It's raining pixels

To my surprise, she let out a laugh, “They’re not really in the right state of mind to make good judgement calls, if you know what I mean. I promise they’re good people - when they’re sober.”

“Oh.” I nodded, “I see.”

“They do it a lot, I’m sorry. I’m not into it but we all need our outlets I guess. That’s just how they cope with their problems.” she explained.

“Yeah.”

“So,” she asked, “where are you... I mean, what brings you here?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just... you seem like you were pretty well off before. Why are you stuck in this dump?”

I smiled as politely as I could, “I’m sorry, Olivia. It’s sort of a fresh wound and I don’t really want to talk about it. Or even think about it.”

For a moment, her eyes flash with guilt, and something like hurt. But she covers it with a smile, “Of course, I’m sorry. We all have that. I’m here if you’re ever ready to talk about. It’s not good to hold things in.

I moved to my bed, where I could stare down the rest of the room. The sound of the door sliding open caught me off guard and forced me to jump to my feet.

“Wow, this is really nice.” said Olivia, as she carefully waded into the room, the old photos caught her eye, but she quickly looked away, refusing to address them or the fact that I had kept them around.

“Thanks.” I said.

I hadn’t really gotten the chance to look at her. Her most outstanding feature thus far was how desperately sad she looked, but suddenly she was more than that. Her eyes were doe-like and strikingly blue, not unlike the summer skies I had loved from my childhood. Her whole demeanor made it seem as though she constantly wanted to shrink back into her skin and disappear. She seemed frail and distant, but she was staggeringly beautiful.

“I know it seems kind of shitty here, but it’s really not that bad.” she said, slowly making her way towards me, taking in the room around her, “It’ll grow on you.”

“I get the impression that Amanda and Kyle aren’t too keen on me.” I confessed, sounding more blunt that I had wanted.

It took me no time at all to unpack what little things I had to call my own. The rest, I was informed upon leaving, belong to my parents. There was also some things that had been left behind by the previous tenant: some old pictures of the Bridgeport skyline, some cushions to be used as chairs, and some dingy carpets. They did give off a cool aesthetic, so I decided to keep them around. I’d have to ask Olivia about their last roommate, from the few things they left here, they seemed interesting.

I collapsed onto one of the old futon cushions, resting my face in my hand. I spun around to face the window, which gave me a view of the cold ocean and some cranes from an nearby construction site. Not exactly the sparkling skyline I’d always dreamed of, but it’s come to my attention that dreams don’t really come true unless you’re one of the lucky ones.

Never in my life had I seen a group of people looking so miserable. The blinds were closer, some low music with a heavy beat hummed in my ears. Something about the room seemed foggy, as if stranded in some kind of permanent haze.

Maybe I have the wrong place... I thought. Please, let this be the wrong place.

“Um...” my voice nearly cracked from anxiety, “Hi, I’m Hiruni. I’m your new roommate.”

The boy and the girl in the plaid hastily looked my way, then returned to staring down the grungy rug that for some reason or another required their full attention. The girl with the pink hair slowly got up and walked towards me with a certain elegance in her step. She looked very, very sad. 

“I’m Olivia.” she said, mustering a convincing smile. “That’s Kyle and Amanda. I’ll show you to your room.” we walked a few feet before she stopped and turned to me “It’s nice to see a fresh face here. It’s not as bad as it looks, I promise.” 

With a few more steps we had reached a sliding glass door that led into a large enough room. “This is yours.” said Olivia, slipping back into the living room, “I’ll let you unpack, I’ll come and check up on you later.” then she disappeared. 

She came back mere seconds later with a bright smile, “It’s nice to meet you Hiruni.” and then vanished yet again. 

I spent all day building a grungy-ish apartment for a story I’m working on

난 몰라요

I’m thinking of doing a story with these three

We could be immortals

Gettin' fit

Just your average afternoon