It was freezing outside in the hallway as she rattled through her purse, searching for her keys.
"Where the hell are they?" she cursed to herself.
She was about ready to turn her purse upside down and tip the contents out when she saw the light glinting off the silver key ring. The object was nothing but a tarnished trinket with lots of dings. She could have easily replaced the kitsch Eiffel Tower for a newer one, a shinier version, for they were sold en masse outside the monument. She never did though for the ring was the reminder of a memory and a promise of silver lining she hoped to fulfill.
Despite the warm fuzzies the object gave her, she snatched the offending keys out of her purse and started twisting the knob from pure frustration. It was too cold of an evening to reminisce about memories and the day had been too long. After spinning the lock for a few minutes she finally got in. She was grateful she had remembered to turn the heater on in her dorm apartment that day to make the place cozier; something she needed since she worked and lived in practically the same place.
Sometimes she hated being a Resident Director – it was not worth all the trouble that her staff of resident assistants gave her. They were one of the laziest unmotivated groups of people she had ever met. If money wasn't so tight then she would have quit in a heart beat. However she constantly had to remind herself that this situation was her own fault and thus why she supported herself. The apartment did have benefits: it was free and she didn't have to share. The other perks of the job included a paycheque and also the working bonus of ready made dinners in the cafeteria that were a blessing in disguise. During the months when money was tight she felt like queen of the world because at least she knew she wouldn't go hungry because her position provided for her.
The truth was her parents could have helped her if she really needed it. They had wised up after her first attempt and failure at college though and "pulled the plug." She was no longer on the Russell Family Memorial Scholarship Fund as he mother like to call it. So now during her second try she was footing the bill; literally. Unfortunately Tulane University was not cheap despite her partial scholarship. While her Resident Director position took care of living costs she still had to find $12,500 each year through other means; namely being a cocktail waitress at the Columns Hotel and Bar in Midtown four times a week.
She had not even set her bag down in her room when the phone rang.
"What now?" she muttered to herself. She had just finished a shift at the bar and her nerves were frayed. She had hope to come hope to some peace and quite; but that was really a whim. Rarely did life give her a break.
She pushed the button on the phone after she found it underneath a pile of papers that she had been using to write a research project the night before. "Hey, it's Min. Who is it?" she answered abruptly.
"Sorry to bother you Mina, it's Portia. But there is a fire alarm going off in 221 of Hebert, and then they are smoking pot in 113. We could really use some back up to help us."
"No worries. I'll be there in a minute." Mina dug in her purse some more for her university ID and then grabbed her keys again. She didn't even change out of her work clothes, but walked right back out onto the door and slammed it behind her. As she locked it she saw the key chain again and couldn't help letting out a sigh. It was going to be a long night and thoughts of Paris were just too far away.
X
Two hours later Mina was finally standing in her apartment again and taking off her coat and shoes. She went to draw herself a nice warm bath. She deserved a soak after all she had just dealt with.
The pot addicts were some of the regulars. It had just been a matter of calling the campus police and getting them to drag them out of their rooms as usual. They were then hauled off to the city "slammer" or jail for the night. No worries though – some rich mommy or daddy would be right there to bail them out. God how sick she was of hearing "You can't do this to me. I pay too much damn money to go to school here."
Her usual comment was "Get in Line. We all pay that much money at some point, so get over yourself." Then she would tell the cops to take them away. She knew that they would be sitting in her office three days later anyways, and then when they were not so doped up she could threaten to kick them out of the dorm. They would straighten up quickly after that. It was a lesson she wished she had learned when she had been in their position.
The fire alarm on the other hand had been the damn humidity. Even in the middle of winter when it was 40 degrees outside in New Orleans, the humidity was so thick that if someone showered and then opened their door onto the outside balcony, the fire alarms would go off. She understood that the old system in her building was faulty and could not even be heard by most of the residents in the shower, but this new system was ridiculous. In one of her buildings they had had five fire alarms in the kitchen over burnt popcorn in the first three weeks since spring term had started. She would have to call maintenance in the morning again and remind them to come straighten out the system. It was four months after school started and they were still fine tuning it.
Mina looked around her apartment which was a complete mess. Books, papers and dirty dishes littered the floors. Diet Mt. Dew cans lined her wall beside the trashcan because they managed to get her up every morning. Tennis shoes sat by the laptop, left over from a workout. Her camera was in a pile with slides for a recent art project. Make-up was scattered across her floor from her auction house internship. Clean and dirty laundry also lay in separate stacks covering most of the furniture. The clutter helped disguise the oddly decorated lilac and rose apartment which occasionally made Mina want to vomit because it looked like the Easter aisle at the chain store Wal-Mart.
She hated living like this, but what could she do? For starters she was too busy. The clearest sign of this was her calendar and "Honey-Do" list which was taped to a wall. She had so many appointments and assignments due in the coming weeks. Looking at those lists made her realize why she had no free time and why she felt so tired and frustrated. She worked hard and while the end would be worthwhile, it sometimes seemed all too far away.
She promised herself to forget those depressing thoughts though because life could be much worse. She left all of the mess and demands in her life, stripped down and climbed in the tub when the temperature adequately met her requirements.
Luck be damned though if she thought she would get a moment of peace. The moment she was in and her head hit the pillow the phone rang. Rationality said she should answer; however her selfishness prevailed and she decided to pretend she was not home. Besides if it was so important then they would leave a message and she could call them back. After the fourth ring the answering machine finally got it.
"Mina this is Kristian. I know that we have not talked in ages. It has taken me forever to find you. Please call me collect at...." His voice rattled off the number. The man's voice was shaky. "Call me. Please. I need to talk to you again, despite the fact it's been 15 months. Please Mina..."
Mina listened and wished the man on the phone had been anyone else. However for all of her abhorrence of the situation he had created in her life, in another way she was oddly glad that he was calling. As of late she was lonely for she had not gone home to Arkansas for the holidays. She was secretly glad he cared, because most of the time she felt like her parents didn't which is why she had been alone over Christmas and New Years in the first place.
However the problem in him calling was that it was "him," and Mina could not be happy about that. She was stoic as the answering machine clicked off, taking in all of his words. She managed to hold her feelings in throughout his phone call, but when his voice ended she lost her hardness. Tears slipped down her face. Kristian was her undoing and the only person to whom she could deny nothing. Yet Mina had been stubborn and these same facts ultimately tore them apart, turning love into regret. God she wished she could forget. So she tried as hard as she could, burying herself deep in the tub water trying to wash away the pain of her past.
Thanks everybody for taking the time to read this. I look forward to hearing your opinions and any suggestions you might be willing to make. Hope you have a good one!