Chp 2
After a long ride, which was half pleasant half unpleasant. I got off on Penn Station and called a taxi to my apartment that was near along Broadway. I called my roommate to stand in front of the apartment to meet me.
I haven’t met her yet but she was a sophomore at NYU and she could help show me a lot of New York. As the taxi got to the address, I saw a short skinny Indian girl flagging the taxi quite comically. I paid the fare and the girl helped take the luggage out the trunk. We both lugged it up the stairs and into the elevator towards our apartment.
“My name is,” She stopped me and said, “Wait, let’s introduce ourselves in the apartment.”
That was quite sudden, but I respected whatever space she wanted. We turned the corner and she took out a key and opened the door, number 203, I remembered mentally.
When we got in, I smelled comfortable light incense. There wasn’t too much furniture because of the limited space except for a stylish futon, a small TV in front of it, velvet curtains, a small table for eating, and a bookcase stacked with encyclopedias and Indian romance novels.
She finally put the suitcase down and smiled at me, “Okay, now we can introduce ourselves. My name is Annie Patel.”
“I’m Bobbi Fletcher.” I said.
“Ooh, Bobbi. I like that name.” She said fascinated.
She seemed really cool. Her long black hair was tied in a sleek ponytail, caramel skin, and she had that vintage style going on. Since I am about 5’ 9’, she was a head shorter than me, which made me feel awkward looking down.
“Your UPS boxes arrived just yesterday, and I already stacked them in your room. Just bring your suitcases in, make yourself comfortable, and if your up to it, we can take a little tour around this area and eat at my favorite diner. How does that sound?” She said.
I could already tell she's sociable. “Sounds good.”
She helped me lug the suitcases in the only other room. It was small, but perfect. There was already a twin sized bed, a bedside table and lamp, and a decent closet.
“Alright, I’m gonna go to my room and finish up some stuff. Make yourself at home, and in about an hour we’ll head out.”
I nodded and as she walked out I closed the door and inhaled. This was what freedom smelled like… new paint and dust.
I spent the entire hour organizing my clothes, knick knacks, and personal items so I could make the room as close to my old room as possible. I am pretty bland and boring. So there wasn’t much to decorate. Just a faded light blue sheets and pillow cases and basically picture frames of my family and friends.
“Knock knock,” Annie said in a singsong voice.
“I’ll be out in a second.” I called back.
I opened the door and she looked around the room,
“Wow, it’s so clean! My room is a mess compared to how orderly this is.” Yup, that’s me. Orderly and organized Barbara.
As we walked down the block to her favorite restaurant, I realized New York was almost mystical at night. Even in the night-life, people buzzed around. You can still see the steam rushing from the sewer lids, and the smell of New York is there with you…always.
We walked though the door with a familiar door chime. The restaurant was called “The Moonwalk.” A very retro feel, with red chairs, checkered linoleum flooring, and chrome counter tops and tables.
“The fries here are amazing.” Annie said with a sigh. Plopping down where she probably always sat.
A cute waiter with spiky brown hair and light brown eyes walked up to us with a grin.
“Annie! You’re back! And I see you brought a new friend.” He said eyeing me.
“Hi, “I began, trying not to blush. “I’m Annie’s new room mate Bobbi”
“Then I hope to be seeing you around here more. My name’s Daniel.” He winked and took our orders.
When he walked away Annie burst into a laughing fit. “First day in New York and you’re already flirting with a college guy.”
I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my coke. That familiar door chime sounded and I reflexively looked up. A strange man in a coat and his daughter came in, I couldn’t help but feel his eyes sweep over me.
Annie broke the silence, “So, what do you plan on majoring Bobbi?”
I stirred my coke with the neon colored straw and answered, “Well, I was hoping to become a biologist, maybe specializing in DNA forensics. It would be cool to be part of solving a crime.”
She scoffed, “Wow, aren’t you a smartie? Coming from a pretty girl like you I thought you wanted to become an actress someday.”
I blushed, "Well my dad is a police chief."
Just on time, the waitress gave us our food and suddenly my stomach began growling. As I was about to take a bite out of my big veggie burger, I saw across from where I sat, the man in the coat stare at me. He quickly looked down at his menu.
“This place has been here for a long time. They just remodeled it though a year ago.” Annie said through a mouth full of meat.
I shuddered at the thought of that innocent cow inside her mouth. I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time, and that’s why I was deathly thin. I simply nodded and ate my meal, keeping my eye on the strange man who couldn’t stop glancing at me.
“Who are you staring at?” Annie asked, who was facing the opposite direction.
I looked at her numbly and murmured, “Nothing.”
A sly grin spread across her face, “Let me guess. A cute guy?”
I shook my head, “Of course not. It’s just that there’s a weird man in a coat that keeps looking at me.”
She expertly used the back of her phone to look behind her. She pursed her lips, “Hmm, I was hoping for a cute guy.”
After our meal I felt relieved to step out of the diner. The man, made everything awkward and when we finally stepped back into the apartment I breathed a sigh of relief. What a day.
