I've Found You

Chapter 3

Fast forward: Val has landed in Melbourne and found an apartment she can rent for the next few months.

“It’s perfect, I’ll take it!” I exclaimed, my voice full of undisguised excitement as a looked around the loft style apartment that I would be calling home for the next little while.

“Alright, ma’am. I just have a few papers I need you to sign, I’ll go over the payments with you, and then you should be good to go.”

I got busy signing the sheets while the man who had toured me around the apartment explained how my payments would work. I was supposed to be paying $506.91 bi weekly, which would cover my water and electricity bills, and on top of that there was even free Wi-Fi available in the building at all times. He showed me how to work the intercom system before making his way to the door. I thanked him and sent him on his way.

Turning around, I admired my new living space for probably the billionth time that afternoon. The entire thing was supposed to be modeled after an “open space” theme, which basically meant the upstairs section of the apartment was almost completely visible from the downstairs section, and the rooms were separated by as few walls as possible. It made the place feel a whole lot bigger than it actually was. The walls were all painted a plain, creamy white colour, giving me tons of decorating options to work with.

Speaking of decorating, I whipped out my iPhone and made a Google search for the nearest home decorating and furniture store. It turned out to only be a few blocks away from my new place, which I suppose wasn’t surprising because I now lived in the heart of Melbourne; nice and close to all the action. I had chosen this location purposely, seeing as I’d grown up in the not-so-small city of Toronto. Being close to a busy area reminded me of home, and that gave me an odd sense of comfort.

I set out into the city with an air of determination about me. I had always been an independent person, seeing as I grew up in a family where my parents were out more often than they were home, but this was taking it to a whole new level. It felt good to know that I was fending for myself, it was an empowering feeling.

I made a few turns and found myself just a short walk away from my destination. I was already planning out how I was going to decorate my place. At this point, my choices were narrowed down specifically to a dark hard wood theme, with red accents. I felt that this would match the simple cream colour of the walls well, and give the apartment a very sophisticated impression. Just as I was about to enter the building, however, four boys dressed in absurdly tight pants ran directly in front of me, completely cutting me off. My first reaction was to yell at them for being inconsiderate and rude, but just as I was opening my mouth to do so, I took a closer look at what they were wearing…

As I mentioned before, each of them had on a pair of brightly coloured spandex leggings, but they were also sporting matching capes and masks. My previous intentions of yelling at them were washed away due to the overwhelming fit of laughter that had taken over my body.

“Excuse me, miss,” began the one in the blue and red. “Are you having responsible fun?”

“Um, yes I guess so?” I replied, still laughing. I was totally unsure why he would want to know something like that.

“MAY I ASK WHY YOU’RE NOT WEARING A HELMET?!” exclaimed the one in the purple leggings (quite loudly I might add).

“I wasn’t aware I needed one to walk down the street….is that some kind of weird law you have here in Australia?”

“We’re just looking out for your personal safety, miss. Next time I expect you to be wearing a helmet.” Replied the purple leggings guy.

Literally without saying another word to me, they took off in the direction they were heading before, screaming and hollering and jumping around like idiots. Huh. That was a little bit strange. Apparently living in Melbourne was going to take some getting used to; I could only hope spandex-clad masked strangers didn’t harass me every time I left my home. I shook off the events of the past few minutes and walked in to the home decorating store.