The Truth

The Heat

ARE YOU READY FOR A MONSTER OF A CHAPTER?????? :)

Our first month in LA passes slowly. We got our first rent and electric bill through our mailbox in the office. Colby opens the mail and his face drops, his eyes get big as he yells that he's never going to turn on the lights again. We've been doing lots of vines in the apartment and using lighting equipment. When we aren't in the apartment we're working out and one of us is usually left alone, supposedly with all the lights on. Colby admits to not paying attention to the electricity. Does he sleep with them on?

"Is it really that bad?" I ask.

"Man, I'm just going to give up food, cooking, and internet for a week," he says as he slides his PopTart and phone away from him on the table. He leaves and turns off all the lights and opens the blinds.

"Dude, yeah all we gotta do is use natural lighting. See? It's not so dark." I say.

"Maybe I've been going HAM on the heat and air conditioning, too." He admits, then he goes and turns it off the A/C in the living room. He sits back down and holds his face in his hands. "Both of us just have to stop wasting electricity and money!" he looks at me.

"Hey, Kacey and I have been splitting the bill! And we have enough money, Colby. We're sharing, remember? We're fine," I assure him.

"Whatever," his brows furrow in annoyance. "I'm gonna go to the thrift store and get some candles to roast hot dogs for lunch over a little candle fire," he says in a tone which makes me skeptical to believe if he's serious or not.

"Alright. Well, me and Kacey are going on a cheap date tonight, then" I say. Colby looks at me and I see a flicker of something in his eyes when I said "date" and even more the mention of "Kacey." One thing I've noticed recently is that Colby hates it when I talk about Kacey and identically Kacey hates it when I talk about Colby. I can't win. "Look, it'll only be for like an hour. It's just dinner at her place. . ."

"Are you meeting her parents or something? You guys serious?" he says curiously, his voice getting higher.

"No, she told me her parents are still working," I tell him.

"At least use protection, Sam." I roll my eyes at him but he doesn't notice. "Can she pick you up this time, the stink of baby wipes is still in the car from last week," he says in a low voice and makes a gagging noise like he can't breathe.

Kacey texts me and I walk downstairs to greet her. We hug and I hop in her lime green Audi with pink seat covers. Oh, and her steering wheel is also pink. Pink. Pink. Pink. She's listening to country, some song about falling in love with the farmer's daughter. I try to get into it but it kinda gives me a headache. I tell her about Twenty-One Pilots and she acts a little disinterested. I think she only wants to stick to country.

Her house is like a mansion. She parks in the 4 car garage next to a souped-up Mustang and a Corvette. I ask what her parents do and she said they are both have doctorate degrees. They teach Physics and Anthropology at a college and her mom is the dean. Wowsers. She opens the two front doors and the front room is the size of our entire apartment complex. The floor is made of very pale white marble with carpet leading to the inside corridors of the house. The stairs leading up the the bedrooms are wide with polished wood and adorned with steel railing. A balcony covers most of the second story in the interior of the house, the railing makes it hard to see past anything in the entrance area of the bedrooms to the second floor. They also have a big chandelier in the front room with a big dining table. Every part of the chandelier twinkles in the light. Like it's made of diamonds. Are chandeliers made of diamonds? Maybe it's just really shiny glass. I'll ask her later. I stare at it all in awe.