Epoch

V

By November 2nd Evelynn had only spoken to Michael once since he had invited her to the Halloween party. He had texted her the day of, joking about how he'd try not to become a real life horror story that night. It wasn't very clever but she laughed anyway. Her thumbs hovered over her keyboard for the hundredth time, wondering if she should start the conversation. She knew that he wouldn't be weirded out but her perpetual anxiety and awkwardness prevented her from just typing, "hey." So instead of bothering him she looked around her room, thinking about how she'd like to adjust it.
It took her over an hour to shift her bed to the right and move her desk in front of the window, and she let out an exhausted sigh when she glanced at the time. She took one last look at the space, her eyes lingering on Michael's drawing when her mother called her out of her room for dinner.
When she walked out of her room and across the apartment to the kitchen she noticed a loud, banging noise, as if someone was moving furniture around next door. "What's going on over there?" Evelynn asked her mother, grabbing a plate off of the counter. Her mom sighed, and with a shrug explained that someone was finally moving in , but that they were giving her a damn headache with all the ruckus. Evelynn raised her eyebrows, popping a grape into her mouth. "Shall we greet them?" She asked, watching as her mother took her hair out of its bun. "Not now, sweetie. I have to buy a bundt cake or something first. Maybe tomorrow." She waved her hand dismissively. Evelynn shrugged, and listened to the noise coming from next door.
She hoped it was an old couple, or a family. Her floor needed some balance with all the college students running around all the time. She would like having someone to chat with in the mornings besides her mom. Not that she didn't love their conversations but her mother and Michael were the only people she ever really talked with. So Evelynn grabbed a notepad and a pen and started writing down dessert ideas.