Princess is No Name I Deserve

Looking out the window, it was at first nothing new. The more I looked through the untinted window, I began to realize I'd have to see things in a totally different light. Were I really just a boring young girl from Nixa, Missouri who was fed up with an over-working mother, this would be amazing to me. I needed to start acting like it. The longer I looked still, I actually was amazed at the things around me, because I was seeing them myself, without an overbearing bodyguard telling me to keep the window rolled up so the paparazzi didn't see me

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Veta said, looking at me with a gaze to match an older sister showing a younger sister around high school.

"Yeah, it's just... Wow." Of course, I couldn't explain to her my amazement. Sure, I'd been to New York before, but never alone. I always had someone around telling me how to act, to be careful. This time I was free. I didn't think Veta would force me to do anything I shouldn't or keep me from anything I wanted. I turned to look at her in adoration for a moment. Clearly, she had no idea what she was getting into or how to read the look on my face. I simply looked out the window again.

"Here we are, ladies," the cabbie finally said, pulling up to a curb.

As he was pulling my luggage from the trunk, I looked at the apartment by where we stopped. It was gorgeous, reminding me of a very upscale condo.

"Getting your hopes up already?" Veta said. She offered a hand to take my luggage from me.

I answered simply, "Kind of."

"We're down a ways. This is just where I'd walked before a taxi finally stopped. He was very exact when I said to take us to where he picked me up," a chuckle followed. "I'm not this fancy."

We walked a few blocks in mostly awkward silence. I really didn't know what to say to her, and now we're moving in together. "Umm," I started. "So, who else is at the apartment?"

"Well, it's a three bedroom," she said. "Our bass player has one of them to his self. He's not attached at the moment. So there's no annoying bitch over there all the time. It's me, as you know. My boyfriend comes over on occasion, for practice and... y'know... Cuddling."

My face turned a pink shade involuntarily. Being that I had no friends, honestly, I didn't know how to react around a friend's significant other. Do they automatically become a fellow friend? Can I tell her if I think he's attractive? If he's cute, would that warrant jealousy or me being kicked out? "So I get a room all to myself?" I had to change the subject in my head before I tried to call my mom to get out of this situation in which I was completely unprepared.

Veta looked at me. "C'mon," she noticed my blush. "You've had a boyfriend before, right?"

"Well, yeah!" I didn't want her to think I was crazy. There was Stephan. We never really... "cuddled." I couldn't imagine letting a human being that close to me.

She looked my face over. "You haven't... Oh... My God. You haven't had a boyfriend."

"No, really! I have," I protested. "I mean, it's been a while, but I've had a boyfriend. Not like how you and your boyfriend are, I'm sure," unless your boyfriend outed you to people who ruined your life, "but I have had a boyfriend."

I was pulled into a hug, "It's okay. We'll find you a good man. Probably one with tattoos and piercings, but a good man." Releasing me, she said, "Now, let's go start a new life for you."

After getting somewhat excited about the condo, the apartment we ended up at was only a huge disappointment. I wouldn't say it was the most run down apartment building there was, but it was far from the best. The upkeep was fine, I don't know. I guess after being so, let's be honest, privileged, anything is a downgrade. This was ultimately what I was looking for.

"At least you'll have a view." We walked up a few steps to the entrance way.

Well, at least they have an elevator. I imagined something that didn't have an elevator and being on the top floor. "Are we on top?"

"Just about," my new roommate answered. "We're on the 13th floor. It's a smaller building. Which is nice, in my opinion. The neighbors are pretty relaxed. They know about the band and everything. After a good show we'll have a party, a few of them come over."

I felt anticipation growing as the elevator went up. My heart raced. Could your heart beat fast enough it just kind of jumped out of your chest? I thought mine was about to.

"Since the apartments are kind of big, there's only three on each floor. We're pretty close-knit here." Veta led me around the corner, threw her keys out of her small purse, which must have weighed a ton judging by all the keychains that dangled from her one house key. When we entered the apartment, I was kind of surprised to say the least. It was actually pretty well put together, I mean, if you like classic horror movie posters and old punk bands. "Is it too weird for you?"

"No, just different. My mom's style of decorating was much more... minimalistic, I guess." This was all very true, of course. You wouldn't really decorate a home you spend maybe a grand total of a month at over the year. It was the maids who decorated, and they kept it simple so there was less to dust. "I like it. It's just different than I'm used to."

"Oh. Well, here's your room," Veta pointed to a room that was right by the front door. It seemed like a weird place for a door. I mean, would you have your bedroom right next to your front door, where your foyer should be? No wonder mom didn't take an interest in any upscale apartments. The designing made no sense.

I opened the door. The walls were black. What the heck. Who does that? "I'm sorry, Jeremy worked nights and he was a little too extreme, even for us. I'm pretty sure he was convinced he was a vampire. When I brought stuff to his room, I couldn't see anything with his black out curtains. Like, it was bad." She laughed, "So when your username was 'IHateMosquitoes' it was just like Jeremy. We called him a mosquito behind his back constantly." I suppose I was giving her a look because she added, "That's not why we kicked him out! I was doing his laundry because he got a lot of warnings at work about his clothes being dirty. He didn't do dishes. He paid his bare minimum of bills. It was just... Too much to deal with."

"Yeah..." I just stare into the blackness. I hope I don't actually have to live in this night of a room.

"We will paint it any color you want. It will just take a lot of paint." Veta gave me a promising smile. I really thought this would work.