Reversed Attachment

Chapter 1: Meeting

Lydia was up early in the morning, preparing breakfast for her two roommates. Barbara and Betelgeuse.

"Good morning, Barbara." She gave her a bowl with a grin.

"Does Mr. Grumpy seem to be getting up?" Barbara was the one who inquired.

"I doubt it." Lydia giggled and walked up to the male's door who had been addressed. "Hey, Beej. Are you going to get up?"

"Bugger off!" His snarling voice rang out. It wasn't usually so awful, but he'd lately resumed drinking and smoking. He'd always deny it, but he was suffering from anxiety and depression and couldn't bear leaving his room.

"Okay. Breakfast is on the side. When you're ready, come out and eat!" Lydia returned.

"I'm not hungry!"

"Well, it's still there for you." She walked away from him.

"All right, I'm off to work." Barbara exited the room and said her goodbyes. She walked out of her apartment and into her car. When she arrived at the pottery factory, she observed a sold sign on the barber shop next door, as well as a 5ft 7 brown haired man standing outside chatting to her manager. Barbara had a sense she recognised him from somewhere but couldn't put her finger on it, so she went up to say hello. "Hi. My name is Barbara," she said, extending her hand.

"Hello, my name is Adam." He extended his hand to shake hers. "Call me crazy, but have we met before?" With a smirk on his face, he inquired.

"Your face and name are familiar to me." Barbara acknowledged; her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Wait. you didn't go to Ithaca College. On the art programme?"

"Yes, I did. Oh, my goodness. Maitland. Hi. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, Butterfield. What have you been up to?" Adam asked.

"I'd love to chat, but I have to get to work. Maybe we could get together after that? I'm done at four o'clock." Barbara suggested, and the two exchanged phone numbers. She turned to go but reconsidered and returned. "Sorry, but would you mind if I brought a friend? He'll definitely hate me for admitting this, but he's been suffering from anxiety and depression recently. I believe it would be beneficial for him to leave the apartment." She inquired.

"Sure. He is welcome to come. Can you tell me his name?" Adam grinned.

"Beej."

"Beej? Wow, that's a lovely name." He gave a kind smile.

"Yeah. A one-of-a-kind name for a one-of-a-kind guy. I'll talk to you later." Barbara walked out the door and went to work. She left at 4 p.m. and returned to her apartment. Betelgeuse had left Lydia's breakfast unattended when she opened the door. She groaned and popped it in the microwave to warm it up. She pulled it out and took it to his room once it beeped. His room was a shambles, and he was completely engulfed in his blankets. His dirty clothing was strewn about, and old plates, bowls, and glasses were strewn about as well. It didn't appear to have been dusted or cleaned in months. There were a few empty cigarette packs and beer bottles lying about. It smelt awful, but the unclean Betelgeuse had the worst odour in the room. "Hello, Beej. You okay?" He grumbled,

"Just leave me alone!"

"That well huh?" Betelgeuse moaned as Barbara sighed. "You know, in an hour, I'm meeting an old friend." She said, "He said you could come along."

"What if I don't want to go?"

"Come on, let's go. Adam would like to meet you." Barbara yanked him out of his blankets. His green beard was unruly since he hadn't shaved in two weeks. His green hair fell over his face like a grease ball.