Age of Youth

Belle Epoque

   I walked on the sidewalk, dragging my suitcase with me. The address should be around here. I walked through the busy streets of the city. I saw a sign that said 'Belle Epoque'. Finally!

   I walked over to the sign and looked at the big house that stood next to it. It was a decent size. I could see clothes being hung on the balcony. A bunch of girl undies and a guy's boxer. Interesting. 

   A woman stood at the entrance, cleaning the window. I walked forward, hoping to make a good impression. 

   "Hello there," I waved. 

   The woman gazed at me and let out a huge smile. "You must be Metha. I'm the owner of this house. Come inside!" She opened the door and let me in. The smell of the house was fresh. She guided me upstairs. She stopped at a door that had a password on it. 

   "If you want to know the password, it's 6183. Or you can just use the key," she gave me the key to the door. She gave me another smile and walked downstairs. 

   Now for the moment of truth. I put the password in and opened the door. My heart was pumping really fast. Who was I going to meet? I walked forward and saw the undies. They were on the balcony. I guess they don't have proper drying machines here. I turned to the right and saw a living room with a mini kitchen. A girl sat on the couch, reading a manga. She looked at me and stood up immediately.

   "You must be the new roommate. I'm Kalia. Let me take your stuff to your room," she grabbed my suitcase and took it to a room. There was only one bed. Half of the room was decorated. 

   "It looks occupied. Are you sure this is my room?," I asked.

   She let out a giggle. "It is silly. You are sharing it with someone else. The others are out and about. They should be back before 7." She put my suitcase on the bed.

   "Why is there only one bed?," I asked. I hope I don't have to buy my own bed. I'm all out of money. 

   "You have to share the beds here. We are on a budget. We all pay for the rent here. Grandma can't do that since she's too old," Kalia paced around the room. 

   "Grandma? Who's that?," I sat on the bed, tired of standing up. 

   "That's the lady who brought you here, the one you saw outside. Anyways, unpack your things and help me set up dinner," she walked out the door, going back to reading her manga.

   Now it was time to unpack my things.

  Friday, 5:45 PM 

   I looked at the ingredients on my phone. I did it right, so why does it smell bad. I could feel myself dying on the inside. 

   "Can't we just get take out food?," I asked. 

   "Metha, don't give up. You obviously did something wrong. And no. We cant. We need to eat a healthy life," she smacked me in the head with a rolling pin. The door opened. 

   "I'm home," a voice called. I saw a blonde girl wearing glasses come in. She was so pretty. 

   "What a new face I see. You must be Metha. I'm Jernee, pleasure to me you," she skipped towards me and put her hand out. I shook her hand, and went back to cooking. 

   "Jernee, you think you can help with cooking? Metha here doesn't have much experience," Kalia complained. She gazed at me, giving me a look of disappointment. 

   "Sure, I'll need to put my things in my room," Jernee said. She walked over to the room near the kitchen. What an interesting person.

   Friday, 7:00 PM