Building A3

First Day

As the taxi parked at the side of the road, Noah sighed. His newly-rented home towered above him, ruining the view of the midnight sky like all the other buildings in the city.

Noah got out of the taxi, grabbed his bags from the trunk and paid the driver. He happily swiped the cash from Noah's hand and quickly drove off.

The building itself wasn't very impressive. It blended in with the rest of the city block with the brownish bricks that were used as walls. Standing ten stories high, two windows lined up on each floor with a linked fire escape that slithered down the side of the building and onto the alleyway.

Noah was sure that putting a fire escape facing the road was against some kind of rule, but he wasn't complaining. It was better to have one than jumping to your death.

On the front steps, the landlady was waiting. Noah would've mistaken her for another tenant if he didn't know any better.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here." The landlady crossed her arms as she wrapped the sleeping robe tighter around her slender body. "Do you know how late it is?"

"Sorry, Miss Renner." Noah gave an apologetic smile. "I was stuck on campus a little longer than I thought."

"I thought Dremarian students were offered dormitories?"

"We were, but I declined." Noah hefted his luggages as he trailed behind Miss Renner. The flight of stairs in front of him made him groan internally. "I don't get along with the Dremarian students."

"Let me guess." Miss Renner said as she continued to climb up the stairs. "You were bullied."

"Uh, not really." Noah chuckled nervously as he heaved with every step he took up the steps. His bags kept hitting the floor and walls, no doubt making the tenants annoyed. "It's more like because I ruined the football team's chances of going to the collegiate finals this year."

"Oh, that was your doing?" Miss Renner asked. "The orange juice incident?"

Noah sighed. "Technically speaking, it wasn't my fault. People spill drinks all the time."

Miss Renner chuckled as she finally turned away from the stairs and stopped in front of a wooden door. She fumbled with her keys for a bit before finding the right one and unlocked the door. "Come on in."

Noah hefted his luggages and dragged everything into his brand new home.

Considering where he'd been living before, this was a major upgrade.

The living room, the kitchen, and the dining room were combined in one large common area that was easily the biggest space in the apartment. To his right, was the living room where an old couch was pushed against the wall. The wall on the right side had three windows and the middle one was larger since it served as an exit towards the fire escape that Noah had seen previously from the outside.

To his left was the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen was big enough for barely two people and was separated by a wall that had a window overlooking the small dining area that doubles as a kitchen counter.

In between the living room and dining area wall was separated by a narrow hallway that led to what Noah assumed to be the bathroom and the bedroom.

"How is it?" Miss Renner asked.

"More than I expected." Noah smiled. "Thank you."

Miss Renner smiled back. "Well, here are your keys including spare ones." Miss Renner handed Noah a set of keys. "I expect rent at the end of every month. You can bring pets, throw parties, have people over, whatever. If the neighbors complain, you're gonna handle it yourself."