(Paused - Do Not Delete) A Really Super Roommate

Red Thread Fate

Red Thread Fate

Active Member
"Okay... So... here I am." Ava let out a long breath she'd been unconsciously holding.

"Say something, ma'am?" The cab driver asked looking back in the mirror at her.

"Nope. Just gathering my thoughts." And trying not to think to much either. That was what seemed to trigger... Well, best to not even think about it. "Are we getting close?"

"Almost there. If the rush hour traffic doesn't... Well, damn. Sorry." He laughed as they suddenly came up on a bottleneck.

She swallowed hard as she could feel herself getting antsy. Ok. Don't do anything stupid. Just enjoy the ride.

"Ugh. Looks like there's an accident up at the light. This will take a while."

Oh great! I wish we could just go already...

Not two seconds later, the car surged forward into the one in front of it with a crunch. The guy driving it jumped out and started swearing a blue streak and waving his arms. The dumbfounded taxi driver looked backwards only to see that nobody was behing him close enough to have shoved him forward.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"What? What do you mean you're sorry? I don't know what happened, but I'm pretty sure you couldn't-"

Her hands shaking, she took out her wallet and shoved a few hundreds at him. "I'll just walk from here. I hope this helps with your car."

Even more confused now, the cabbie just stared at the money. "Thanks... Two... er... two streets down and take a left. Third building on your right."

But she barely heard him, she was in such a hurry to get out of there. He was right. It couldn't possibly be her fault. But it was. She was sure it was. Now she just needed to get out of there before something else happened. Thank God she still had some of that settlement money left over from the accident.

It would be ok. She would lay low, figure things out, and go back to a relatively normal life. Gripping her rolling suitcase handle that now housed all she owned, she prayed that at least her roommate wouldn't be too curious. If this didn't work out, she didn't know what to do.

As she passed the original accident, her heart sank. It was rough. Looked like someone was going pretty fast when they ran a red light and hit another car T-boning it. There was an ambulance already, but they were standing back because one of the cars was on fire. She closed her eyes and hurried away, hoping against hope that everybody would be alright. One thing was for sure, she couldn't help by getting any closer.

The fire went compleyely out an instant before it would have hit the tank. Eye witnesses were baffled. The paramedics would later call what happened a miracle.
 
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Tinker had been in this apartment for less than a week. Four days, to be exact. It was a nice apartment, actually, especially considering it was a basement. Most basements were dark and claustrophobic feeling, but this one had huge window wells with huge windows that let in a ton of natural light! The kitchen was on the small side, and a bit awkwardly placed as when you walked into the apartment, you entered straight into the kitchen, but there were two decent sized bedrooms, a large living room, and the bathroom was recently renovated! She couldn't remember living in a place that didn't have a totally sucky bathroom. Yes, the window in the bathroom and the kitchen were small, and there wasn't a proper vent or fan above the stove, but it was bright, roomy, and the laundry unit was only out the door and around the corner. Bonus, it came with huge car garage.

She sat curled up on the tiny, floral covered loveseat in front of the large living room window, reading a manual for a 1970's Dodge challenger, drooling a little over the pictures. That was her next project, and she was so psyched!! It was going to be so great working on piece of history like that. She wondered if she could talk her boss into painting it cherry red when they were done.

The sound of feet on the stairs outside the door dragged her attention away from the manual and she checked the clock. "Oh, crud!" she gasped. "It's that late already??" She tossed the book onto the oversized ottoman that also served as her coffee table and bolted from the low couch. moving at top speed, she grabbed the various books, gadgets, gizmoes, and tools she'd left laying around and tossed them haphazardly into her room. She'd figure that mess out later. Her bare feet padded silently across the the beige shag carpet as she shoved a couple of books onto the two already jam-packed bookshelves in the corner next to her computer desk. Okay... it still looked a touch untidy, but she prefered to think of it as "lived-in." Everything was clean, there were no obvious dust bunnies, and she'd actually gotten her laundry folded and put away so there were no pairs of underwear hanging around.

Tinker took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she straightened her tank top then brushed her hands over her denim capris. "Roommate, here we come!" she half sang under her breath, watching the door. "And if that isn't you, girl, and I panicked for nothing, I'm going to be sorely disappointed."
 
"Um... Hey... Hello. Are you Tinker? I'm Ava. Ava Lynn." She waved from the staircase, but immediately realized that probably looked silly since she was standing right there next to the couch. There was a faint smell of motor oil in the air, but they were right near the garage. The place looked decent sized. Clean. More open than she had expected. Which was nice since she had expected a whole apartment or house rather than the bottom half of one. That wasn't an issue, though. This basement was big enough to be its own house, actually! She had probably just misunderstood the ad. She came down the rest of the way and extended her hand.

"This place is actually a lot nicer than I expected! Not - you know - I wasn't looking for a hole in the wall. But for the price, I mean." Shut up or she'll think she's asking too little, you idiot. "Anyhow... I brought the first month and the deposit. I was hoping to move in right away, if that's alright. I hope. I just got into town today. B-but if it's not I could get a hotel for a night or two. Whatever is convenient for you." She couldn't be more obviously a bundle of nerves if she tried.
 
Tinker grinned as she padded over to her new roommate - still barefoot - and extended a hand. "Hi, Ava! I am, indeed, Tinker! It's nice to meet you. And don't worry, I totally get it. I thought this place was going to be a total hole in the ground. I mean, more than a basement already is!" She laughed happily and tossed her head, inviting her new friend in. Her laugh sounded a bit like a faerie's, and it had taken her years to learn to accept it and stop threatening to knock the block off of every boy who teased her about it or her height. Or lack thereof.

She pranced back inside, leaving the suitcase to Ava just in case Ava was the kind of person who didn't like other people messing with her stuff. Ava's arm looked odd, but Tinker was trying not to stare. She was really curious to figure out if it was a sleeve tattoo, a weird shirt, or something else, and it was hard to satisfy one's curiosity if you couldn't get a proper look at anything and not be accused of staring!

"Sorry everything is kind of low. And careful you don't tip over the step stools," Tinker warned.
 
Ava followed, dragging the suitcase behind her which suddenly, randomly decided to lose a wheel. She scooped it up and shoved it in her pocket, picking the suitcase up by the smaller handle on the side in an attempt to save face. Maybe she didn't need to, though. Tinker seemed pretty laid back.

She caught the moment when she looked at her arm though. Again relieved that she ignored it and didn't make a big deal about it. "I don't mind it being low. I'm not super tall myself. As for the step stools, never can have too many of those around in case you need them. Changing lightbulbs, smoke alarms, imaginary tea parties. You know, emergencies like that." She smirked.

"And hey, you can ask me anything. I'm not sensitive about my arm. Literally, I can't feel it. This thing is robotic but it's lighter than it looks and it works pretty well. I lost my arm in an accident at work. I worked a factory job for a while. Got caught in a jammed machine trying to fish something out and some numbskull turned it on. But I got a nifty new arm for free and a nice little chunk of accident settlement money, so it's all good. I'll never get used to writing my name with this thing though." She shrugged, then stretched her arm out for closer inspection. "They explained to me at the office how it moves and everything, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was kinda in shock still. Basically it works off brain and nerve signals just like real muscles, only not exactly in the same way. Some high tech experimental stuff. But it was free. Can't argue with that."
 
Tinker looked Ava over and grinned when she mentioned not being tall. A couple of inches shy of five feet tall, herself, everyone looked tall to Tinker. But she let it go. Ava seemed like a chill sort of person, and those types were hard to come by.

"Really?" she blurted, turning to opened stare at the arm in wonder. "A neurologically linked prosthetic? I thought those were still in clinical trials! Very nice. Is it modular? Is it FDA certified? How many-" She caught herself and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Mechanics are kind of my thing. It looks sweet, and it gives you a rad steampunk vibe." She winked at Ava and forced herself to turn away and not stare at the arm. Come on, let me show you your room!"

Tinker walked down the short hall and pointed out the door on the right. "That's the bathroom. There's another bathroom right above us, and while for the most part the soundproofing is pretty good between floors, sound carries pretty easily through the pipes in here, so it can get a bit weird when the parents upstairs are giving their singing five-year-old a bath while you are trying to do your business or take your own shower." Then she opened the closed door at the end of the hall. "And this is your room! I cleaned it yesterday, but it might be a tad stuffy. It rained, so I couldn't leave the door open. The gutters tend to leak right above this window, so splashage during rainstorms is a given."

The room wasn't huge, but it was spacious, with a full-sized bed (no sheets) in the middle of one wall. Directly across from the door was a giant window into a big window well equipped with its own tiny ladder for fire escape purposes. The small closet was on the wall across from the bed. There was no dresser or anything else, but room for anything to be added.
 
"Yep, I can walk right into a convention and nobody will ask why I'm not wearing a costume." It felt good to get a reaction of interest for a change instead of blank stares and inexplicable avoidance. "So you're into cars and stuff, huh? I noticed the magazine when I came in. That's really neat. I've never had a head for mechanical stuff. I guess that's ironic, right?" She shrugged and followed Tinker's lead, observing the bathroom and bedroom. "So I guess it gets pretty loud when it rains? Shouldn't be a problem. I sleep like a rock most nights. And yeah, loud neighbors are pretty much a given if you live downstairs. If it's just the bathroom, that's a lot better than most places. My last apartment, no joke, this dude took like waterfall showers. You could hear it all over the apartment just gushing wide open for, like, two hours straight. He's probably the reason the complex started charging for water. He sang too. Badly. I'm pretty sure I can handle a singing five year old." She laughed. Okay, so far so good.

"So one thing. I don't have a job lined up yet. Maybe that's dumb of me. But I was in a bad situation and kinda had to get while the getting was good. I've done a little bit of everything, though, so it shouldn't be long. Even if it takes a while, I'm good for it. Like I said, settlement money. But one other thing you should know about me. I'm kinda... accident prone I guess you could say. Not being able to feel a limb kind of throws you off balance I guess? Anyway, I'm sorry in advance if I break anything. It's not intentional. At all. I just hope you don't regret having me as a roommate." She scratched the back of her head nervously before hauling her bag the rest of the way into the bedroom.

Pretty sparse. Nothing here really but a bed. Oooh! Fire escape! That might come in handy actually. "Looks like I'll have to go shopping. Got any good stores around here?" She rubbed her hands together. "I love bargain hunting. I'm like a bloodhound." Hmm. Was shopping a good idea right now? She felt okay. Not shaky or nervous or anything. Maybe so!
 
Tinker shrugged as she leaned on the wall. "You know, everyone always says to have a job lined up before you quit your old job, but that doesn't always work. Like... what if you're moving states to... be with your sick mother or something? Most places don't like to hire out of state unless it's a narrow field. Like sometimes tech people or teachers, but the rest will turn you down because of an invisible line. And sometimes you just really, really need to get out or away or something, and then you don't always have a choice or time. It makes sense. So don't worry about it. You just take a couple of days to get settled in and rest, then I can maybe help you out. And don't worry about the accident-prone stuff. I'm a tinker! Fixing stuff is what I do!"

She gave her new friend a grin then walked around the corner to her room, which was off the living room. There was a rather pointless (in her opinion) wall between the living room and the bathroom, creating the hallway that led to Ava's room. Tinker's room was around that wall and right off the living room. She went to her room and opened an old steamer trunk at the end of her rather ricketty metal-framed twin bed. After a minute of rummaging, she found two flat sheets, a pillowcase, and an extra pillow. It was a bit flat, and one of the sheets had little red fire engines while the other was a nice pink floral print, but they were clean. She grabbed a heavy blanket on her way out and went back to Ava.

"Here you go! I tend to collect sheets because they are really useful, so you can use these until you get your own. I don't have a fitted sheet that fits a full bed, but this flat is big enough you can tuck it around the mattress, I think." She handed Ava the sheets and the blanket for approval and prepared to help make the bed.
 
She smiled. This girl was really nice. It made her want to confide in her a little bit. But how much would be too much? That line was to fuzzy to try to walk it. "Thanks. These will be great for now."

Without waiting or looking for help, she quickly and efficiently made up the bed. It took only a minute, and looked like you could bounce a penny off of it when she was done. "Military household," she said with a shrug. "Most of the perfection and discipline stuff didn't take, but I sure as heck know how to make a bed."

"So hey, what about you? What's your story?"
 
Tinker watched Ava fly in amazement. Now that was some efficient bed-making skills! Hotels would love to have her on the cleaning crew. Nice and tight, and the military background made sense, she supposed.

"No military in my background as far as I know," she shrugged. "Although I think there was a pirate way back when? At least, that's what I was told by my grandfather once. Red Beard or something. Really creative name, isn't it?" She snickered then continued, "I work in a specialized auto body shop where we do work on revitalizing and refurbishing vintage cars. I only just started, so for now I'm on polishing duty until I can prove myself on a vehicle that doesn't cost more than one of those mini mansion houses."

She turned and started walking back down the mini hallway so Ava wouldn't feel crowded or boxed in. "I do have a brother, an older one who likes to play guardian, and he'll probably drop in now and then to check on on baby sis as he passes through."
 
"Your job sounds neat. Even if it's just polishing for now, at least you get to be around those great old cars. I have an older brother too, but we're not that close. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm adopted or the fact that he got a whole lot more of the army brat than I did. I guess I'm just stuck with the brat part." She grinned at Tinker when she mentioned that she might have some pirate in her background. "That makes me think of the old nursery rhyme. How did it go...? 'Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, pie man, beggar man, thief.' I have no clue where it came from, but I always liked the alliteration... Aaand now it's going to be stuck in my head forever."
 
Tinker giggled. "Tinker, Tailor? Well, whoever marries me will be marrying a tinker no matter my vocation! It's an old rhyme that kids used to sing while skipping rope or counting things, like a fortune-telling device. I know some people have it different, but the one I remember is..." She took a deep breath and started wagging her finger in time to the beat as she chanted the rhyme.

When shall I marry?
This year, next year, sometime, never.
What will my husband be?
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich-man, poor-man, beggar-man, thief.
What will I be?
Lady, baby, gypsy, queen.
What shall I wear?
Silk, satin, muslin, rags
How shall I get it?
Given, borrowed, bought, stolen.
How shall I get to church?
Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart.
Where shall I live?
Big house, little house, pig-sty, barn.

She paused for a breath. "I think you can also count flower petals with it, and theoretically, whatever you land on is what will come true, but I never got the nuances of the game." She paused to think. "I think there's a song with that in it, too. Um, Robo-head? Radical Head? Something like that, I can't remember. I heard it once on the radio."
 
"Oh wow. You have a much better memory than I do." Ava shook her head. "I don't know about the song though. I don't think I ever heard of it."

She started unpacking her suitcase. It was mostly clothes and toiletries, nothing special or really valuable. She had a laptop and some books, but that was it as far as personal effects went. "Hey, I'm thinking of going shopping. Could you show me around so I don't get completely lost? Oh and... you probably don't want to go down 7th avenue. There was a really bad wreck there."
 
Tanker nodded. "Sure! I'm no expert, I'm still learning the back ways and stuff, but I know how to get to the three most important places when you move into a new town: work, the grocery store, and the library." She gave Ava a wink then giggled. "I'm going to grab my socks and shoes. Take your time, the rush hour is just starting to wind down."

She trotted into her room and quickly brushed her hair and tied it back before grabbing a denim jacket and her shoes. In no time at all, she was in the kitchen hunting for her car keys.

"I can cook a little, but I'm not great. What about you?" she asked as she shoved her feet into her shoes.
 
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Ava gave a nod and shut the door to change. It had been a long, hot ride in that taxi, and she was a little whiffy. After freshening up she put on some khaki cargo shorts and a grey top that said 'I broke up with my gym - we just weren't working out.' It wasn't one of her favorites but it was cute and most importantly cool.

She pulled a little stand up mirror out of her bag and placed it on top of the window ledge. "Keep cool and don't screw this up, okay birdie?" She used the old nickname kids at school gave her. Ava meant bird so birdie just kind of stuck. Even her mother had started calling her that. She was nervous that she might do something weird, or more accurately cause something weird, which was the whole point of being out here in the first place. Being as away from people she knew as possible and not attracting attention while she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Alright. I'm ready. Lead on!"
 
Tinker led the way out the apartment, up the stairs, and to the garage where her slightly battered yet still deeply loved VW bug sat outside the garage door rather than parked neatly and safely inside. From the looks of the dull blue paint, this car hadn't seen the inside of a garage in a long time. Still, it was clean inside and out, and the doors didn't even creak when Tinker opened the driver's side.

"Hope in! I'm glad to introduce you to my Blueberry," she said cheerfully as she slid into the leather seat. She buckled up and waited for Ava to be seated and buckled before even moving to turn on the car. Her brother had been rather strict concerning seatbelts and wouldn't even turn on the car until every occupant was buckled. "He's my first car."
 
Ava was feeling more relaxed after getting to know Tinker a bit. It bothered her a little that somebody else might be popping in at random, but then again, maybe that was a goid thing. As she buckled up and settled in, it occurred to her that Tibker had asked a question a while ago but that she was too distracted getting ready to answer. "So... cooking... I've not had much luck with it, to be honest. Things tend to go haywire around me. That probably sounds silly, but I swear it's not. If it doesn't involve a microwave, waffle iron, or toaster I'm pretty decent, though. Mainly I stick to stoves and ovens or I just flat eat out of the can." Now that she thought about it, could that have something to do with what was going on with her now? For some reason, it hadn't even occurred to her. "I have no idea why." She shrugged and looked out the window, trying to get her bearings as well as nit think about it too deeply.
 
"No worries. All the appliances are old, anyway, so if something does decide to blow a gasket, maybe it'll be the reason the landlord needs to replace some of the old stuff," Tinker said as she started the care. She turned and checked carefully before she backed out onto the road. A quick twist of the wheel and they were gliding along smooth as silk. "Not that I mind fixing them, but it gets a little old the fifteenth time around, you know?"
 
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