Opening the front door to our flat, I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Not only was this the first time my best friend was going to see my brand new flat, but she was also moving in with me. Us. She was moving in the Stratford Halo tower with me and my boyfriend Simon.
'Right, so this is a tiny entrance hall.' I said, pushing the door open fully so she and Simon could push her suitcases through as well. The entrance hall was about one metre long and consisted of a small table, a mirror above it and hooks on the wall for jackets and keys.
'And this is our living room,' I walked in, holding my arms wide open. Simon followed me and dropped his car keys on the kitchen island.
'It's really nice.' Katherine smiled as she looked around. When her eyes landed on the balcony and the view she had, she immediately ran over to the window. 'The view!' She gasped, placing her palms on the window in awe.
'Hey! Get your hands off my windows!' Simon pretended to shout at her.
She turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. 'They're my windows, too.'
'Crap, you're right.' Simon said and cleared his throat awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
I skipped down the hall. 'If you follow me, Kath, I'll show you your room and bathroom and stuff,' I called out to her, shortly followed by her light footsteps following me.
'So this is my room,' I quickly peeped inside to show a double bed in the middle of the room, a small closet pressed to one wall and of course Simon's giant TV and TV stand in front of the bed, which basically hogged up all the space. We have a small bathroom in our bedroom as well, which Kath quickly popped her head into.
'Hey, if you guys have a TV like that, I wonder what I'm going to have...' She told me and for a split second I felt so guilty for not getting her a TV, but I felt much more reassured when she burst out laughing and said, 'I'm just messing with you. It's nice enough that I get to live here, I really wouldn't have expected you to get me a TV as well.'
Further down the hall on the opposite side to mine and Simon's bedroom was Katherine's room. I pushed the door open to reveal her small room that was lit by a big window on the far side, which gave her a view over London city. Simon and I bought her a small double bed that was neatly covered in blue striped sheets and had many pillows on them. Her bed was flanked by two small wooden nightstands. The walls were white, and I bought her a special cord to hang up on her wall that clips on Polaroid pictures.
It was quite the aesthetically pleasing room.
'I love it,' She whispered, looking around and then sitting down on her bed.
'Does she like it?' Simon shouted from the living room.
'Not really,' I called out and then smiled and pressed my index finger to my lips to tell Kath to stay quiet.
'Are you serious? Tell her to move out, then.' Simon called back.
'You what?' I laughed and Kath immediately burst out laughing too.
'Mel, is this room all Ikea...?' Kath asked in a knowing tone.
I looked away and pressed my lips together to form a fine line, hiding my hands behind my back and rocking back and forth on my heels. 'No...?'
Later that evening I threw some premade lasagna in the microwave and served it on three plates instead of two. 'I like this, you know? The apartment suddenly feels a lot more homely and cozy.' I said to Simon and Kath, who were sitting next to each other at the kitchen island waiting impatiently for their dinner. The windows/door to the balcony was open, letting the cool summer air flow inside.
Simon elbowed Kath and she jumped away, frowning at him. 'Welcome to the family,' He giggled.
