Chapter two: Death of a Unicorn
Ann flipped through the first module of History of Media. She couldn't wait for the classes to begin and also for the meds to get rid of the last pathogen in her. It was the fifth day and finally, she was feeling better.
She looked around her room searching for a notebook to make notes when she realised she would have to hunt for the treasure in the sea of utter mess in the dim lit room with faded green walls, red curtains drawn in leaving behind an eerie shadow of red, a small wardrobe enough for her insignificant collection of band tees, jeans, merchandise and her unicorn plushy.
She was engrossed in a fierce battle between leaving cleaning for tomorrow or to do it today before she got busy with her classes and workshops when she heard dishes being smashed.
Not to confused with being a miser, but buying dishes for the household did cost some fortune to Ann, so it was natural she leapt out of her bed (in spite of having a study table, there was no room for a chair) and rushed to the scene where she saw shattered dishes, batteries and a broken TV remote adorning the wooden floor with two ladies screaming in an uncensored language which Ann's brain had to filter before registering.
"Stop it! Please, those dishes you just broke away, was from my money..." Ann's voice got drowned in the full-fledged battle of words between her two flatmates, Becky and Jac.
"I CANNOT AND WILL NOT SHARE A ROOM WITH YOU!" announced the owner of brown, frizzed hair; Becky Cooper.
"YOU ANN, WILL SHARE THE ROOM WITH ME. LET THIS MORON ROT IN THAT SPACE TOO SMALL TO BE CALLED A ROOM." Jac shouted in a bit loudly.
"SURE, AT LEAST THERE I CANNOT SEE THE LIKES OF YOU," Becky replied in a higher pitch.
Ann decided to physically intervene before her ears bleed and she loses her private space. She jumped towards the quarrelling couple, playing dodge with the shattered dishes on the floor and pulled apart the two cats whose paws were only inches apart from each other's neck.
"What happened? Let's communicate in a more humane manner. Sit on the couch and beware of the... never mind." Ann practically had to drag those two to the couch like a suitcase and force them to sit on a couch.
"Rationally, tell me one by one what happened. Since B comes before J, we will start with Becky" Ann said slowly as one would reply to a toddler.
"She finished my two months worth ramen stalk in less than a month." Becky glared at Jac. Those instant ramens were for midnights which she would spend religiously studying like a good medical student.
"She talks about ramen, they anyway would have gone bad in less than two months. I couldn't deal with her horrible food; she wastes so many resources and food. I decided she would pay for my food. That is nothing Ann, she used up my make up kit and broke my favourite chapstick." Jac defended.
"MY HORRIBLE FOOD! At least, I asked before borrowing. You indecent, little wretch didn't even ask." Beck said fiercely.
"Look, it's okay. Jac pays up for the ramen, Becky you pay up for the chapstick and both if you PAY UP FOR THE DISHES! Problem solved." Ann decided upon the easiest solution. But the war wasn't going to end soon.
Becky couldn't believe how peaceful Ann seemed. This was not about money; it was about ownership and privacy. She pushed aside Ann who was already weak due to flu and rushed into the kitchen. She was scouting for something and was evidently fuming in rage.
"I am so BLOODY GONNA KILL YOU!" Becky charged towards Jac with a knife, momentarily stunned, both Ann and Jac simply stared at Becky who was seething with pure rage. Jac was the first one to come back to her senses since she was visibly unarmed in the battle which had gotten a lot serious and today somebody was going to die. She rushed into Ann's room so that she could close the door and buy herself some time.
Ann was still standing shell-shocked, seeing her potentially psychopath flatmate who had changed direction and was rushing towards her room. But seeing the knife in her hand jarred her out of her temporary paralysis. She had to do something, she couldn't get involved in a murder even before her real life started.
She ran towards Becky, Becky towards Jac, Jac looking for something to defend herself when she picked up a white unicorn soft toy from the floor with a purple horn.
It so happened that Becky's ankle twisted and she flew straight for Jac who screamed, even before being hit, Ann could not control her running pace and they all slammed into each other. They didn't only see stars but various multiverses.
Jac wished she could bump into a human wall of testosterone and not into busty college teens. She realised her defence system: the unicorn was not in her hands anymore. But it was too late, she was going to die today because of some idiotic food.
Ann struggled to get up but got some support from the table. Becky seemed to have developed a concussion from the bed but well she was alive with functioning body parts. While Jac didn't bother to get up from the pile of bras which had cushioned her fall.
"You gotta be kidding, you were about to kill me, Becky..." Before Jac could further continue, Becky stabbed her where her heart was supposed to be. For a moment her breath stopped and she closed her eyes waiting for pain that never came to her. When her eyelids opened, it was met with a pearly smile of Ms. Cooper, whose teeth were shining like pearls against her rich cocoa skin.
"Idiot, this is a fake knife I mixed among the real ones, bought it since it would have been funny seeing Ann try to chop onions with it. I never wanted to kill plus I am ready to pay for that broken chapsticks if you promise to replenish my ramen sta..."
"CLEMENTINE!" All of a sudden Ann shouted and raced across the previous battle zone of shattered ceramic and glass pieces towards the white unicorn plushy which had apparently flown out of the Jac's hand.
She picked up the plushy gently ignoring the cut she got at the back of her hand and cradled it in her arm, a tear trickled down her cheek when she saw a huge cut dissecting the unicorns belly.
"Somebody help, Clementine is going to die... plea...se." She wailed for the wounded unicorn. Jac and Becky came towards the bloody scene where they looked at the wounded Clementine and started laughing like hyperventilating hyenas.
"I can..cannot believe, you named a plushy Clemenpoop." Becky howled and water of laughter rolled down from her eyes unlike the tears of sadness which had crowned Ann's eyes.
"DON'T LAUGH, this is serious. I and Clem have been friends for over fifteen years now. DO you know how difficult it is to get a toy from claw machine! DO YOU? MY POOR BABY, QUICK GET ME FIRST AID BEFORE THINGS GET WORSE. Looks like I would have to perform an operation." Ann said. She couldn't believe the insensitivity of those to bitchy beings in whose fight an innocent unicorn was wounded.
"Umm, I am pretty sure band-aids won't help," Jac replied a bit confused.
"Get me a thread and a needle, you Moron!" Ann said through clenched teeth.
"We don't have one." Becky reminded.
"Why? It is very important." Ann demanded an answer.
"Since we never had the use for it we don't have it, you will call a plumber when you need her and not in advance," Becky replied.
"I thought plumbers were generally male," Jac mumbled.
"Feminism, ours is going to be a girl. Okay!" Becky said.
"What a ridiculous analogy did you give, thread and needle are like a first aid, you keep it in advance. Never mind, I am leaving for the store in an hour. When I am gone, nobody is going to enter in my room and nobody is swapping rooms, I am still not completely well so I will be stopping by the doctor as well and don't even suggest to come along. Today was enough excitement for me. And please throw away that knife Becky, toy or not, it looks too real." Ann said.
"C'mon! I bought it from my father's money, not yours. And don't boss us around." Becky huffed.
"Can I suggest something? It's going to be almost a month a now since we moved in. Classes begin from tomorrow. Why don't we take time today to lay down all the policies, do's and don'ts? So we could have our own privacy." Jac said. She had been thinking about it for a while. They definitely need some house laws.
"And then if anybody breaks these rules, will have to pay the fine which will go into the fund for the flat. We can then use it for repairing and all that." Ann added.
"Then let's get started. Let me get my whiteboard!"
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Hello! Everlanders,
So this is another chapters. As said, any and all suggestions are welcomed so do comment. You never know when we can become friends. Since I am no professional so I have a lot of time and can reply back.
Hope you liked the chapter, I have a lot more planned although you might have a vague idea of what is going to happen in the next chapter.