The Meteor

It was time to get home. With my arms full of warm laundry, I opened the front door to find a torrential downpour waiting for me. Hell, I thought, I don't have an umbrella. So I dash into the grime-caked street, which was steadily turning browner and sludgier every minute as the rain lifted up who knows what. I started running in the direction of Watershed Heights, splashing brown filth all over my ankles and on the backs of my legs. Gosh, that must have been a sight. A middle-aged, slightly over-weight man running in the rain with arms full of laundry and mud up to his knees. Auuggh, by the time I get home these wont be dry anymore. And it's not like I can go back to the laundromat and stick 'em in the dryer, I thought with grim humour. At least I was pretty close to the apartments.
A few minutes passed as I jogged along, dropping a sock along the way. I blinked the rain out of my eyes. Was that a large crowd of people standing around outside? What were they doing? It looked like they were surrounding something. Then I noticed the emergency vehicles. They were trying to pick up something. What is that? Some of the women were crying, while other observers would stare with wide eyes and then turn away with a sick look on their face, only to look back again as if they had forgotten what the mess looked like. I approached an old woman with a weird bird on her shoulder. "What happened?" I asked.
"Poor soul got run over," she said. The bird just stared at me, unblinking.
"Oh shit." We stood there for a moment, just watching the scene in sombre silence. Then I remembered I still had the laundry in my hands.
When I got back to my apartment, I found a corner in the "bedroom". I dropped the laundry on the floor. It was a little damp, but some of the clothes had escaped the rain by being on the inside. I stripped to my boxers and laid down in my new bed right then and there. I could see the rain coming down outside my window right above me. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't get the images of that dead man out of my head. That was pretty messed up, I thought. As I laid and thought, the rain gradually let up, and the sky cleared. What is that? I thought. Tiny lights started blazing in the sky, but it was hard to see them clearly because the window was so dirty and cloudy. Is that a meteor shower? That's pretty...awesome. I wonder what a meteor is like. I bet it's warm, and gives off a lot of light. I didn't even notice the urge that was starting to gnaw away at my mind. My hands started to shake. Meteors are probably worth a bunch of money too, I could buy a real bed with one of those. I was on my feet by now, and I was suddenly full of energy, alert. A small part of my brain began to realize what was happening, but it was already too late. I had let go of my self control in the laundromat.
My legs start moving of their own accord, out the door, down the stairs, through the lobby, down the street, and eventually make their way to a lake that I hadn't even known about before. Next, my eyes take control. They scan hungrily around, and direct my legs to the homeless section. I'm dimly aware that I'm still in my boxers, but I don't care in the slightest. I can only care about one thing. The meteors. I HAVE to find one. I start running around with my eyes glued to the ground. In my haste, I nearly miss it. But there it is, a small chunk of rock that has singed the plants around it. I pick it up slowly, my hands trembling so violently I might drop it. It's so warm and amazing. And with that my mind clears. Feeling slightly sick to my stomach, and embarassed that I'm almost nude, I make my way back to Watershed Heights, and my apartment which I forgot to lock. I lay back down in my nest of laundry, the warm meteor in my hands. Finally peaceful, I drop off into a deep slumber.

The Problem

"Wow."

It wasn't a good wow. I stood there for a moment looking around. There was literally nothing inside my new place. Not even trash. I started to walk around, to both get my bearings and also to calm my disbelief. Where was I gonna sleep? When I had called to rent a space, they had said they were furnished. But this was definitely not furnished.

I entered the "bedroom". Might as well just call it a room, because there was no bed. My window was pretty large, however. Through the grime I could just make out the street below. "This will be a good place to watch pepole come in and out of this place." I thought. Turning around, I entered the bathroom. At least, at least there was a toilet and shower. I was expecting a few dripping, broken pipes knowing the rest of this place.

Now I was confronted with a dilemma. It's not like I had any money; I had spent it all on the down payment and rent. So the only logical conclusion I could come to was to get a job. Now, I hate working. Jobs and I just don't go together. Due to...something or other, something has always happened so that I've never held a job longer than 6 months. Which is bad. I know it's bad, and I'll never get anywhere in life, but I can't help it. Besides, it's not like I'm actually going anywhere anyways.
Soon bored with my thoughts, I decided to leave my depressing excuse for a home in search of a job. As I walked down to the lobby, I saw an odd woman playing a large instrument. "What the hell?" I thought. This place was just getting weirder.
A half hour or so later found me standing in front of a laundromat. "This looks like a good pace to ask," I thought. As I walked in a bell tinkled, and I was confronted with the sound of washing machines and dryers. One of them was making a loud clunking noise, and shaking a lot.
"Welcome! If you'd like to wash some clothes, please approach the front desk and we can set you up with the things you need," said a smiling woman behind the counter at the far end of the place. As I approached, her smile grew wider and wider. "Hello sir! Would you like to--"
"I need a job," I said abruptly.Oops, I cut her off. I was never one for talking, so I'm afraid my social skills aren't too savvy.
"Ookay...well, I suppose you can try out today behind the desk with me, and we'll see about the future. No need to fill out any forms, mister...what's your name?"
"Klum. Kalvin Klum." A hint of a smile played its way across her features as she heard my name before she quickly hid it by turning her head to look at a door to the back.
"The manager isn't here today, so that's why we can be informal. That's his office back there." She tilted her head back to indicate the door behind her. "Now let's get started..."
A few hours later passed with the girl, who turned out to be named Cindy. After a few tries on her part to start conversations, and me failing, she soon turned to a magazine she had been reading before I came in. I sat and stared for awhile.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to head out for a bit. A girl's gotta eat, ya know? I'll be back in a little over an hour. You'll be okay, right?" I indicated my assent at this and soon I was the only one in the place except for a short man putting his clothes in the drier. I sat there, more bored than ever, inevitably staring at the man. As if he could feel my stare, he quickly glanced around.
"Are you gonna be here for a while?" he suddenly asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," I replied. Not like I had anywhere to go to.
"Okay, well, I'm gonna leave my clothes here and come back in a little bit when they're dry. You think you can watch them?"
"Yeah sure." The man soon left, and I was alone with the machines. My thoughts soon turned to my room. "What am I gonna do about tonight? It's not like I'm gonna make enough money to buy a mattress anytime soon." I started to worry. "What about food? I mean, I'm a big man, so I supppose I can survive a day without anything. But it'll still suck." My eyes wandered around the room. a long time passed, and I still hadn't thought of a solution to my problems yet, either. No one had come in lately either, which meant no money for me.
BZZZ!!! The dryer was done. As I heard it, a thought struck me. No, not a thought, but an urge. And it was a bad urge, too. So bad that it had been steadily ruining my life for years. "No!" I thought. "This is supposed to be a fresh start for me." But the more I denied it, the stronger it came. Before long, I found myself standing in front of the full dryer. I could almost feel the warm clothes. Smell the dryer sheets. But I couldn't do it. Shouldn't do it. What if Cindy-or worse- the man walked in? But it was too much. Feeling sick, yet satisfied at the same time, I quickly opened the dryer and grabbed an armful of towels, shirts, you name it. And I got the hell out of there.
Well, so much for a new life. At least I'll have something to sleep on tonight.

New Surroundings

"Hopefully I can start a new life here."
That was my first thought when I walked through the front door of Watershed Heights. My next thought was one of confusion. "Where is everybody?" I had been expecting at least a receptionist. How was I supposed to get into my new apartment? All I saw was a vacant desk with a few dying plants and a cup of old coffee on it. I walked over, and then noticed a small sticky note that looked like it had been used before stuck haphazardly on the side of the counter. It read,
Will be back sometime. If you are a new occupant, please proceed to your room and all will be taken care of.
"Well I suppose that's a bit better. At least they were semi-ready for me." Luckily, I already knew what my room number was. I had never actually been there though, because the circumstances of acquiring the room had been a bit tricky. The problem was, I had sort of been asked to leave in a not very nice way from my old place. Certain things had gone down, which weren't really my fault, although it may have appeared that way. Okay maybe they were my fault. But all in all it forced me to find a new place very quickly, which may in fact turn out to be a good thing! And then maybe I can get over my problem...
This was all being thought as I walked up the creaky, dirt-stained stairs up to the third floor. Immediately to my right was room 304. "Hey! This is my room!" My hand was reaching down to the handle when I noticed another sticky note, this time on the door knob.
Key under mat.
"Oh great, anyone could have read that. I've been in crapholes before, but this place really is bad."
I stepped inside my new apartment.