Girl Next Door

Moving in

The moving van I had hired parked up to my block of flats over an hour late due to the abominable traffic in Bristol. The sun was still hot for a late August afternoon and the light bounced off the van windows like a slightly grubby disco ball. I put my cigarette out and thanked the man swiftly while mentally preparing myself for the back-and-forth that will be trying to single-handedly move myself into my new 5th floor flat.

On my seventh trip back to the van, a man in one of the above flat windows shouts down a welcome, and offers to help me; I'm attempting to get my mattress in a position where I won't drag it on the floor. I don't look at him as I wave him away, too busy to look away from my current task. Like I needed help, anyway. I was perfectly capable of moving a few boxes and a and a crap-load of flat-pack furniture by myself.

On my twelfth trip back to the van, my back was a wreck, my arms and legs were screaming at me to give up but I only had two boxes to go, I could easily make this the last trip and then I can collapse on my floor for the foreseeable future. I balance one box on top of the other and carefully lift them.. not too heavy. I made my way back to my flat, blindly stepping into the elevator with the two boxes piled in front of my face. I failed to notice there was someone already in the elevator until my boxes collided with them. It took a few hands and a bit of luck to keep my boxes upright and to fully step into the elevator before the doors closed on my behind.

The ride up was almost hilarious, the single cough and stereotypical calming elevator music after the near-catastrophe almost set me into a fit of giggles before he abruptly stepped out on the same floor as my flat and sped off without a word. Guessing this was the same man that offered to help and worrying that I had already built up a bad reputation here, I made a mental note to apologise and thank him if I saw him again, that is, if I recognise him, I'd hardly glimpsed the man.

As planned, I entered my flat, out doen the boxes and immediately collapsed on my floor and stared at the flat pack furniture, just willing it all to build itself. It was getting late though, and I doubt the neighbours would be happy if I started hammering away at this time. I instead, dragged myself upright and went to the kitchen, plugged my kettle in, and sorted myself out for a pot noodle. After the first bite I realised how starving I was and devoured the whole thing in 2 minutes. A week to go before I start uni and I'm already living the student lifestyle.

Sitting on my mattress, I opened my laptop to see what entertainment there is for me before I pass out completely for the night. I could play HearthStone or League of Legends, but The Yogscast family have a variety of videos for me but not enough time to watch them. I decide on the main channel for a bit before I fall to sleep. Busy day tomorrow; assembling my furniture and hunting down the mystery man to apologise.