章節 3: Integration
Ezekiel laid on his bed, legs crossed and earbuds in place. He paid extra attention on the NoobTube video about the importance of cover letters. It was important that as a new boyfriend, he must get a job to stop being a leech. That, and he wasted three hour to see none of the channels he subscribed to had released anything good...
The low volume of the radio's static remained ambient noise in the room. This static probably had to do with the snapped antenna— a remnant of Ezekiel's delusional teenage years. He broke it off to use as an extendable baton to wave around like a secret weapon.
"Welcome back, listeners, to The Roué Station at 76*, the only radio station left in the Roebott Broadcasting Company using Amplitude Modulation!" announced the cheery radio host. "Father Nikolai has graced us with his message this afternoon."
Elle gently snored, drool collecting at the corner of her mouth and almost spilling on the arm she was cuddling. Her hair tangled in a disorderly mess, ruined by her constant nuzzling. She had no clothes on, so the ratty blanket accentuated her shapely figure.
"Remember," warned the Caucasian NoobTuber. "Your cover letter says why you are qualified. Keep it short and direct. If you have any referrals, note it. And thank them for their time. An interviewer spends little time on reading it, but first impressions are important."
A faint hum came from the air conditioner in the corner across from the bed. Ezekiel shifted the position of his legs and crackled the joints in his numb ankles. Since the video ended, he moved onto resumés. The cheap but slow Wi-Fi caused the video to buffer, so he changed the quality to 240p.
"...Paying the Church indulgences has long been outdated and foolish," growled the gruff Father on the radio. "There is no value in faith alone. Acts of faith are more meaningful. But be careful. Your beliefs can turn you into a demon if you lose sight of the humanity around you."
Ezekiel flinched as Elle's saliva touched down.
"What the f…? Oh."
He paused the video and set down his phone. Carefully, he pulled his arm out of Elle's grasp. It brushed against her sleeping face, dragging some of the dripping drool with it. He learned over the side of the bed for the tissue box and used some to wipe away the remnants.
"There's got to be a limit to my luck…" Ezekiel said, almost in denial of the recent events. "I thought I wasted it all on being saved and taken care of by her."
He stared at her lips. They glistened after he wiped them. With her defenseless and pure expression, wasn't she asking for him to take her lips?
"...It is fine to experience pleasure, like that between a man and a woman," preached the Father. "But do not let temptations control you. My children, you must be responsible for your life and the life of those you care about."
"Urk…" Ezekiel groaned and got up. "I'm lucky Elle always plays this radio station. I almost molested her in her sleep! How could I do that? That's like paying back goodwill with disgusting abuse!"
It seemed like he was wrong about being more mature. He acted more on reflex than his thoughts. It was harder to change, but he wasn't daunted by the challenge.
Ezekie bundled up his earbuds and left them on the tissue box. After grabbing his phone and his pile of clothes, he rummaged through his plastic drawer unit from IDEA for a change of clothes. The breeze from the air conditioner made his hairy legs cold.
"...Life in moderation is stable. At times, you must be strictly abstinent. At others, you may drink or sleep with your love. Do as the situation calls for, yet not what will shame God."
"Tch," Ezekiel clicked his tongue.
Sneaking between his bed and his short, plastic foldable table by the drawer unit, he went to the tiny bathroom next to the door. He closed and locked the bathroom door before laying his things on the ground.
"Huh. Is facial hair a good idea?" he asked himself in the small mirror on the cabinet. "Nah. This stubble makes me look stupid…"
He shaved it off, cutting down four years on his appearance.
"Damn it. I look like I'm 17 again. Stupid genetics, making me look childish."
Regardless, Ezekiel finished his business as quietly as he could and stepped out in black slacks and a blue collared dress shirt.
He checked the time.
"1:24. Should I wake up Elle? Hm…"
He decided not to. Instead, he slipped his phone in his pocket and balled up his dirty clothes in the towel he used.
"She won't mind me washing my own clothes."
He unlocked the door and grabbed the knob.
"Actually, when's the last time I did do it? Wait, when's the last time I left this room? ...Maybe after graduation?"
A wave of uncertainty filled Ezekiel.
"I should be fine. It's only four rooms down, near the elevator. It's only four rooms. It's only four rooms…"
He took a deep breath and opened the door. The hot sunlight and humid air assaulted him. It covered his body like a steaming, wet blanket.
"Hooo!"
He closed the door behind him and shielded his eyes from the Sun high overhead. It was the third floor of this rundown apartment complex, and so the heat was more intense.
"Four rooms down," Ezekiel told himself. "Four rooms down."
He entranced himself so the height wouldn't send him into vertigo. Each step he took made him conscious of the metal railing, which, in turn, reminded him that he was three floors up.
"Past Elle's room," he said. "Past the storage room. Past the… tenant's room."
He sped up his walk, not eager to know if someone rented it by now.
"The laundry room! Here we are."
He pulled the door opened and shut it quickly. His hastened breaths immediately slowed in the cooler air and artificial light.
"I made it!" he exclaimed, but then noticed the washing machine cycling. "Ah. Of course someone else is using it. I'm not the only person living here."
Since the light was left on, he should've known someone came here already.
"I… I can wait. I can do this. I am responsible. I am responsible."
Ezekiel rubbed his sweating forehead with the back of his hand and then checked on the washing machine.
"Final cycle? Great! I can use this basket they left here and— wait… delicates?"
The washing machine loudly buzzed before shutting off.
"...No, it can't be someone's knickers or something risqué. Right? That's absurd!"
Ezekiel waited for some time, but the tenant who washed their clothes didn't come.
"I can't just leave it in there, right? It'll stink up. It will reek like mildew," he repeated, like a mantra. "I-I'm responsible. They left their laundry basket here, too, s-so…"
His confidence fell when coming across this new scenario. He wasn't comfortable standing around and he eventually had to wash his own clothes.
"Ah, whatever!"
He put his clothes on top of the washing machine. Then, he opened the dryer machine and tossed in a few dryer sheets. His hands hesitated towards the washing machine, but the shaking calmed down.
He opened it and pulled the delicates into the basket.
"..."
It was a large American flag made from some silken substance, wrapped with two American flag pillow covers.
"I'm not sure if I should be relieved or disappointed," Ezekiel sighed.
He moved the filled basket to the dryer machine and stuffed in the fabric. He turned it on, then focused on his own clothes.
"Small load, so I shouldn't use much detergent and…" he mumbled. "There! All done. Now, I wait."
He stood under the lightbulb, all alone in the noise of the dryer machine and the rapidly filling washing machine.
"Let's see," he said, taking out his phone. "It's 1:44. I thought it would be less time."
Suddenly, the door opened.
"Someone's here too?"
"Eh?"
Ezekiel heard that sharp, sickly sweet voice once, somewhere. He looked up to see a woman with her long, smooth black hair cascading around her shoulders like a satin silk curtain. Imperfect clay disks narrowed, staring him down and emitting a simple, but ferocious chill.
"I-I recognize that oversized black sports jacket! This Ahdidyas sportswear, she is that demon!" he thought.
The woman snorted and approached him.
"Hey, what did you do to my stuff?!" she roared. "Are you the creep that took my stuff before!?"
"N-no! I don't kn-know anything!" Ezekiel stammered. "I-I was w-washing my own s-stuff!"
He knocked the laundry basket aside while backing up against the dull eggshell wall. She briskly reached his collar and yanked him to her level. A flash of recognition crossed her enraged expression, but disappeared under a mask of anger.
"Have you ever heard of elastration?" she loudly questioned him, poking his chest.
"N-no," Ezekiel replied, as he squirmed away from her touch.
"It's a bloodless form of castration for livestock," she smirked. "Castraaaation. Do you know what that means?"
Ezekiel's eyes widened and the fear in his heart nearly made him breathless.
"S-stay away! Your stuff's in the dryer, over there! Leave me alone!" he begged while curling up into a ball.
"So you're not the creep that took my stuff…" she trailed off and took a step back, making Ezekiel sigh in relief. "You're a pervert who touched my panties!"
Ezekiel's face darkened.
"W-what!? I thought there was just an American flag and two pillow covers!"
"Aha!" she yelled. "So you did touch my stuff!"
She reached into her jacket and pulled out a metal clamp-like object and a container.
"I got my phone right here!" Ezekiel cried. "I'll call the police!"
The woman laughed and put away the objects.
"You really are childish," she mocked him.
"Shut up! I will call the police if you don't back up!"
"Are you an idiot? A childish idiot threatening other people?"
"That was you!!! If you want your things, check the dryer! If you make any strange moves, I'll call the police!"
Ezekiel already dialed the number and prepared to press it at any time.
"You're that weirdo who always stays in his apartment room. Do you even work, you weirdo?"
"You're a weirdo! Work on your social skills before criticizing me!"
"Fuuuu. I was only joking. I'll only elastrate the creep who keeps taking my stuff. The landlady was right. You're so childish! A childish idiot!"
Ezekiel clenched his teeth.
The woman stopped the dryer and checked inside.
"I wasn't kidding that my panties are in here, you know."
"Shut up! Stop being a weirdo!"
"Che," she scoffed. "I'm being an honest tennant. I spilled apple juice on myself, so I had to wash my sheets and clothes."
"D-don't screw with me!"
"I'm not, I'm not. You're being a childish idiot again."
Ezekiel clenched his fists.
"Anyway, why were you so scared of me? You, a tall and strong man, looked so suspicious of me, a pretty and small girl. If anything, you were the suspicious one."
"T-that, um," Exekiel stumbled over his words, completely caught off guard. "You, uh, looked like someone I know."
"Do I? I thought I was a unique girl. One you'd see once in a million years."
"Um… no...I mean, uh, ah…"
"Pffsh, I'm kidding. You're like a kid. It's too easy to tease you!"
The woman restarted the dryer machine and left for the door.
Ezekiel stayed curled up in a ball, utterly humiliated.
As the door closed, he heard a faint voice whisper, "You idiot. Can't you recognize your only fan?"
"Oh, no…" Ezekiel lamented. "So she is that woman from that weird ProTube app. It wasn't a dream! The crazy things she did, of course she wasn't normal!"
He checked his ruffled collar and noticed no damage.
"And what was with that last line? She's got to be messing with me. Maybe I'm her next target?" he gasped. "First animals, then people! A serial killer in the making! I've got to tell Elle!"
With that thought, he hurried to leave the laundry room when his phone vibrated.
"That's weird. Elle is asleep, so there's no one who can message me."
Ezekiel unlocked his phone and read the name.
"StrangerDanger?! Oh, God!"
He fearfully checked the contents.
"Hey, CorporalKid, or should I say, Ezekiel?" it read. "It's your longtime fan, here! We've just started talking recently, but it wasn't nice of you to rudely treat me. Because of that, I might do something with the landlady, you know? I thought I needed to help you out a little bit more to really learn your lesson. You can have other viewers, but I'll always be your biggest fan. That's why I decided you need to watch me as much as I watch you."
Attached to the message was the same, unassuming hyperlink from that night. Sweat dripped from Ezekiel's face.
"Why did this happen!? I-I can't just let her do this! But, if I do call the police, will they believe me? Or worse, if they even believe me, what will that crazy woman do if she's corner?"
Caught like a wasp in a pitcher plant, he lost all the bravado from before. He left the laundry room and went to his room.
But on the way there, the tenant's room in front of him opened a crack.
"You don't have to worry about your clothes. I'll bring them to you," the familiar voice snickered. "I'll tell you when to come over."
Ezekiel bolted for his room as her laughter swirled through his mind.
He locked himself in, heavily breathing and his back against the door.
Unseen to him, StrangerDanger put on her glasses.
"This will be more fun than burning stray dogs! Ah! What a great toy!"
She opened up NoobTube and swapped it to ProTube. She added everyone else but the landlady to another chat group.
"Change of plans," she wrote in the Carpe Diem 3 chat room. "APriceToPay saw our toy as more than a little brother. She wanted him for herself. You know, we're the type of people that hate selfish individuals who don't share. Any ideas for what to do next?"
As it turned out, StrangerDanger truly didn't see a romantic relationship between herself and Ezekiel. However, that didn't eliminate her excessive possessiveness…
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PettyOfficer
PettyOfficer Happy 4th of July!
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