7 Deadly Roommates

by George Saoulidis

  But the other two knew the place by heart, and truthfully, had been around much longer than him.

  She found Horace biting George’s head off. “Come on, man! Will you stop changing things around? I put the replacement caps here last night, I expect to find them on the same spot this morning. How hard can it be?”

  Poor George had his head down and gripped on a towel. “I’m sorry, I put them over here, it’s better because-”

  “I don’t give a fuck if it’s better, George!” Horace snapped at him. “There’s no efficiency if I have to waste time tracking you down to figure out what you did with something simple as that. Don’t fucking ruin the system!”

  “Okay, Horace. I won’t. I’ll finish up here,” George said, cowering, and went on with his work.

  Evie couldn’t believe it. For Athena’s sake, why was he acting like this? She wanted to tell him all about her secret Agora profile and her sculptures, but this wasn’t the time. She walked next to Horace and pulled him away by his arm. “Can I talk to you?” she whispered through gritted teeth.

  “Can’t it wait?” Horace frowned. He let her shove him a couple of paces but then stopped, and she couldn’t budge him any further, naturally.

  “No, Horace, because you’re acting like an asshole,” she said softly in deadpan.

  “No I’m not!” he complained. “Every day I could have just finished up in no-time, but I waste my time trying to figure out what the hell George came up with this time.”

  Evie pulled his chin and forced him to look at her. “Horace. What’s wrong? Tell me.”

  He sighed, puffing his cheeks. Evie loved it when he did that. “I dunno. I’m fed up, I guess. Just a bad day, no need to make a big deal out of it.”

  She poked his chest with a finger. “Is it... about one of the girls?”

  “What? No, the girls are fine. More than fine, actually, last night, me and Ira-” Horace stopped himself and blushed. “Actually it’s nothing you need to know. But we’re fine.”

  Evie raised an eyebrow. “All of you?”

  Horace chuckled. “Not all of us, not the way you mean it with that accusatory stare, no. But we’re all fine.”

  She shrugged. “Fine. Hey, can I come over tonight?”

  “I thought you had a date with Costa.”

  “It’s not a date!” she said back, the reply a bit faster than she would have liked. “He’s just going to show me his gear. His artist! His artist is going to show me his process. I can swing by afterwards, hang out?”

  “You’re really interested in that, aren’t you? Nice. Okay, sure. Come on over. No need to bring anything, the fridge is pretty much stocked to the brink with groceries, what with seven people living there.”

  “Oh? I see.”

  “Just bring your pretty little butt over.”

  “You think my butt is pretty?” she teased.

  “Yeah, and bring it over so I can beat it in video games.”

  Evie smiled up at him.

  Chapter 50: Horace

  The customer yelled in his face, spitting all over him. Horace didn’t even hear his argument, he just showed up when they asked for the manager and the man started screaming incoherently.

  Horace stared at his shoes. Not because he was shy, nor because he was timid. His shoes were dirty and he had simply just noticed it.

  Ira showed up next to him as they stood in the shop’s exterior area. “Are you gonna let him talk to you like that?” she grumbled, pulling him down so she could whisper. “You don’t have to take it like a little bitch! Punch the stupid fucker.”

  Horace balled his fists, then turned to Martha. “What did he do?”

  Martha hesitated, then leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “He grabbed my butt, and when I told him to stop it, he started to complain about the service, everything.” She held her arms close to her body and looked vulnerable. Gods, Horace hated this kind of shit women had to deal with every day. Sure, he had asked her out too, but he had been polite about it, and certainly not grabby.

  The customer kept on yelling in his face, but he could definitely make out the words ‘retard,’ and ‘clumsy.’ They were being addressed towards Martha.

  Horace straightened his back, then shoved the screaming customer away. He tripped over a plant and fell on his ass.

  “What are you doing? You can’t do this, I’m gonna call the police!” the customer threatened with a superior attitude, wagging his finger.

  Horace shrugged. “Leave the shop, now. No need to pay anything, just turn around and leave.” He could feel his blood pumping.

  “You’ve lost a customer today! No, you’ve lost many customers. I’m gonna tell everybody I know about this!”

  “I don’t give a shit, just leave,” Horace hissed, looming over him.

  The man scurried away, threatening him all the way.

  Horace turned around to see a few customers recording him, as well as George and Martha, staring at him wide-eyed.

  Ira, on the other hand, winked deeply at him and gave him a thumbs up.

  He spent the rest of the workday out of sight, mostly at the back doing inventory. He didn’t feel like confronting anyone, he didn’t feel like working, this was mostly busywork, and he didn’t feel like talking to anybody. In fact, all he desired right now was to get back home and spoon with Acedia, doing nothing else.

  She hadn’t come at the ice cream shop with the rest of the girls today, and he hardly spoke to her that morning during breakfast. He called her on the phone. It took her more than ten rings to answer.

  “Mmm?” she asked, sleepily.

  “Hey, Acedia, what’s up?”

  “Wow, nothing, taking a nap. Sorry for not coming in today, but I just didn’t feel like it,” she yawned.

  “Trust me, I know how you feel. Everything all right?”

  “Yes. I’m alone over, here, thinking of you...” she cooed.

  Horace swapped ears and cupped his hand around his mouth and the phone. “And I was thinking of you, hence my call.”

  She giggled. “That’s nice! So nice of you,” she said with a spacey manner.

  “What are you wearing?”

  “Oh, you know. Pyjamas. Then ones with wittle bears on them.” She cooed and laughed.

  “Mmm, so hot. Damn!”

  They both laughed for a while, then there was a long pause.

  “I missed you,” Acedia said.

  “Me too.” He sighed heavily. “I’m not in the mood for anything.”

  “I know, honey. Here, let me send you some YouTube videos, that’s what I do. There’s one with a cat and a lightsaber!”

  His phone bleeped. He checked. “Okay, I’ll watch them later. I need to hang up now, I shouldn’t be on a personal call for so long on working hours.”

  “I understand. It’s okay. See you tonight.”

  “See ya.”

  He hung up and reflexively checked his app.

  Evil Thought

  Tokens

  Gula

  5

  Luxuria

  6

  Avaritia

  3

  Superbia

  4

  Invidia

  0

  Ira

  4

  Acedia

  6

  He mulled the tokens over for a bit. It seemed Luxuria was happy every time he got laid, or at least every time he went for someone new. Hah. Interesting. What a weird woman. Ira was pleased with him, definitely because of the confrontation earlier. And Acedia didn’t need much. She was the definition of low-maintenance woman, she just needed something to stream in-between her naps and for you to remind her to eat something every now and then.

  Horace knew that couldn’t possibly be healthy, but he had a lot on his mind and she seemed to be doing just fine. Plus, she had her sisters around. Okay, adoptive sisters or whatever they actually were, but they cared for one another, Horace had seen that. Moving on on the stats, Ava still wasn’t happy, and why would sh
e be? All he got was a one-time pay, not an increase on his income.

  He scratched his nose. He needed to do something about making more money, Ava was right.

  But what?

  Chapter 51: Horace

  “Holy shit, Evie, did you really draw this?” Horace pinched and zoomed on her phone screen, checking out her 3D sculpture. They were on a late break, work was slow and the few customers had been served already, lounging on the chairs outside, enjoying the late-night chill. The two of them had just torn through two bowls of Gelato Pavlova ice cream, which was their new favourite flavour. At least until they found the next one.

  “Yup!” she said proudly, arms behind her back and bouncing on her toes.

  “I mean, I’ve seen your sketches but I hadn’t realised you’ve gotten so good! When did this happen?”

  “I, uh, watched some video tutorials, tried out a few techniques. It’s all online, you don’t even have to go to art school anymore. Just put in the work.”

  “And you did, it shows. Evie, I’m so proud of you.”

  She beamed at him.

  They stayed silent for a long moment.

  “Another Gelato Pavlova?” Horace asked, offering get them a refill.

  “Yes please,” Evie chirped at him.

  Horace closed up shop. This was a tiresome day. He sent the girls to go grocery shopping and Evie left for Costa’s workshop, saying she’ll swing on by the house later on. He felt weird about seeing her leave. His mind raced through all sorts of images of what their encounter would look like, seeing Costa’s wandering hands all over his friend.

  “Are you gonna throw that away anytime soon,” George asked, pointing at Horace’s hands.

  “What? Oh...” He glanced down, he was crushing a plastic ice cream tub. He slapped it on George’s chest, “Here, you throw it in the trash.”

  “Sure,” George sighed and did so. He came back and said, “Anything else, boss?” The last word was dripping in sarcasm.

  “No, go home,” Horace snapped back at him and left, shoving his hands in his pockets.

  His phone rang, and it was the phone call he was dreading for hours.

  “Horace,” his boss grumbled.

  “Nico,” he said, calming himself. He stopped at the side of the road and leaned on a car. “How are you? Enjoying the vacation time?”

  “I kinda was, until I saw a complaint posted on my fucking shop’s page!” Nico yelled in his ear.

  Horace pulled the phone away and blinked a few times. “I see.”

  “What were you thinking? Shoving a customer? You’re lucky he didn’t press any charges! I was on the phone with him for two hours, two fucking hours! Horace, you know me, right? Do I like talking on the phone, groveling for someone’s forgiveness?”

  “No,” Horace whispered, his throat caught.

  “Say that again.”

  “No, you don’t like it.”

  “I sure fucking don’t! I’m on my way back, and we’re gonna have words face to face tomorrow morning, me and you.” He hung up.

  Horace put his phone away and stared at the traffic for a few minutes.

  The walk home did wonders for his mood. The constant heat and the weight of responsibility was starting to weigh on him, and it showed. The mere act of strolling in a familiar neighbourhood with a cool summer breeze was invigorating.

  He bit his lips and mulled over his life. He needed to start building something for himself. Something that he owned. He messed up at Zillions, he knew that. Even if he didn’t get fired tomorrow, which was a slim possibility, he was still in the mercy of someone else. He needed to stand on his own two feet.

  The voices of the girls swam in his mind. Yes, they were a bit nuts. But they rang true.

  ‘You’re worth it, take it.’

  ‘Confront him.’

  ‘You want her, make the move.’

  The last one was the sultry voice of Lux, and even the sex-crazed Russian chick had a point. You want something? Make a move. The answer’s always no if you never ask.

  He decided to take a detour, he even grabbed an ice tea from a periptero. He always liked to walk past an old cinema at the centre of Kifisia. He wasn’t in the mood to go in, he just liked walking past it and checking out the posters. The cinema always played a mix of old and new movies, a far cry from the bombastic 3D experiences from a multiplex. This was one screen, two screenings, and they played whatever the fuck the owner liked.

  It was like a radio show, where you put your faith on a radio producer to pick and choose good tunes for you, instead of making playlists by yourself.

  He stopped in front of the cinema. The building was renovated and the cinema hall had been turned into a state-of-the-art thing, everything it needed for proper acoustics and a special experience. But the outside was retro. Horace loved it. He checked out the posters. Indeed, there was a modern movie that everyone said would be nominated for a bunch of awards, a mix of dramatised history and a love story of the previous century. And the rest were older movies, hand-picked for couples to have a nice summer date.

  Which girl did he wanna bring to this date?

  Ira? He still had the taste of her kiss in his mouth from this morning but he didn’t feel like asking her out. And, he had to admit, he could recollect the way her ass clenched around his dick so nicely. Even over the feel of the condom, the tightness was extreme. He wouldn’t mind doing that again a couple of times or a hundred, and she definitely wanted more.

  No. As much as he liked her and was having fun together, she wasn’t the one he wanted to bring on a summer movie date.

  What about Lux? His crotch warmed up as soon as he thought about her. He could imagine them going out, watching the movie, having pop corn... Then she’d stroke him in the darkness of the movie theatre, teasing him with the tricks she knew. And she’d lean down and take him in her mouth. Horace was certain Lux wouldn’t have any qualms about doing it right then and there.

  He adjusted his pants and turned sideways, as a young couple walked past him and into the cinema, hands intertwined.

  No. Unh-uh. There were men that could kill to have a woman like Lux, but she wasn’t the one he really wanted to bring on this date. Okay, what about the others?

  Gula was nice and always brought a smile to his face. Nope. What about Acedia? Sure, she loves movies but she’d groan about walking all the way here. Superbia wouldn’t be caught dead in a rustic place like this. Avaritia scared the crap out of him.

  He bit his lip and fished out his phone. He started to write a text.

  ‘Hey, I just walked past the old movie theatre! The one we both like. It’s been forever, wanna go watch something this weekend?’

  His finger hovered over the send button.

  If you never ask, the answer is always gonna be no.

  Chapter 52: Evie

  Evie was hanging by the man’s lips. He was showing her how he drew and sculpted the model. Her phone chimed and she absent-mindedly checked it, it was from Horace. She barely glanced at the text and put the phone away, making the device register the message as ‘seen,’ but she hadn’t actually done so.

  She’d see Horace in a bit, anyway. This was so interesting right now.

  “How is Dimitri doing?” Costa asked, putting his hands on their shoulders. “Is he dazzling you with his art skills?”

  “Yeah! He’s amazing, no wonder your sculptures sell so well,” Evie said, eyes wide.

  “Oh, don’t pump up his ego or he’ll ask for a raise!” Costa chuckled.

  Dimitri huffed and kept on working on the model. It was Ira’s cyberscan, and they had gone through the entire process of importing the pictures and turning them into a 3D model, ready to be modified. And Dimitri was doing wondrous things, things she hadn’t even thought to try out. He was changing softness values around cheeks and lips, hardening the values around knees, running a macro he made to properly incorporate Ira’s curly hair, things like that.

  Evie barraged the poor man with ques
tions, writing things down on her tablet, making notes of stuff she needed to check out later on. Dimitri was polite and helpful, giving her links to tutorials and names of artists to follow. He was obviously attracted to her and Evie didn’t hesitate to lead the man on for a bit.

  They both were having fun after all.

  Costa hovered over them, obviously trying to look busy around them. Evie made sure to laugh at his jabs, he was drop-dead handsome after all.

  But her mind was on the art right now. She touched the artist’s hand. “Dimitri, honestly,” she shook her head, “I’ve learnt more this past hour than I’ve learnt the last year!”

  “Glad to help you out,” he said, blushing all over. “But I can tell you honestly love this.”

  “I do!” she giggled, squeezing his hand.

  Dimitri looked down, embarrassed.

  “Hey, can I copy the files into my tablet? I wanna try the techniques you showed me on the same model.”

  “Uh, sure.” Dimitri sent her the files.

  Evie stood up, holding her tablet over her stomach. “Thank you so much, I can’t wait to check out all the things you told me about!” She kissed him on the cheek.

  “You-you’re welcome...”

  She darted off to Costa. “Thank you for arranging this Costa, you really do have a talented artist here.”

  Costa looked nonchalant, leaning back on his desk chair. “Yeah, we have the best people here. Hey, you should work here too.” He pointed at her with an expensive pen.

  Evie gasped. “Me?”

  “Sure, why not? I know you don’t have Dimitri’s experience and that won’t change anytime soon, but you can add a female perspective. Dimitri is great for the skimpy armour and the chainmail bikini stuff with the dangling breasts, but I need something that will appeal to women.” He pointed at the man with his pen, and Dimitri shrugged. Costa added, “We have lots of customers asking for female-friendly art. I can sell that.”