Page 63 of Dark Endures

Isn’t that a nice way to start the day? Whatever that letter says is really bad.

***

Diane sits down next to me with her lunch box. “Isn’t today wonderful?” She sighs.

No. No. It’s not. That letter was even worse than I thought. The new owners doubled our rent, and it’s all perfectly legal.

Doubled it.

My bank account is empty, and they doubled my rent.

“Tac and I eloped!”

WHAT?

She holds out her ring finger for me to see the two rings. Her diamond shines in the fluorescent lights.

“You got married?”

“Sure did. Tac was so old-fashioned. He insisted we get married before we moved in together.” Diane does a little dance in her chair. “So, we went to the courthouse and got married. Isn’t it amazing?”

Yeah. Totally amazing. Except, I was hoping you’d agree to get an apartment with me since I can’t afford mine now.

There’s always someone looking for a roommate around here. I’ll just check the board later.

***

Nothing. How can the board be empty? It’s never empty. There’s always someone looking for a roommate. This place doesn’t pay enough to afford an apartment on your own in Urbium.

What am I going to do?

My rent is due in two days and I’ll have half. That’s it. Half my rent and not a cent more. If I had a few weeks, the money from cleaning the snakes’ cages would be in my account again, and I could afford to pay my rent. But I can’t keep both these jobs forever.

What am I going to do?

Adonis walks by, heading to his office.

He literally knows everyone.

I log out on a break and head to his office. “You got a minute?”

Adonis smiles up at me. “Always. Come on in.”

He’ll know someone. He knows everyone. Adonis loves to do things like this. He’s a generous and kind man. “Do you, by chance, know of anyone looking for a roommate?”

“Why? Didn’t you move into your new apartment like six months ago?”

See, he’s a nice guy. “Yeah, I did. But they sold it. Then the new owners decided to double the rent.”

Adonis leans back in his chair and looks out at the people working. “How long do you have?”

“Till the end of the month.”

He swivels his chair around. “That’s just a few days away.”

What can I say? Opening my mail became a low-priority task. I shrug.

“There’s no one I know of that’s looking. But I have an idea if you’d be open to it.”

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