Disclaimer: Everything in this chapter is by me.
Rating: PG-13
It was a beautiful day outside with the sun shining brightly, while the wind coming from the northeast kept everything cool. Today was a good day to be outside enjoying the weather and communing with nature. I had thought about going over to the pool to sunbathe, but that was put on the back burner due to my allergies. So I'm standing here looking out the window of my patio door in deep thought. My husband, Chris, and I live on the second floor of an apartment building. It's one of the many buildings that make up Blue Ridge Apartments. As far as I know, they've been here since the late 60's early 70's. Even though the owners keep up with the outside pretty good, the inside tells a different story, depending on whom you ask that is. My apartment is a nice apartment and I do my best to keep it looking nice, for those unexpected drop ins. The only beef I have with it is the bathroom and the kitchen. You can tell the buildings are old just by these two rooms. We have a heater and stove that runs off gas, cabinets that are coming off the bolts in the walls, not to mention the wood is dry rotting and the pipes are rusty and leak a lot.. The bathroom is no picnic either, the cabinets under the sink are in the same condition as the ones in the kitchen, the wallpaper in the shower is peeling, while the dry wall behind it is rotting away from the leaking pipes.. We also recently had to paint the bathroom with special paint to get rid of the mildew. It came from no ventilation and to much condensation. That is the other issue I have with our apartment; its source of ventilation is bad. There are only two windows and the patio door, other than that it feels like we live in a mental institution. The kitchen and bathroom are so small, that only one person can be in then at a time. The hallway leading to the bedrooms are like a one way street. The bedrooms are just big enough for a bed, a dresser, and not much of anything else. The living area however, takes up most of the apartment, but then again it acts as the living room and the dining room. The walls are all white and the carpet is a light brown color. However, we've hung things here and there to make it look more homey and less blah. Our furniture however is on its last leg, due to my cats and their fetish to claw everything up but their scratching post. That's ok though, cause the furniture is old anyway. It's been here as long as Chris and I have and that will be eight years in November. Freckles is the name of my oldest cat. She's fifteen years old and a calico. My middle kitty is a cross between a Blue Russian and a Burmese her name is Mischieve. Betcha can guess why we named her that. She'll be two in July. The youngest and the biggest of the three is Newbie and he'll be two in August. We have decided that since he was a stray, that his father must have been a cat from the wild. We're thinking either a lynx or a bobcat. He's all gray, but you can see black stripes in her fur and he's got these big ears with lots of hair coming out of them. I know this isn't funny, but sometimes when you look at him all you see is his ears.
I know most of you think I'm weird by now, but what you don't know is that's only the beginning. My name is Crystal Gail Woodson Hilton and I'm a 29-year-old college student. I'm also currently un-employed and out of college for the summer. For a while all I have been doing is work on small projects around the house, while catching up on my reading. But as time goes by, it gets old and boring, so I've started looking for employment again. I filled out paperwork with a temp agency for work. They said they�d call me when something comes in and that's been three weeks ago. By now my eyes are draining water, while my head and sinuses are so stuffed up that it hurts to think straight. I headed for the kitchen for some Benadryl and a Coke. Chris had gone to work a couple of hours ago and I was basically here by myself if you don't count the kitties. Opening the refrigerator door, I looked in and groaned. It was empty, which means I'm going to have to go to the grocery store this weekend. Newbie, like always, tries to climb up in the fridge.
I had to grab him around the middle to pull him out, while sternly saying, "No Newbie, You do not belong in the refrigerator."
He just looks up at me with wide eyes and replies in return, "Meow." Which I take to mean, "What did I do now."
Moving him out of the way, I shut the door and headed to the computer with my Coke and Benadryl. Sitting down in the chair, I was about to connect to the Internet, when the phone rang. I rolled my eyes and let the answer machine pick up. If it was someone I wanted to talk to I�d answer it, if not then oh well, they'll get over it.
When the beep sound finished a voice came over the line, "Hey Punk if your there, pick up the phone. I need to ask you something,"
I snorted and grabbed for the phone. It was my baby sister Winky. Even though she was eleven years younger than me, she was my height and wears clothes that are two sizes bigger than what I wear. What size do I wear you might ask, well if you really want to know it's size forteen.
You don't want to make her mad; she gets mean when she's mad. Clicking the phone on I said, "Yellow."
"Hey what are you doing right now and where's Chris," She asked.
"Chris is at work and I'm not doing anything right now," I answered.
"Good, we'll be there in a half hour. Be ready to leave when we get there," she said and before I could answer she had hung up the phone.
I just stood there staring at the phone with an evil look. Putting the phone back on the receiver, I headed toward the bedroom to change out of my p.j.'s, which consist of a black T-shirt with a white tiger on it and a pair of white superman shorts. I had my shower earlier, so all I had to do was pick out my clothes. I went with a pair of platform black open-toed sandals, a pair of light brown shorts and a black cotton shirt, with underwear and bra to match the shirt. It took me only fifteen minutes to get ready and that's without make-up, which I rarely wear.. Not because I don't want to, but because I can't. I'm allergic to some of the ingredients that are used to make the stuff. God, I hate my allergies!
I had just grabbed my purse and keys, when there was a loud knock on the door and someone on the other side screamed, "Open up in the name of the law!"
Cursing under my breath and hoping the neighbors didn't hear, I screamed back, "Hold onto your panties, I'll be there in a minute!"
Shutting off all the lights to my apartment, I patted my kitties on their heads and told them to be good before I opened the front door. Standing there grinning from ear to ear was my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and my baby sister, Winky. They each grabbed one of my arms and pulled me out the door, shutting it behind me. They were up to something and it wasn't good and all I have to say in my defense is Welcome To My Life.