Time to get up.
By the time the fourth drop hit, Ceilí was up with a cup of coffee clutched in her thin fist. That coffee was her lifeline to the world, the only reason she would be able to go to work this morning. She carefully laid a green plaid towel on the puddle of water on the floor and nudged it with her toe.
I'll never get out of here if I have to keep making these repairs myself.
A call to her cellphone caused the nightstand to buzz and hum. A pair of glasses, disturbed by the vibration, walked themselves off the edge and onto the cheap hardwood floors. Ceilí unclasped one hand from the warm coffee and picked up the phone, flipping it open in an awkward jerk.
"Hello?"
A minute later, the phone was back on the night stand and Ceilí was back in the reclining armchair that served both as her bed and kitchen table. The principal of the school had been nearly in tears, explaining the situation.
"We lost the entire west hall. The roof gave way and this damned rain flooded the entire place. The desks were floating!" had squawked through the speakers.
All of Ceilí's condolences managed only to result in more tears, so Ceilí gave up.
At least I teach on the east hall.
Outside her apartment, Ceilí pondered the options for the now free day as she walked down to the post boxes to pick up the mail.
9/12/2010- 7:13:06- 3 men are loitering in the lobby. Room 414 is empty again.
Clicking footsteps warned of the arrival of someone important. Ceilí turned and noticed the landlady moving down the hallway at a nice clip.
"Ma'am?"
Ceilí almost had to block the hallway in order to halt the landlady's advance.
A frustrated "Yes?" from the woman.
"The crack in my ceiling is still there, and the rain has made it leak. Heavily. I put in a request a month ago..."
"We're getting right on it," was the absurdly terse response. She seemed to be cringing back from Ceilí. "Now, please, I've got to get back to work," the woman muttered under her breath as she seemed to shrink into the wall in order to pass Ceilí.
"Is there a time I can expect it handled by?"
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ReplyDeleteTime: 7:37 am
ReplyDeleteLocation: Elevator. Still.
Temperature and Humidity: Same
Oh. Perhaps not the best time to get off. The landlady, a pretentious Italian girl, seems to be having some sort of confrontation with the teacherish-looking woman who helped me carry the wood into my basement yesterday.
"The crack in my ceiling is still there, and the rain has made it leak. Heavily. I put in a request a month ago..." the woman says. She's standing directly in the middle of the hall, like the landlady's been trying to sneak past.
"We're getting right on it," the landlady snaps. Then, cringing back against the wall, "Now, please, I've got to get back to work."
"Is there a time I can expect it handled by?" the woman asks the landlady's retreating back. She gets no answer
Time: 7:38 am
Location: Same
Temperature and Humidity: Same
Now the landlady's heading toward the elevator. I refuse to share the same box with someone so unapologetically rude. Building problems are everyone's concern. I brush past her as she gets on, making sure that I knock her with my elbow. Hard.
Time: 7:39 am
Location: Watershed Heights hallway, somewhere above the lobby
Temperature and Humidity: Same
The landlady's behavior is so unsettling that I feel the need to say something to the woman with the leaky ceiling. But how does one start a conversation with someone who isn't a sniveling undergrad?
Time: 7:40 am
Location: Same
Temperature and Humidity: Same
She's turning to leave!
"Marjorie!" I blurt. Stupid, stupid way to start a conversation. Damn social skills. But at least she's stopped trying to leave. "I'm Marjorie," I manage to squeak out, "I was in the elevator and I saw what happened. If you need planters, or buckets, come to the basement and ask."
She looks confused, so I repeat myself. She can't be this dense; she spoke coherently earlier...
"The basement. I live there." Oh! She must be confused about the planters. I didn't give any context. Stupid. "Oh. The planters. They're for the leak, if you need something to catch the water."
Time: 7:41 am
Location: Same
Temperature and Humidity: Same
What was I thinking? I can't do this; she's still looking at me like I'm insane. I run for the elevators.
Time: 7:42 am
Location: Elevator door, same hall
Temperature and Humidity: Same
Well, shuffle quickly for the elevators. I don't really run anymore, it's beneath me.
Time: 7:43 am
Location: Same
Temperature and Humidity: Same
Come on, come on, come on....I've pushed the elevator button at least 40 times by now, but it's not helping. She's still standing there, looking at me. I NEED to get away.
Time: 7:45 am
Location: In the elevator, at last
Temperature and Humidity: Same
I'm so happy to be out of that hallway that the elevator seems a welcome relief. It does seem to have decided to go up again, despite my mechanically transmitted instructions. Next time, I'm pushing the 'up' button. Maybe then I'll get where I'm supposed to be going...