A TROUBLED ROOMMATE Page #2

• Mystery
• Short story
• Fiction

								


The next day, Stacie left the library late and stops in a sandwich shop to get tuna sandwiches and chips for herself and Chandra for dinner. Upon leaving, she’s forced to wait. There in front of the sandwich shop stood Chandra and her boyfriend, Troy. After waiting five minutes, she leaves the shop, hoping they are not going the same way, but they were. Not wanting to be seen, a safe distance is kept from them. Troy is holding Chandra tight against him, and she looks uncomfortable. That doesn’t look like affection to me, Stacie observes. Once it was safe, she stops and waits for a bus.

 Stacie arrives at the apartment first on this day with a focus on Chandra’s room. Was the gun still in the dresser draw hidden under T-shirts? Chandra is not expected for another hour and temptation got the best of Stacie. Knocking first and getting no answer, she goes in the room, checks the bottom dresser drawer, and finds the gun missing. Oh My God! she said, with a look of terror on her face. The T-shirts were still there but no gun. She searches other places in the room, but the gun could not be found. Stacie wonders now If Chandra took the gun with her and is planning to using it. Plenty of thoughts were going through her mind. Was it safe to be in the apartment with Chandra? What if she gets angry one day and pulls the gun on her? She left Chandra’s room to change her clothes. Soon Chandra comes through the door, slamming it, and going straight to her room without even a hello. Stacie heard this but continues  preparing turkey wings and carrots for dinner. Chandra came out of her room five minutes later and turns on the seven o’clock news. Stacie didn’t know what to make of her mood and tries to keep up her usual routine.
 “Hey Chandra dinner will be ready soon.”
“Hey,” Chandra said in a low energy voice.
“How was your day?”
  	“ Look Stacie, can’t you see I’m watching the dog gone news?”   
 “Well yeah but--,”
 “Alright then shut up so I can listen.” 
Stacie got back to making dinner. She didn’t know if Chandra was carrying the gun in her purse or not and didn’t want to make things worse. She sat down to eat without saying anything to Chandra and left the kitchen for her to clean up. 

Surfing the internet while half asleep, Stacie woke up just in time to hear the slow turning of the doorknob. Her heartbeat got faster and faster as the sound of twisting and turning of the doorknob continues. Three bangs on her door came quick. Panicking and grabbing her cell phone to call the police,  but she stops upon hearing a yell from the hallway. 
“Stacie! Stacie! why is your door locked?”
Her heartbeat got even faster, and she didn’t want to keep Chandra waiting, especially knowing about the gun. 
“I, I just wanted some privacy, that’s all”
Chandra yells, in a strong voice,
 “You never wanted privacy before, why now?”
Stacie couldn’t stall any longer. She gets up and opens the door. Chandra is standing there with frustration on her face, hunching her shoulders then saying, 
“I just wanted to tell you the kitchen is done. Now I’m going to bed.”
“Oh, ok,” Stacie said in a happy voice. With a sigh of relief, she closes her door without locking It, not wanting Chandra getting mad with her again. 
 Thank God she didn’t pull out a gun, Stacie thought to herself.


Later on, Stacie went to the kitchen for a glass of water when suddenly, Chandra’s door flew open, causing her to scream and drop the glass of water.
“What’s wrong with you yells Chandra?”
“You scared me! Stacie said, holding her chest.
“I heard a noise. I thought somebody broke in.” 
“No, it’s just me.”
Once Chandra calms down, she goes back to her room and closes the door. Stacie cleans up the broken glass, mops up the water and goes back to her room without getting another glass of water. She wants to lock her door but doesn’t. Sitting on the bed, thoughts about Chandra  come to mind. What did she do with the gun? Is it still in the apartment? Did she hurt anybody? I have to find out what’s going on with this woman she whispers, or I might be forced to leave this apartment.

One Saturday afternoon Stacie rents a blue zip car and waits for Chandra to leave the apartment. Hours went by before she finally left, and Stacie follows her. Taking the bus to the suburbs Chandra got off and went into a green two-story house. Stacie waits and waits but no movement or action was seen coming  from the house. Two hours later Chandra came out of the house with two females. One female went back inside, and Chandra and the other female walks to the bus stop and waits. Once they got on the bus Stacie follows them in her zip car to where the female got off downtown. Chandra remains on the bus and got off at their apartment. Stacie did not let Chandra see her in the zip car. She concludes that Chandra was working on a project with the two females relating to classes, which didn’t involve any wrongdoing. 

Stacie enters the apartment an hour later and there sat Chandra on the sofa watching TV. The news had gone off, but Chandra was eating popcorn and watching a movie about a love story. 
“Hey, where you been?” She ask.
“I went to the library,” Stacie said, lying.
“This is a good movie. You wanna  watch?” 
Stacie was not trusting Chandra’s good mood. Hoping not to offend she replies,
 “No thanks, I have some studying to do.” 
Chandra gave Stacie a quick glance and said,
“It’s your loss. This movie is so good.”

Over the next several weeks Stacie notice that Chandra was not going out with Troy on weekends like she used to, and Troy hadn’t been over to the apartment for a while. Did they break up? Whenever Chandra does leave the apartment, Stacie continues to follow her when possible. But  in her search for answers, she couldn’t. find any wrongdoing. Everything at this point only involves Chandra’s work and classes.
  
Chandra and Stacie keep their thing of not being as close as before going. They did continue working together with the chores but still not eating dinner together, going to movies or doing each other’s hair. 
Stacie wants to approach Chandra about the gun but can’t find the courage. Sunday after church she came in the apartment just in time to hear Chandra yelling on the phone.
“Alright, alright, I’ll meet you. Just don’t keep calling me so much.”  
Quickly, she closes the door, shivering from the cold, and took off her coat. Chandra rushes by her with coat and hat towards the front door, not wanting to explain, she said,
 “I’m going out.” 
“See yah,” Stacie yells. 
There wasn’t time for Stacie to rent a zip car and follow Chandra. But she was curious as to whether the gun was left behind. Taking a chance and hurrying to Chandra’s room, she tries to get in, but  to her surprise, the door was locked. She figures this is payback from Chandra for when she locked her door. 

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