinata, dragged my things out and into a rented van.
They didn't like that everything happened so quickly.
I was secretly happy that it had worked, even if only abruptly. The day before yesterday I had been visiting the apartment, today, the following weekend, I moved in. It was a bit more freedom that I had earned within a few days.
Once again, I had freed myself from their clutches for the time being, even if it was only for an indefinite period.
But it was a small step, that was the main thing.
"Was that all, Ayuna?" Kuina called to me from my former room, and I nodded to her as I passed by, dragging the last box out. The furniture was still in the room as I wasn't taking it with me. Instead, there were new, freshly purchased furnishings from Ikea in the van. Ann and I pre-ordered them online yesterday so we could pick them up today.
Unfortunately, the forensic scientist (my eyes were wide when I found out about her job) couldn't help today because she had to work. But I got help from my other new friends.
Relieved, we closed the trunk doors.
"I'm driving," I announced as we spread out into the seats.
"AYUNA!" Father tried to stop us one last time. I turned to him and stared conscientiously into his eyes. The first thing he did was avoid my eyes.
"I told you," I said again, "Stop meddling in my life. Go on like you did when I was little." Then I got in and started the engine.
Oh damn, it felt good!
I pulled away and noticed Hinata and Kuina looking at me curiously. "What?" I asked as we came to a stop in front of a traffic light. They grinned at the same time, and I wondered if I had done something wrong. Shrugging, I decided to just leave it at that. They'd tell me at some point anyway, right?
The journey didn't take long.
I carefully parked the van in a designated parking space, and we began carrying everything back inside. It wasn't long before my arms started to burn.
I was glad that tomorrow was Sunday!
"Where do the boxes have to go?" Kuina wanted to know, standing in the apartment a little perplexed. I showed her the way. In fact, I chose the empty room at the end of the hallway that had two windows. Although it faced the street, it was larger than the other one.
And I found it somehow calming to hear the hum of cars.
We piled up the boxes, the furniture packages, and suitcases until we finally dragged everything in.
That could be fun, I still had to assemble all my cupboards...
"Your face speaks volumes, girl," Kuina laughed just as she noticed the look I was giving the boxes. Hinata also grinned before stealing the key to the van. "I'll drive the van back," she said. I was pretty sure she enjoyed driving big cars. Even if the van wasn't exactly a showcase model...
"Okay, do it! The money for the rental fee is in my jacket pocket in the hallway!" I called after her as she disappeared. Then I looked at my other friend. She smiled as she pulled up the sleeves of her sweater.
"Then let's get going, shall we?" she grabbed a cutter knife to cut open the boxes, "Look and be amazed, Bob the Builder gets to work!"
Well, assembling the furniture was fun, I could tell you that...
I should remember that I prefer to assemble furniture with Ann in the future...!
DU LIEST GERADE
The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]
FanfictionWhen she looked in the mirror, the contempt for her existence was clear in her eyes. Every line on her face reminded her of the image that had stolen everything from her. The weight of her own insignificance pressed down on her - it was a plaguing r...