R.O.N.A.

Chapter 2

As soon as Aris and I walked through the front door of our apartment, Aris stormed off to her room still fuming with anger. I knew that Aris didn’t get mad very often, but when she did get mad, it was best just to back off and let her cool down. Instead of following after her, I just grabbed one of the cardboard boxes we got earlier in the week and started packing up things in our living room. I wanted to get my mind off of the previous events as well; beating myself up over a couple guys teasing me would take me nowhere but down.

            I tried to focus on the warmth of the room. Light filtered through the windows showing the dust floating around the room which no doubt had been aggravated by our packing up.

After a while, Aris finally emerged from her room. Streaks of mascara streamed down her face and her eyes were puffy. “I’m sorry Sephora,” she said wearily.

“It’s okay,” I said. Even though I never had a boyfriend, I knew how mad Aris must have been.

Aris ran her hands through her long dirty-blonde hair. Her green eyes were bloodshot from crying and stress. “I just don’t understand why guys are all jerks!” she said, exasperated.

“Just because some are doesn’t mean they all are…” I said timidly. Normally I wasn’t much of an optimist, but I didn’t want to dwell on the negatives, not now.

“I hope you’re right. But so far, I haven’t met any guy who is better than trash,” she spat.

“Me either, but I still hope that a good guy would exist.”

“Yeah… and I’m so sorry for getting you wrapped up in this Sephora. I had no idea Ashlynn was such a ‘you-know-what’!”

“It’s not your fault,” I said shaking my head, “Ashlynn was a jerk and acted like your friend. How could you have known?”

“You’re right… Anyhow, let’s change the subject,” Aris suggested, “What do you think about Aurora? I think she’s kinda odd.”

“Yeah she is kind of… but she seems fine to me.”

“Are you really sure we want her as a landlord?”

“Oh, she’s harmless. She’s just a lonely old woman,” I said with a shrug, “I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Besides, that apartment would be the perfect size for us, Aris.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right.”

“I’m glad you agree,” I said with a smile.

Aris just shook her head and smiled back. “We’d better work hard this week if we want to get all our things packed!” She looked at all the things around her. “We really need to not have so much junk!” She laughed and I relaxed. My best friend would be alright; she was tough enough to get through anything.

***

            For me, it felt like the week flew by. Between home work and packing, I had little spare time, if any. I tried to pack for at least two hours each night and it still felt like there was so much to do, but by the end of the week we finally put everything in boxes. The day for us to move in to our new apartment quickly arrived.

“Aurora, what would you like us to do with all the extra things that need to go into storage for now?” I asked. My arms were burning from holding the heavy box for too long.

“Oh you can just take those down to the basement,” she replied. She pointed to a solid door on the first floor. Aurora actually lived on the first floor of the house while the upstairs was like a separate living space.