Langour ・❥・Joost Klein・❥・

25.

'It says they should just slide in and click.'

'Well, it's not fucking doing that, is it?'

'Don't get angry at it. Just-'

'I'm not getting angry! The design is just shit!'

Assembling IKEA furniture was the true test of friendship.

The new house was empty but teeming with flatpacks and toolboxes. The new white rug was the only thing that had been laid down with the sole purpose to be sat on. Stuntje and Apson were breaking it in by trying to put a console table together for the new television.

With an open tool box next to them and Apson at the instructions, tensions were running high and they had only just started.

'Nope. It's faulty. There's no hole there for the screw. We're taking it back-'

'It's there, Stunts. I can see it!' Hanna pointed to the obvious screw hole. Standing over Stuntje, who was on his back, Hanna's hands were on her hips as she tried to supervise the assembling.

Stuntje grumbled something under his breath before attaching the screw to the end of a screwdriver. Apson flipped back and forth through the instruction manual before sifting through the box of pieces. He held up what appeared to be part of a drawer, looked back down at the manual, before creasing his eyebrows in confusion.

'That's for the middle, schatje,' Hanna noted and Apson glared at up at her.

'I know that, but why is there only one drawer in here? There should be three.'

Hanna paused and looked to the three slots next to Stuntje's concentrated scowl. Lowering to her knees, she peered into the box and swallowed dryly.

Fenne carried some boxes from Joost's car in the driveway. With her arms full, she manouvered through the front door towards the staircase. She routinely looked down to her feet to check for each step before she headed for the bedroom furthest to the left. The door was already open, letting Fenne walk through and bend her knees to put the boxes down in the corner.

With a huff, she turned to head for the balcony where she could smell cigarette smoke. One of the double French doors sat open and she could see Joost sat assembling the second bedside table.

In just a white singlet and sweatpants, the blonde was hunched over as he screwed in the handle on the top drawer. His cigarette hung from his lips and brown sunglasses sat over his eyes. His legs were crossed and his feet were covered by white 'I LOVE JOOST KLEIN' socks.

'You made the right decision by coming out here,' Fenne said as she stood in the doorway. Looking away from his working hands, Joost puffed out some smoke from the corner of his mouth.

'If I'm going to stress myself out, then I'm going to smoke while doing it,' he answered and went to slide the drawer into the frame, only to have it sit ajar. 'Stupid fucking thing.'

There wasn't a person in the new house that hadn't sworn a string of curses. Moving was not theraputic and there was a lot of furniture that needed to be assembled. There were still boxes of belongings sat in the four cars outside, which Fenne was trying to bring in gradually. Hanna was meant to be helping, but she couldn't let Apson suffer Stuntje's short temper alone.

Making another trip to the cars, Fenne heaved another two boxes up the staircase and took a right. She walked past one door and lowered the boxes down to grab the handle. After pushing it open, Fenne pushed the boxes with her foot through the doorway and off to the side.

'Can you come lift this for me?' Teun asked while sat in the middle of his half-assembled bed frame.

'Sure.'