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Petty thieves. That's the only way I can describe myself and the seven men I have found myself to be living with for the past 2 years.
After becoming a runaway at the age of 18 due to a very nasty stepfather, I wandered the streets before being picked up by the police, I refused to go back, as I was technically classed as an adult they didn't force me too. I deluded myself to think that I could take care of myself. But I wasn't going back there ever again, and at the age of 18 I'd like to think that I could wipe my own arse without any assistance.
Seeing as I had no home and landlords were all too eager to reject or try to take advantage of a small young woman, it left me homeless, penniless and hopeless.
I found an apartment to squat in, it was on the ground floor, a bit old and up for sale, yet completely empty apart from an electric stove. As part of a complex even though it had no gas, it at least had electricity and running water so it was liveable and it was a roof over my head for now until I found a job but no one was willing to accept a grubby lowlife as their employee so I started to steal and hoard my things into one room of the apartment.
I had walked into a bar one night while trying to get warm, and was almost casted out by a mean ass waitress waiting for me to buy something. She complained to her manager who looked at my grubby green coat and took pity on me and asked if I was old enough to work and that he was short staffed.
I accepted and started working, and within a week I purchased more food to eat and a cooking pot. Ramen with extra veggies was like gourmet cooking to me and I was absolutely stuffed with a real warm meal in my stomach that sleeping wasn't so hard that night.
You can imagine the shock that after a few warmer nights I had spent there I was going to be back to square one, when a housing agent grabbed me by the ear and tossed me out on my ass.
That night I was working behind the bar, when I met the first of one of my many roommates. Jin had come into the bar for a quiet night of drinking alone. I usually told my little sob story for some tips when suddenly he found himself defending me against a rather grubby patron trying to put his hands on me in very inappropriate ways.
I'd always just accepted it as part of the job. That was until Jin was very quick to enlighten me, that bartender or not, I should never let a man touch me if I didn't want him to. silently observing me working behind the bar watching me flirt with the customers and making sure they didn't overstep the boundaries.
He approached me again that night, asking me if I had anything in my life of great value and if I'd ever thought about changing careers. Little did I know it would lead to 2 years later with me residing in a three bedroom apartment with seven men.
Let me just say that some of my roommates are disgusting, and everything that is not in the confines of my own bedroom is probably sticky. Don't get me wrong I've grown to become quite fond of my roommates, apart from one who wasn't very accepting when I joined their little group.
