“I thought figuring out who was doing it would keep me from getting fired. But I was wrong. He fired me just now.” I could hear the threat of tears in my voice. I didn’t want to cry in front of this man but I really just couldn’t stop myself. “And it’s not like I’ve never been fired before but I needed this job really badly. I’ve been staying with my parents since I lost my last job and got evicted from my apartment. But I have to find another place and I can’t do that if--”
Hy interrupted me with “Have you ever done any super work?”
There are certain things you never want to hear as a Super. “WHAT?” My heart sped up and nearly pounded out of my chest.
“Yeah, super work. You know, collecting the rent, cleaning up around the building, unclogging drains. Super work.”
My heart slowed down but only slightly. “So be the super. . . of a building?”
“Yeah. I own a building out in Brooklyn and I need a new building super. I have to get back to Miami but I want to get someone in there first. You won’t get rich doing it but you get a free apartme--”
“I’ll take it!!”
Chapter 11
“Let’s just keep in mind that we need to keep this place neat,” I said, setting Crash’s bowl down on table. “Otherwise, I’ll never get my rental deposit back.”
Crash gave me a look that said he knew I hadn’t paid a rental deposit and he knew he wasn’t going to be the one that didn’t keep it neat. I tapped on the glass of his bowl. “Don’t you dare give me any attitude. Who do you think got this place for us, anyway?”
Crash turned his back to me and swam away. “If you don’t shape up, I swear I’ll stop ignoring Ella’s texts to pick up Din-Din.” I turned my attention back to the momentous occasion at hand: I was standing in my own apartment.
It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d ever had on my own. I had a living room, bedroom, and an actual kitchen. It came furnished, too. The furniture was old and worn, but I was free to use it. For the first time ever, it seemed I had a real, grownup apartment.
Hy’s plane had left early that morning but I’d picked up the keys from him the night before. He gave me a few basic instructions and his number in Miami if I had questions. “Just don’t burn down the place, okay?” I assured him I wouldn’t, even though there was a small voice in the back of my head that said, “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
As I basked in the glory of my own place, I was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Who even knows I’m here? I thought. I haven’t even ordered pizza yet. A courier stood on the other side of the door, his shape distorted by the fish-eye lens of the peephole. He knocked again and said “Delivery!”
I unlocked the door and opened it. “Audrey Hart?” the courier asked.
My first instinct was to lie but the truth just slipped out. “Yeeaahhh.”
He pushed his electronic clipboard at me. “Sign here.”
I signed dutifully and handed it back to him. He handed me a large legal sized envelope. “Uhh, thanks.” I turned the envelope over in my hands a few times. The only writing on it was my name in large bold print.
“Ahem.” I looked up. The delivery guy was still standing there. He was waiting for a tip. I hadn’t picked up my last paycheck from Cranky's yet and I wasn’t due for my first paycheck from Hy for a couple of weeks. Still, I reached in my pocket, pulled out what I had on me, and gave it to him.
He looked at the coins I’d put it in his hand with disgust. “Gee. 40 cents. Yippee,” he deadpanned. Then he walked down the hallway, mumbling something unflattering about me as he went.
“Hey,” I called after him. “That’s at least forty-one cents, man!” I shut the door to the new-to-me apartment and locked it again. Then I ripped open my envelope and pulled out the contents.
Only one page was nestled inside. At the top was an eagle wearing an olive leaf crown, holding a scroll that read “Iustitia Super Omnia Amatur” --the Super Council’s crest. I skimmed down the letter, my heart pumping at full speed until I got to the part that made me completely nauseous:
Due to your failure to reply, you have been selected to receive an official Council audit of your work. Failure to fully comply with this audit can result in suspension of your license as well as hefty fines and/or imprisonment.
The letter went on to give instructions on how to prepare for the audit and who to contact about setting up initial appointments but I couldn’t continue reading. My mind exploded in a fireworks display of words and sounds until only one thought remained.
FUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Super (Novella): Super Search Page 5