My studio, this circus
My name is Riley, 20 years old, and I have to tell you what happened… something already has an eye on us.I just landed in my first student studio, a cubbyhole that smells of paint.
This morning, it’s the inventory with the landlords, a couple of fifty-somethings who scrutinize me as if I were going to tag the walls.
The guy, with his retired cop mustache, throws at me: “We keep a duplicate of the keys and we drop by from time to time to check that everything is fine.
”I raise an eyebrow, like, seriously? He adds, with a paternalistic air: “But rest assured, we always knock before entering.”
Great, I’m going to stress every time I touch myself in the shower. Settled in for a few days, and waiting for my term to start, I’m so bored that going grocery shopping makes me happy!
A few months later, my mother and my two little cousins, Milo, 4 years old, and Noé, 5 years old, show up to visit my palace. First apartment, big pressure, I want to show that I’m handling it. Except that these kids, it’s chaos. Milo, with his angel face, climbs on my couch and – bam – pees on it, a puddle that smells of shame. I scream, my mother laughs, and there, Noé, not to be outdone, decides to aim beside the toilet, leaving a little hideous pile on the tile.
I stare at the carnage, on the verge of tears, while my mother consoles me: “They love your apartment, darling!”
In the evening, Jake finally shows up. He hasn’t been able to leave his room at his parents’ for the moment, but there, it’s official: we’re going to live together here. He discovers the studio, his eyes sparkle, and we decide to test the bed to see if it withstands our romps.
We kiss, I climb on him, his hands slide over my hips, and we fuck, shaking the mattress like wild animals. It’s hot, quick, and the bed holds up – comfortable, on top of that!But suddenly, we hear moans and creakings through the wall. The room next door, it’s a real sound mess, like a live X film.
According to the concierge, the student would outright shoot pornos. Great, the nights to come.The following days, I finally savor the calm. My neighbor, a party student, stopped his noisy parties after a week of infernal racket. Total relief… until I learn that he’s moving out and passing the apartment to his brother, a first-year student, even more of a partier than him who organizes surprise orgies! Great!!!!
A box is still lying in the common hallway, gutted: black cables, a foldable tripod, a torn label where one can guess “…cam”. I shrug my shoulders. The brother must just be recovering the gear for his projects.
