Plattenbau

4. Schrödinger

The doorbell rang, waking Ed from his nap. With an annoyed grunt, he opened his tired eyes and glanced at the clock above his old television.

It was only three o'clock. 

He closed his eyes again, hoping that whoever had dared to wake him up would just leave eventually. Still the bell rang a second time and after a few minutes, even a third time. 

Ed finally stood up with a low growl, having had enough of this bullshit. He stretched until his joints popped back into place and then grumpily stomped towards his apartment door.

Right before he opened the door, the bell rang once again. Now completely infuriated, Ed grabbed the door handle and swung it  open. 

"What!?" He yelled but when he didn't immediately see the culprit, he frowned. Only when the boy finally spoke up did Ed notice the short kid standing right in front of him.

"Oh uhm...hey... I mean...  hello, mister Schneider." The boy stuttered, his eyes nervously darting back and forth between a cardboard box that was right in front of his feet and Ed's face. 

Seeing the mysterious box made Ed wonder what was in it. He at first tried to suppress his curiosity by reminding himself that it was none of his business but in the end, it got the better of him and he asked, "What's in there?"

"Uhm, nothing..." The boy  mumbled under his breath and carefully shoved the thing to the side with his foot. "Can I come in? I need your help with something." The boy then added while giving Ed puppy eyes.

"Didn't I already tell you to fuck off?" Ed questioned.

The boy slowly looked up and replied weakly, "And I said I want to be your friend."

Ed scowled. He had enough of this annoying little brat. With another 'fuck off,' he grabbed the door and was about to slam it shut only to notice the boy's hand being right there on the doorframe.

"For fucks sake! Take your goddamn hand away from there, or do you want it to be broken?!" He angrily yelled at the perplexed boy, who had seemingly not even noticed that he would have almost lost a few fingers. 

The boy followed Ed's eyes and then slowly looked from his own hand to the older man and then back to his hand again. It took him a moment to connect the dots but then he replied with a twinkle in his eyes, "No, sir." 

At first, Ed didn't understand why the boy looked at him like he had just figured out the answer to a math problem but then it dawned on him.

"You are not going to take your hand away, are you?"

The boy slowly shook his head and his smile grew even wider. 

Ed sighed in defeat. 

"You are worse than a rat." He grumbled and then just walked back to his living room, leaving the boy at the door. 

He sat down on his worn couch and waited for the kid’s next move. 

Even though he knew better, he still hoped the boy wouldn't have the courage to come in.

But when he heard the door being closed and a few minutes later footsteps approaching, the little bit of hope he had went straight out of the window. 

_________

"I like rats." Alex said once he entered the living room. He had  hoped that this would maybe break the ice but instead, the older man just ignored him.

"So um... What's your favorite animal?" He tried again to start a conversation but he was immediately shut down. 

"Listen kid, I don't have the patience to deal with whatever you are trying to do here. So just tell me with what you need help with and then fuck off." 

Alex bit his tongue. He wanted to tell the older man that he wasn't a kid but in fact, a teenager and that his name was Alex and not just 'kid'. But instead he just went straight to the point, fearing that otherwise he would piss off the grumpy bear even more. 

"Well uhm... I locked myself out and I don't have a phone to call my mom..." 

"Do you have her number?" Mr. Schneider asked, hoping that this would speed up the process but unfortunately Alex had to disappoint him. He shook his head and slowly stepped closer with the cardboard box in his hands. 

The older man eyed the container curiously but otherwise didn't say anything about it.

"This is... uhm the other problem I need help with." Alex stuttered and carefully put the box down on the coffee table in front of the couch. 

"I found her in the garbage bin when I... uhm well when I took out the garbage...anyway she was in this box and someone had taped it shut."

He grabbed into the box and to the older guy's astonishment, pulled out a small, pitch black kitten.

"My mom is allergic so I can't keep her." Alex explained while sitting down, with the kitten on his lap, next to mister Schneider. 

"So? This is not my problem." The man said while eyeing the little thing for a moment. He clearly wanted to pet the kitten but held himself back for some reason.

Seeing the man struggle like that gave Alex a little bit of hope that what he was about to suggest next would actually be successful.

"Well, I thought that maybe you could... I mean just until I find a better home for her. I can even give you money for her food and cat litter!"

_____

Ed thought about how it would be to come home and have someone there waiting for him that would be happy to see him. 

But then he reminded himself that having a pet would be a lot of work and responsibility. Those things definitely didn't work with his way of living, especially considering that he could barely even take care of himself. 

He sighed and shook his head. "No, kid. I don't want it. Just take it to a shelter or something."

Ed expected the boy to start arguing with him or maybe for once to accept his decision without making a fuss, but he didn't expect the boy to just drop the cat onto his lap. . 

Surprised, Ed looked at the boy. 

"My name is Alex, and you are a terrible liar!" The kid angrily hissed, jumped up, and stormed out of the apartment, leaving Ed alone with the fluffy, black fur ball.

"If you piss on my couch, I swear you're going straight to the shelter!" He threatened the little thing, but it only looked at him with its bright green eyes. Then it gave him a high-pitched meow and curled up in his lap. 

"Well, at least you are cute."