Accept Me

Chapter Nine

KIMI

Losing my apartment and my teaching job at the same job was such shit. And all over a few inaccurate news reports.

The med school will be keeping me on because I'm a person of great intellectual value, but I can't be faculty because of how I might influence the kids. You know, to go out and become high priced hookers. In fairness I totally planned to tell them to do exactly that and then give them detailed directions on how best to whore themselves.

The world is crazy.

I get it, though, I wish I didn't but I do. They have an image to uphold and it can't include a notorious foreigner negatively influencing the next generation of upstanding citizens. The dean of the history department was very apologetic and they give me six months severance which is beyond generous and lets me not totally freak out. They do not, alas, give me back the housing money the landlady returned to them in part and, in fact, take the portion she didn't return from the severance check.

The landlady put everything I own, which is not much at all, in storage yesterday while I was at work before calling to tell me not to come back but I can get a new place. It's fine. I'm feeling slightly scared that I'm recognizable enough now that no one in a decent area will rent to me.

I'm disappointed to find I'm partially right but, multiples insults and hours later, I find an even smaller - I honestly didn't think that'd be possible - studio apartment located in a nice, but older, house. I don't think too hard about how the bed is ten feet from the kitchen stove. There's a little countertop with two stools for eating at, a big comfy couch and matching oversized chair. There's no TV but I can buy one or just use my laptop to watch TV other than that there's everything I need.

Weirdly I actually like this little one-room space better than the last place I was at. The landlady doesn't pretend she doesn't recognize me but she also doesn't ask me questions, she just takes my key money and hands over everything, leaving me to move myself in.

I take a chance at getting in further trouble with my parents and text Arthur, knowing he'll be insane if he finds out I've moved and didn't tell him. He grills me about my plans and asks don't I think we could probably get away with him helping me now?

No, no I don't think we could, first of all, I think my parents will punish me further if I take anything from Arthur or Hedda. We all know it. They can make it all even worse if they want to, there's no choice but to stay away from them for now, though it's incredibly painful to be separated from my twin and cousin. Second of all...I just don't want anyone's fucking help anymore.

If I felt before like it was important for me to stand on my own two feet, I feel it even more acutely now. I don't deserve any of what's happened, but it has happened, so it has to all be dealt with and I'm the one who should handle everything.

I make two trips, with a cab this time thank you very much, to get all my stuff from the storage place, the cabbie helps me bring everything up so I tip him extra and then start to settle myself in. I'm feeling grateful that I have so few belongings, it's made this far less painful than it could be.

I hit the coin laundry, a different one this time that's not quite as frou-frou as the one in my last neighborhood, and start to wash my sheets and towels along with my clothes from the week.

I'm pleased with myself for withholding my new address from my twin. I know that Auntie will want to help me, and that's great, but I'll go to her house for dinner and such, there's no reason for her or anyone else to know where I live now.

The minute she crosses my mind my phone goes off with even more texts from her. I smile, loving how much she cares, and text her back telling her I'm absolutely fine and about to go job hunting before I meet Jae for drinks later on. She calls me up and I end up spending nearly an hour on the phone with her as I finish my laundry.