A Very Different Kind of Roommate

[BlabbingGirl]

1​

A TWIST IN ROUTINE​

The routine of Gilbert's life was very boring, since he had turned into a ghost he didn't had much to do. It's not like he needs to eat or sleep so he doesn't really need to do grocery shopping. He doesn't sweat anymore or get dirty frequently, which means showers aren't a daily obligation to him anymore. He's still sort of showing up at his work but it seems that sometimes people don't see him which causes all sort of complications to the schedules and appointments. But... well, he had been... uh... living? Of course it's not really living since he's technically not alive but he had been managing to accommodate to his new reality.

It was an afternoon and the albino was just lounging on his couch as he watched some TV. A couple of weeks previously, he had managed to, for a sheer luck of the moment, have a small conversation with the landlord. He wasn't sure if the man understood it completely since after a while it looked like he couldn't see Gilbert anymore and even called him rude but he knew the basic idea must had been passed on. He had been in desperate need of a roommate, since his paychecks are getting lower due to him 'not showing up' even though he showed up so, he feels that he will end having financial troubles if he doesn't get someone to help paying the bills. The albino sighed loudly and stretched his legs over the coffee table as he changed the channels on TV to try to find something that he liked. He was shirtless and only wearing sweatpants and surprisingly was still able to smoke even as a ghost, although, it didn't really made any effect on him anymore. He couldn't taste or smell anything so the fun of a lot of things involving such aspects became boring to him. He finally found a dumb show about some sort of competition and settled the remote aside as he focused on the TV but his tranquil afternoon didn't seemed like was about to last as he started to hear noises on the hallway and a jiggling of keys that were unlocking his front door.

 

[Treasure]

Bela Zugravescu grunted as he slowly dragged his suitcase up the last few steps of the third flight of stairs then paused for breath. He used the end of the long, multi-colored purple scarf around his neck to dab at the sweat on his brow. His Bunica would slap the back of his head if she saw him do that! But why else wear all this extra cloth? He dropped it and straightened out his golden vest over his puffy white shirt before starting forward once more. He was almost there! It had only taken a ten-minute walk, a rather confusing conversation with the landlord, three flights of stairs, and nearly killing himself twice as his beaded belt almost got caught in the wheels of his oversized suitcase as he hauled it up the stairs.

Finally, he arrived at the right door and checked the number three times before digging his newly acquired key from the pocket of his dark green, loose-fitted trousers (cuffs neatly upturned and colorfully stitched, of course). The key fit! He paused for a second. Okay. This was it! He was about to meet his new roommate for the next six months to a year or however long it took to save up for his own place, and he really wanted to make a good impression. He looked himself over. He'd dressed down in honor of the occasion and only wore four colors and one scarf (not counting the beaded belt that was one step away from being a scarf) to not overwhelm the fellow before they got to know each other. He was a bit wrinkled and winded from the journey, but he felt he looked alright. He ran a hand over his black hair to ensure his ponytail was still in place. Enough stalling. Time to go in!

Bela opened the front door and walked in. "Hello!" he called cheerfully with a slight accent some might call Germanic, other Slavic. "Hello? Don't be alarmed! I'm your new roommate!" He pulled his heavy case into the doorway and waited to be greeted properly before letting himself in farther. It was rude to assume a space was your own without being greeted properly.

 

[BlabbingGirl]

2​

ROOMWHO?​

He had his head stretched up as he looked at the door while he was slumbered down at the couch. His eyes barely popping out of the height of the backrest of the piece of furniture. The apartment wasn't big or luxurious, the living area was a all-in-one sort of ambiance, the kitchen was to the left of the front door and it had only a counter dividing it from the entrance, the dining are mixed seamlessly to the kitchen with a square table that had four chairs tucked in, and to the right, the living room which consisted simply of a three seat couch, a worn down navy blue coffee table and a piece of furniture that had the TV and some books tucked into it. Right next to where the TV was, a door was half opened and showed the tiles of the bathroom and on the back of the apartment there were two doors for the two bedrooms, the one on the left was Gilbert's and the one on the right was empty at the moment.

Once the door swung open and he saw a person standing in there, the albino got up from the couch to greet the male. Even thought that man was dressed in colorful outfit that doesn't seemed to match much and tons of what looked to be rags? No, maybe more like scarves or handkerchiefs around his figure. The vibrancy on the male's outfit made Gilbert feel underdressed in his dark gray sweatpants. "Oh, hey!" he walked close to the door with a hand outstretched "I'm Gilbert Kaiser. So the landlord understood what I was going for, hu? Great! I was really looking for a roommate. He could have let me know you were coming though... I would have put... well, a shirt on." he chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck as he then moved aside "But come in, come in. You unlocked the door, you don't need to be standing outside the apartment." he was hoping that they would get along well. Gilbert hoped so not because of incompatibility of personality, that's not the sort of issue that he was concerned about. He was worried if the roommate was going to be able to see him, Gilbert noticed that sometimes people seemed to do not see him or only saw him for a bit. It would be troublesome if that man couldn't see him properly, Gilbert noticed that people that tended to be... well, open minded about the whole idea of ghosts seemed to see him better. So all he could do was hope for the best.

 

[Treasure]

Bela grinned at the warm welcome as a few strands of rebellious hair decided to fall down in a curl on the right side of his face, barely missing his eye. "Thank you, thank you!" he grinned, walking in. He wrangled his case over to the side before nudging the door closed with his heel. "Forgive me. I did not mean to catch you unawares. I had thought you had been alerted, but people have been acting very odd with me about this place." He shrugged, easily dismissing the oddness and figuring that it probably had something to do with him.

Changing the subject before his roommate could have a chance to respond, he stuck out a hand. "My name is Bela Zugravescu! It is a great honor and pleasure to meet you, Gilbert! I was delighted when I saw the advertisement in the paper for a roommate here." He pronounced 'advertisement' in the British fashion of "Add-ver-tis-ment" rather than the more American English of "Add-ver-tize-ment."

 

[BlabbingGirl]

3​

SETTLE DOWN​

"Ah! I see..." he let out the words with an eyebrow raised. Gilbert wasn't aware that there was an advertisement for roommate but he could agree with Bela about people acting weird. "Yeah... I know what you mean..." he barely let out the words since he was actually the one that felt inadequate in this place. He felt comfortable at his own apartment but at the same time he had this eerie feeling that he didn't belonged there, that he should be perhaps somewhere else. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, letting aside such ideas to focus on the new roommate before him. He thought that it was going to be good, Gilbert soon had learned that the life as a ghost was a very lonely one. That's another amusing thing, he doesn't remember for how long he had been a ghost now... he guessed that time felt different in his ethereal form.

"Anyways, Bela. Welcome!" he clasped his hands together and looked around the place. If he knew that a roommate was coming he would have made the place seem more... normal. The fridge and pantries were empty from food and he didn't had much toiletries in the bathroom. Those things looked rather odd and he hoped the man wouldn't be alarmed and leave the apartment. Gilbert was in desperate need of company and also financial help. "Well... let me show you around the place." he plastered a smile on his face to try to hide his worries and hoped that it would seem like he was simply caught off guard and shy around Bela. "As you can see-" he gestured to the kitchen/dining room and then to the living room, moving his arms from one side to the other "-we have a big open area in here. You can fill the kitchen with whatever you want to... I'm not much of a cooker." That was actually a lie, Gilbert actually really enjoyed cooking; to be more specific he had a passion for baking but it didn't made much sense using the kitchen since he doesn't feel hungry or has no need to eat, but he thought that saying he is not much into cooking made more sense than saying that he doesn't eat at all. "That door right next to the TV is the bathroom." he pointed at the door as he said soo and then turned around to face the two doors on the back of the apartment "And those lead to the bedrooms. The one on the left is mine, you feel free to decorate and make alterations as you please on the one of the right. Make yourself comfortable." he finished speaking and then slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. A thought then popped in the albino's head, what if Bela figures out he was a ghost? Gilbert felt like he hasn't thought that whole roommate thing though... but again, his neighbors and the landlord doesn't have seemed to had noticed that he wasn't alive. They seemed to communicate normally with him, apart from the occasional them not seeing him.

 

[Treasure]

"Excellent! Excellent!" Bela said, nodding quickly. He started tugging his case toward the right bedroom. "I am a most passable cook, according to my mother, so fear not! We shall not starve!" He laughed gaily as he strode to the bedroom and parked his case at the end of the bed. A quick glance around showed him this was a standard bedroom, as far as bedrooms went, plain and white with a bed, dresser, and a bedside table. It was a perfect landscape!

He was back out in the living room in no time at all and looking around with interest. He paced around the room, getting a feel for the space. A good space, and he could pick up the rug and move the furniture aside easily enough to give him room to practice and work out. The decorations were sparse, but he didn't mind the style.

"Do you happen to have a radio or a CD player of sorts?" he asked Gilbert.

 

[BlabbingGirl]

4​

LIVING BEINGS NEED TO EAT​

Gilbert quickly rushed to his bedroom and picked a shirt so he would look more adequately dressed to the new resident of the apartment. He walked back into the living area while he was still pulling the shirt down his body and looked at Bela when he walked back in the room asking about some sort of radio or CD player. "Uh... yes, I have a CD player." he walked to the piece of furniture that had the TV as the central focus and opened a drawer underneath it that revealed a DVD player and a CD player "There it is. Although I haven't used it in a while so... you might want to check if it's working properly." he got back on his feet and turned to look to the brunet male "So, what do you work with, Bela? I'm a Financial Consultant."

He walked to the kitchen and looked around, knowing that it was a bit past lunch time and tried to think of a way of looking like a normal human being. It seemed that living by himself and freely as a ghost had made him forget some daily necessities and formalities. "Have you had lunch yet? I have no ingredients that we can use to cook... actually the place is empty right now but we could order something. What type of food do you like to eat?... I know there's a nice Chinese restaurant nearby and I have a favorite pizza place that I really think their pie is outstanding, it's not thick and soggy but neither too thin that it feels like you're eating toast." he furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, it had been a while since Gilbert had thought or talked about food but yet the pizza place he mentioned came so naturally to his mind. He guessed that living habits were hard to get rid off.

 

[Treasure]

Bela took a few minutes to test out the CD player. It took a moment to figure out the buttons, but once he had it in hand, he inserted a CD, and the soft twang of balalaika music filled the room. He turned it down so it was nothing more than a mellow background noise and stood.

"I ate not long ago, so I am fine waiting until dinner," Bela assured his new roommate cheerfully. "If your kitchen is empty, then I shall fill it! I need only a moment to unpack a bit. Wonderful!" He half danced into his room and started quickly unpacking. He had grown up living on the road and was a record packer and un-packer. He had things put away in no time flat and grabbed his wallet as he bounced back out.

 

[BlabbingGirl]

5​

COMPLICATIONS​

"Awesome! So we wait till dinner time." the albino said and then passed a hand through his hair, uncertain of what to do. He wondered if Bela find him to look weird and he also reminded himself that he won't be able to do some of the stuff he used to do when he was alone around the apartment. It wasn't anything lewd or sexual, for that matter, but it was certainly fittable in the weird category. Gilbert used to wander through walls since he was a ghost he thought that it was a waist of time to walk to the doors, after all, the quickest path between two points is a straight one. On the same note, he should be careful not to walk through the coffee table or any other furniture around the house now that Bela was living with him. He shut his eyes closed and squeezed in silent agony as the list of things she should avoid doing or be careful about only increased in his head. He need to start eating in front of that guy, he will need to pretend that he uses the bathroom, he can't float around in an ethereal way. He will need to pretend that he sleeps through the night and be silent so he doesn't wake up his new roommate. He watched as Bela came out of his room with the wallet "Would you like me to go with you? Give you a hand with the groceries?" he looked down at himself "I just need to put some shoes on." he informed the male and awaited for Bela to inform him if he wanted the company.