My Neighbor Bigfoot

Chapter 1: The Move

"Ben wake up, we're here!" I open my eyes and look outside our moving truck passenger window. A silver plated sign reading "452 Wonder Lane" stands right in front of me. The sign has a bright neon rainbow light behind it, illuminating a mirage of lovely colors. Above the sign is a similarly silver plate that reads "Wonder Luxury Apartments".

"Do you think you're ready for this, Ben? Your very first apartment all by yourself? What are you gonna do without Mom and Dad?! And me!"
Mario laughs as he looks up at the apartment from the windshield.

I laugh with him and nudge him. "I'll be fine, Mario. We talked about this with Mom and Dad. It would be way easier for me to live walking distance from the software development office. I'm not even that far from home. It's like a 15 minute drive."

Mario bursts out laughing. "Yeah, 15 minutes at 3 AM without Chicago traffic into the city maybe. It took us an hour and a half to get here with the accident on the expressway."

Mario's right. Distance wise I'm not that far from my family, but with the congestion of city traffic out to the suburbs, it's messy. I mind as well be an hour and a half away from them.

"I'm sure I'll be okay. Mind Heights is a hub for lots of developers like me. This area is pretty well built with new areas opening every day." I jab Mario playfully in the elbow as I start to unbuckle my seatbelt.

"You developers and your technology talk. I will never understand you." His eyes narrow playfully back at me.

We both get out of the moving truck. I feel an instant breeze hit my shoulders. They say it's the "Windy City" for a reason. I'm wearing a short sleeve polo shirt and shorts. Honestly, after spending all that time in the truck, this breeze feels amazing.

I look around and try to take in my surroundings. There's my new home in front of me. To the right, I notice a closed coffee shop. The shop's sign above reads "Noah's Coffee and Cupcakes". The shop has a beautiful and modern lounge design to it. Inside I see a wood interior with wall grass. There's cushioned chairs of rainbow colors and mismatched tables of different colors. The counter has a display of what appears to be fake pastries inside it. The menu above is digital, showing a slideshow of different categories every 10 seconds or so. I make a mental note to revisit this place when they open.

To the left of my apartment, I see a two story bookstore. A wooden sign, "Nick's Books and Eccentricities" hangs above the entrance. I walk closer to the store and peer through the shop windows. All I can make out are rows of bookshelves, comfortable lounge seating, a spiral staircase leading up the second floor, and near the back, black curtains, a lofty black sign with red letters reading "Beware Eccentricities Not for the Faint of Heart". I try to narrow my eyes to peek beyond the curtains but don't see anything.

"Ben, where did you go? We got boxes to move up! Also I need your apartment keys!" I hear Mario shout behind me. I quickly turn around and jog back to the front of my apartment. He's shrugging at me while making key turning movements with his hands.

"Okay, okay I'm sorry! Getting my keys out now." I say as I jiggle through my shorts pocket, pulling out my lanyard of keys.

"Geez Ben, how many keys do you got on that lanyard?" Mario peers down at it, noticing my collection of keychains, membership cards, and tiny knickknacks.

"It's just our house keys and my apartment! I just like to collect things." I look down at my keys and jiggle them. Maybe it is a bit much. I search through my keys and single out the gold apartment key. For some reason, the landlord put a pink, fuzzy key topper on it.

"Did they think you're a chick or something?" Mario eyes my fuzzy key as I put it into the apartment's lobby door. "What does it matter if it's pink or fuzzy? I like it!"

The door lock slides open, followed by a door bell sound. "Doo ding dong!" I pull open the door and let Mario inside. We both shuffle our way into the apartment lobby.

The lobby is dimly lit, modern, and cozy. Lots of greenery on the ceiling and walls. Bright white floor lights showcasing artwork on the walls. A beautiful fountain in the center of the lobby with lit up rainbow colors.
At the very end of the lobby is an elevated front desk. A male security guard sits at the desk, waving at us from a distance.

We take our time walking over to the guard, taking in all the apartment lobby's beautiful scenery.
"Welcome to Wonderland." The black officer gets up and smiles at us. He appears middle aged, but looks great. Muscular, scruffy beard and mustache, bald, and lit up glasses.

"Hi officer, I'm Ben. I'm the new tenant here. This is my younger brother, Mario. He's here to help me move in."

The guard smiles and nods. "Well nice to meet you both. I'm Greg. You can close the side door by the way, I can unlock the sliding doors for you."

Guard Greg looks down at his computer and starts typing away at it. A few moments later, Mario and I hear the sliding doors open behind us.

"There you go, guys. Have a great night."

Mario and I start bringing boxes from the moving truck to the lobby. We try to tackle as much furniture as we can while taking breaks in between heavier boxes.

"The lobby elevator should be big enough for everything." Guard Greg points to a large silver elevator across from him.

Slowly, Mario and I bring our furniture to the elevator. When we have enough to put inside, we push the button.

The elevator doors slide open, revealing a beautiful, modern interior. Smooth jazz starts playing from the inside as we try to push our boxes into the threshold.

"Which floor?" Mario asks as he edges himself to the side wall. I look down at my fuzzy key. "Uhhh 3, push 3."

The elevator doors close. Mario and I exhale in relief as the elevator starts moving upwards, the sound of smooth jazz saxophone filling our ears. Maybe this will turn out just fine.