Who Run the World? Girls.

8 - Reunion, Residence and Relief

Beca stood in the terminal, patiently waiting for her best friend to arrive from Florida. She had made a sign saying "my ginger nut", which she held up as people began to flood out from the departure corridor.
Beca was so excited to see Chloe again, after so many weeks of phone calls, she just wanted to see the redhead for real. But she'd also noticed that Chloe had been a little off in the last week, though, and she knew it was her duty to cheer her up, however that may be.

A wave of orange appeared in the crowd, and Beca grinned, holding up her sign even higher. When Chloe's face became visible, Beca shouted. "Hey, Beale! Over here!"
Chloe turned and when she spotted Beca, a smile crept onto her face.
"What's up, Mitchell?" Chloe smirked as she approached.
"Not much, just been waiting for your stupid ass to get here."
Chloe dropped her suitcase and her guitar, before throwing herself at Beca, who clung onto her in return. Chloe spun them both around, causing them both to laugh.
"Man, I've missed you, Chlo. Sharing an apartment is going to be epic," Beca said, picking up the guitar while Chloe dragged her suitcase along. "Your playing guitar again?"
"Yeah, it's a cool past time. I love the music, it's really beautiful," Chloe explained.
"Nice, you'll have to play me something later," Beca suggested.
"Sure."
When they reached Beca's car, everything was placed in the trunk. When they both sat down at the front, Beca put her keys in the ignition and the engine roared to life.
"So you found any more good apartments?" Chloe asked as Beca drove out of the car park.
"Oh, yeah. On top of those three I told you about, I've got one more. I found another website and found a good value one on there. I even visited one out curiosity. I only saw the outside, but it was pretty awesome," Beca talked, keeping her eyes on the road.
"Oh okay, cool. Look, I'll get a job as soon as I can. I won't feel good if you pay for-"
"Chloe, we've discussed this. Take your time. I'm more than happy to pay for as long as you need. I don't want you working at Taco Bell if it'll make you unhappy," Beca said strongly.
Chloe sat silently, unsure of what else to say. "I just don't want to take advantage of your money," Chloe stated.
Beca sighed. "You won't be taking advantage. Your my best friend. This was my suggestion and you're going to accept it. Now, whether you like it or not, we are going to Taco Bell, I'm paying and you're going to look at the person at the till and say "that will never be me,"" Beca demanded, as she turned into Taco Bell.
Chloe laughed, and Beca glanced over at her after the car stopped. She'd ask Chloe what was up, but not just yet. Not while she was still laughing.

The following morning, the girls awoke early for their first viewing. It was the first apartment Beca had found when she began her search, and it had seemed quite appealing. It had two bedrooms and had an open plan. The only setback was that it was across the city from the producing company, which wasn't convenient for her.
They met with the estate agent outside the building.
"Good morning. My name is Barry and I will be showing you around the apartment today," he said, reaching out his hand for them to shake.
"Nice to meet you," Chloe said, accepting the hand.
Barry unlocked the door and lead them up the stairs to the ninth floor, where the apartment was waiting for them. The only problem was that there was no lift, because it was quite an old building.
"Here it is. It's two floors from the top, so there's quite a view from the windows," Barry explained.
Chloe and Beca stood catching their breath for a few moments. That stair climb was too much for them, and it definitely put them off this building a little.
Barry held the door open for the girls as they entered the apartment.
Beca was pretty disappointed with what she found inside, as the pictures on the internet had made it look so much nicer. The living room was dark and a little cramped. There was flowery wallpaper everywhere which was much to her distaste. She glanced a Chloe, who subtly shook her head. They looked around the rest of it, more for Barry's sake than theirs, and it turned out that the bedrooms weren't as horrific.
"I think this is what I saw on the photos," Beca whispered to Chloe. "But I don't think it compensates for that living room."
"Not even close," Chloe muttered.
At the end of the tour, the two of them thanked Barry for his time, but politely declined his proposal of making an offer.
When they reached the car, they both heard the other one sigh deeply, before looking at each other for a second.
"Where did you even find that?" Chloe asked, still quite a bit in shock.
"Hey, do not look at me like that. I will show you the pics later and you will see why I chose to look at it okay?" Beca said defensively.
"Alright fine. So, where to next?"

The girls viewed two more properties, but they did not come home completely satisfied. Their second viewing was a lot better than the first, but not much was needed for that to be the case. The lack of flowered wallpaper made Beca sigh in relief immediately and although it was a nice place, Beca didn't really feel the homely sensation she was expecting. The third viewing was pretty, but a little out of their price range. The estate agent, a sophisticated-looking, blonde woman with spectacles firmly denied Beca's offer which was below the asking price, so they left it at that.
"This isn't going great, is it? We have one viewing left, but I guess it's my favourite. I'm crossing my fingers here," Beca said when they were back in the car after the third viewing.
"Me too. Tell me the details," Chloe said.
"Two bedroom, open plan, sixth floor apartment on the riverside. It looks perfect, but judging by what we've seen today, it's hard to trust these images," Beca explained.
It was a five minute drive to the apartment and when they got there, they were stunned.
"Woah, is that the one?" Chloe asked in amazement. They were staring at a newly-built block with recently-planted trees placed just outside the door. It looked so ordered.
But when they looked inside, the awe only grew bigger. The pictures, for once, had been somewhat accurate. The living room was so open and the large window on the other side filled it with light. The kitchenette was in the corner of the room, and the bedrooms and bathroom came from three doors on the right. It was such a remarkable place that there was no way the girls could let it go easily.
"So how much is it worth?" Beca asked the estate agent.
"The asking price is $875 dollars per calendar month."
Beca bit her lip. "Hm, that's stretching it a little," she murmured to Chloe.
"Try and see if we can lower it a bit. I mean, if not, I'll get a job. We'll work it out. I just think this is the perfect place for us," Chloe said.
Beca turned back to the estate agent. "Is there any chance that could be lowered just a tiny bit? Say, $850?"
"I'm afraid it's not negotiable, miss. Rent charges are fixed," the estate agent stated.
Beca glanced at Chloe, who gave her a small nod.
"Well, okay then. $875 it is," Beca announced, before shaking the agent's hand.
And when they sat down in the car for the last time that day, their sighs were no longer irritated or worried or negative in anyway. Finally, Beca and Chloe could let out sighs of pure relief, because they now had a flat, and it was perfect.