marshall

1/ duffle bag

I slammed my bedroom door so hard, I almost broke the glass filling.
I didn't care, I was furious.
My mom was right behind me.

"Pack your things and get out" she demanded.
"I ain't going anywhere" I  shrugged and acted like if she wasn't even in my room.
My mom opened my closet and started to throw my clothes out. I was just standing there, watching her throwing my own stuff everywhere around the room. I wasn't surprised, this was pretty common.

We argue, she tells me to move out.
We calm down, she apologizes.

After she threw out almost everything I've had in my closet, she stood up and headed out of my room. I thought this was the normal part when she's calming down.

Oh boy, I was wrong. 

She came back with a duffle bag in her hand. And started to stuff my clothes in it

"Mom, what are you doing? Calm down, Jesus"

She didn't say a word back. She was so furious.

"Mom, talk to me" I demanded, in a calm voice. At least one of us was keeping it together.

Nothing.

I gave up and decided to go to the kitchen and get myself something to eat.

10 minutes later, I've heard my mom coming.

"Put that plate down, now" she demanded. Her voice was low, emotionless.
"I'm hungry, hello?"
I turned to face her, and then I've noticed the duffle bag in her hand.

"You're such a louse, Tanya. I can't take this anymore. Go and get out of my house" was all she said.

"Is that all I'll get from you, mom?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"Oh, no, wait" she opened a cabinet, grabbed a thin envelope and threw it on a table.
"Give me your keys, take your bag, take this envelope, and get the hell out of my house"

This is it, I guess. 

I opened the bag to check out the stuff in there. Charger, clothes, cosmetics, laptop. That's all I needed.

I zipped up the bag, gave mom a not-so-nice glare, and headed out.
My mom was standing on the porch, watching me walk away.
I turned at her again.
My mom.

"You better just go far, far away" she yelled at me and closed the door.

I sat on the nearest bench and started to think.

There's something about this town,
that brings me down.
There's something about this place
it's written all over my face.
I can't breathe anymore,
I can't stand it.
I can't see anymore.
Man, goddammit,
I'll go crazy if I don't get out.

I've had to get out, and Detroit was the first place that came up to my mind. The envelope was filled with money.  Five thousand dollars. Funny.

It was getting late. I knew I didn't have much time to catch a bus. I checked the nearest bus, and there was no chance I'm gonna be on time. All I could do was hitchhike because I didn't want to wait for another bus.
I know it can be pretty dangerous to hitchhike, but hey, who likes to wait, right?

It didn't take long until someone stopped by. It was a woman at my mom age.
"Detroit?" I asked her.
She nodded and let me in her car.
The ride was silent, maybe awkwardly silent.
I was just thinking about what to do.

Where am I going to live? Homeless.
What am I going to eat? Starving.
How am I gonna find a job? No money.

I tried to shrug all the negative thoughts away, but I just couldn't.

"Do you know about some cheap apartments in Detroit?"  I asked the woman.
She was thinking for a while.
"The cheapest is for 450$ per month, I guess"

Wow, I guess I'll die.

"Oh, could you drive me there?"
"I don't really think it's safe for you to live in this type of apartment" oh thanks lady, I really appreciate your advice. Just drive me there and bye bye.

"Iťs only for a few days, I'll be careful" well, I knew it's going to be more than a few days.
I grabbed my phone, and googled the name of the apartment, to get the owner's phone number.

I was lucky.
There was one small apartment available

The woman stopped the car in a parking lot.
"Thank you" I gave her a little smile and got out of the car.

It was a motel, not really exclusive looking one. But whatevs.
I came to something that should be a reception.

"Hello, I'm Tanya. I called in here a few minutes ago, searching for a free apartment"
"Yeah, sure" the guy must really hate his job. He grabbed a key and gave it to me.
"Here's a contract to sign, and I need a deposit payment. It's a hundred dollars"
I quickly ran my eyes up and down the contract, signed it, paid the deposit payment and headed to the stairs.
There was a weird smell in the whole building, and it all seemed pretty old.

I was hoping for a normal neighbor.
And yet, I was wrong again.
There was a noise coming out of his apartment. Loud music and weed odor.
This is gonna be "fun".

I unlocked the door, and I was surprised. The room was clean and seemed pretty comfy.
I placed my duffle bag on the bed and took a look around. A bed, older television, drawers, kitchen, washing machine, shower. Everything was there.
There was a window in my bedroom with a nice view.
Suddenly, the music started to 'jump', like when the CD is scratched, if you know what I'm saying. And all I've heard was a loud crash sound, followed with a "fuck". I've noticed how thin the walls were.

Damn, who is this guy?
I've been here for a few minutes, and he got me annoyed already. The loud music, weed smell. I don't mind when people smoke weed, it's none of my business. I just don't need to have it in my nostrils for 24/7. And I don't mind music either. But he's crossing the line.

I think I'm gonna meet my dear neighbor very, very soon.