Wishing For A Change

Chapter 2 - Walking Home

Stepping onto the sidewalk Kayden noticed the sun was already setting and that there was a chill in the air. Before starting his thirty-minute walk home he looked around to see that the streets were far less busy which meant he could take his time going home. Walking home was relaxing when it was quit because it helped get his mind off work and relax. Kayden's mind started to wonder back to his childhood days growing up at his boarding school. He often wondered what it would be like to have gone to a normal school and have a normal family.

When he thought of his birth parents and how they didn't care about him and only wanted to chase their next high, he would often find himself having internal arguments with them as if they were standing right in front of him. The drugs that his mother did why'll pregnant lead to him being born premature which lead to him to having a body that didn't develop like everyone else's his age. He was always smaller than everyone his age and considered himself very lucky that he made it to 3 feet tall by the time he graduated high school but not a hair more.

He was aware that he was the last of his friends to go through puberty because he didn't even really think about girls like his friends until the summer before Senior year. His friends were always talking about how hot someone was and talking about getting laid. Kayden would often get grief from his friends calling him innocent and not explaining sex jokes to him when they would go over his head. Kayden's voice never got any deeper and it wasn't for the gym class having to take showers with all the rest of the boys he wouldn't have realized that he was below average in the man hood department as well.

It's been under five years since he graduated, and he has lost touch with all his friends. He was 18 when he graduated so he was able to leave school right away . He applied to many different universities and found one off the island that excepted him. He lived in the dorms during college and didn't have much time to socialize during college. Trying to cram four years' worth of classes into two and a half years gave him little time to make friends and keep up with old ones. When he finally graduated, he had to take out a loan just to pay for a down payment on his first apartment. Finding a job was the easy part because his university sent out an application on his behalf and even though it was not the highest paying job offer, he liked the idea of working in a large city and so he accepted the position at "Foster and Suns" Law Firm.

Finally making it home he opened the door only to be hit in the face with a damp musky smell and the sound of large fans blowing, which were there to help the carpets dry from the water damage. He went over to wear the pipe broke to find the hole in the wall was repaired and there was a fresh coat of paint over the wall.

Last night when he noticed the problem and figured out it must be a broken water pipe, he looked up how to fix the problem instead of calling the emergency maintenance line for his apartment. The video told him he needed to get to the source of the leak to repair it so he found a hammer and started putting a hole in the wall. He realized he didn't watch the video closely enough because when he opened the wall where the pipe was leaking it started to spray all over his studio apartment. The video finally mentions that he needs to shut off the water line before getting started which Kayden found out very quickly was not even located in his apartment. He had to wait about 15 minutes before the water line was shut off trying to use himself to shield the cold water from spraying all over his apartment which made him look like he just took a shower with his clothes on. When the maintenance person finally arrived and shut off the water, he told him he would need him to move his things away from the wall with the leak and that he would be back in the morning to repair the pipe.

Kayden received a knock on the door shortly after getting home to find the landlord towering above him holding a sheet of paper. "Hello Mr. Lipmore, how can..." not being able to finish what he was saying before having a sheet of paper stuffed in his face. "What's this" was the first thing out of his mouth pulling the paper away from his face. It was only after reading the paper that he figured out that it was an invoice for the repairs and fees for using the fans. He read that he was expected to pay $3500.00 within 30 days and that his security deposit was forfeited due to negligent damage to the property. Kayden stared at the invoice knowing it was not legal to charge him for some of the things on the invoice and considering the damage he created would have occurred anyway to get to the pipe. He stood up straight and tried to explaining it wasn't legal but was immediately interrupted by Mr. Lipmore waving his finger in Kayden's face like he was a small child and telling him "If this is not paid on time you will be evicted" as he walked away. Feeling like he just got a lesson in practical law, he tossed the invoice on the kitchen counter.

He had no way of paying the $3500.00 by the due date making him look around his studio apartment for things to sell only to realize that he has nothing to show for his money. He started with so little out of college that all the money that doesn't go to rent and loans goes to purchasing normal household items. He tried holding back his tears but just couldn't find the willpower as they started rolling down his cheeks wishing that life was easier for him. He made his way over to his bed thinking sleep would was the only thing to do now which didn't come easy with the loud fans blowing and the wet musky smell present in the room.