Getting up and going to work this morning was a nightmare. I had fallen asleep on the couch, lost my keys, left all my paints out and let them get all dried up, my "dinner" was spilt out all over my kitchen table, and my head was throbbing like I had been whacked with a baseball bat. What a great fucking morning.

So after fixing my hair and throwing on my coat, I tore up the rest of my apartment to find my keys, grabbed my work, and left. Getting to work was horrendous in this early morning traffic. I mean, getting up as early as I do to get there sucks, but at least the streets are quiet. Being an hour late meant being condemned to rush hour traffic and I thought I'd rip out all of my hair. How did these morons do this every day?

Needless to say that my boss wasn't exactly thrilled at how late I was, but I was fortunate that the people who wanted my painting wouldn't be picking it up till this afternoon. Glaring me down, I was handed a slip of paper with my next assignment and sent away. The receptionist also gave me this nasty look, as if me being late had anything to do with her. So I slammed my foot on the ground and gave her the most menacing glare I could muster. Her eyes widened and she went back to typing something on her computer.

Now that I was in the almost comfort of my own car, I unfolded the piece of paper and read it. Scowling in frustration, I crumbled it up and tossed it in my backseat. I didn't want to paint flowers, no matter what kind of spin I could put on them. They were too common, too ordinary, too boring, and too overrated. Nothing I did to them would make them anymore interesting or unique. And it was due first thing tomorrow morning! Fuck!

Starting the car, I took off as fast as I could, preparing myself for a long night of Hell. I get the wondrous pleasure of spending an entire day in my living room painting this pathetic excuse of an art piece and then I get to go back out into the world first thing in the morning to see my lovely boss and try not to vomit while handing it over. Doesn't that sound nice?

So when I got back to my apartment complex, I stomped up the stairs and rammed my keys into the door, doing myself no good. But when I turned them, I was surprised to hear a 'click.' Did I just lock my door? I jiggled the knob and it wouldn't open. I heard the muffled sound of my stereo that I never used and I knew someone was in my apartment. I turned my key back, readied a can of mace, and bust open the door. The door to my bedroom flung open at the same time and Tenna shrieked in surprise.

I dropped my can and sighed in relief. It was only her. How stupid was I that I left my door unlocked? Hurry or not, I should have taken the time to lock it. I always did. Why the Hell didn't I this time? But more importantly than that...

"What are you doing here?"

Tenna marched over to me and dropped a basket of dirty laundry at my feet. She stepped back and spread her arms like she was going to fly away or something.

"Do you see this? This is what I call unlivable living space. See that kitchen table over there? There's old food just slopped all over it. See this living room floor? Neither do I! God, don't even get me started on your bedroom. Devi, this place is trashed!"

"I'm well aware. I went on a mad hunt for my keys this morning. It's no big deal."

"It is! Devi, look at your apartment!"

She was trying to reason with me, but I just tuned her out with her own semi-horrible taste in music. It was still playing loudly from my bedroom. I walked past her and into said room to grab a clean pair of clothes and turn off that stupid stereo. I don't even remember buying that old thing. Was it a gift...?

"Devi!"

Groaning, I turned to face her. She tapped her foot and crossed her arms, like she was a mother who just busted her child for stealing from the cookie jar. However, I didn't act like a caught little kid and instead moved to get past her.

"I'm going to take a shower now. I got my new assignment from work today and it's due in the morning. I'll be working all night, so please leave now."

I think the world was out to piss me off today. It had to be.

I slammed my bathroom door shut, completely ignoring her babbling words and turned on the water. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but Tenna had completely ignored my request for her to leave. It was a demand, actually, but I suppose the 'please' told her otherwise. She grabbed a trash bag from my kitchen and began tossing things left and right. Old food, wrappers, my dried out paint, useless pieces of paper, empty drink cans, etc. She took all my brushes and set them in the sink to rinse off while she piled all of my other junk onto the coffee table.

I'm not sure how fast she was moving, but she must have been buzzing around my entire apartment to return everything to its rightful spot. She rinsed out my sink after the brushes were clean and put them in my paint cup. As I was getting out of the shower to dry off, I heard my ancient vacuum cleaner running and I knew she was still here. I cursed under my breath and dried off quickly and got dressed. Practically kicking the door off its hinges, I stormed out of the bathroom and just stopped.

My apartment looked like shit, but my living room was... immaculate. It was spotless and I could actually walk around without stepping on everything. Tenna just stood there with a stupid grin plastered onto her face.

"Now you have a clean space to work in. I'll let you paint out here until you're done with work. I'll keep to other parts of the apartment and keep cleaning. You need to keep this place clean, Devi. If you're going to be a recluse living in here, you need to have a somewhat sanitary living environment."

When did she learn big words like that?

She kept going on about that while I scanned the room again. As nice as it looked, I hated to admit, there was something missing. My eyes did another sweep and I saw my can of paint brushes but no paint. I gasped and grabbed Tenna by collar.

"What did you do with my paint, Tenna?!"

I was practically hissing at her and there was so much malice in my voice that I didn't even realize how scary I was until I saw tears form at the brim of her eyes. I let her go and backed away, forcing myself to cool off. It didn't matter how much she was pissing me off, I didn't need her sobs of despair making it worse. Knowing the outcome, I spat out an apology and all was forgiven.

"I threw them away."

The anger returned.

"They were all dried out. Even I knew that you couldn't use them anymore."

Oh, yeah.

"I guess you'll just have to go buy some new ones."

What the fuck!

My fists were balled up so tight that my knuckles were white and It looked like the skin would split and bleed. My teeth were clasped together, threatening to shout obscenities if I opened my mouth. My whole body shook with fury and anger as I thought about not only the events of today, but having to go back out and face the world... again! Twice in one day!

Tenna completely ignored me, though, as she went back to her cleaning. She was in the kitchen now, saying she wanted to be done out here by the time I got back so she could stay locked away in another room and not bother me. She was never one to give me my space when I needed to work, what the Hell was going on?

As much as I just wanted to say fuck it and stay inside - as much as I wanted to throw Tenna out and lock the door behind her - I knew my job was depending on me getting this done. If I didn't have that painting by tomorrow, I would surely be fired. Letting out my built up rage, I let my first fly into the wall. There was now a gaping hole there, and I'm pretty sure I broke several knuckles, but I felt quite a bit better. I turned to grab my wallet and then just walked out. I didn't bother to grab my shoes, brush out my hair, or grab my coat. I just left.

"A/N: Review? Please? :)"