When Allison Priest arrived home from her normal Friday afternoon classes, there was a homeless man sitting at the table drinking coffee. She considered screaming but decided instead to deal with him in the usual way one deals with homeless people, by ignoring him and hoping he would go away. She walked by him without a second glance and went into her room, where she dumped her book bag onto her bed and changed into a T shirt.
When she came back out, he was still there. He seemed to be studying the three identical prints Olivia had framed and spaced equally across the wall of the main room. His clothes were ragged and of no particular color, while his hair and massive beard were black and shaggy. His skin was deeply tanned and he seemed much too comfortable sitting in Allison’s spot. She could smell him from where she stood.
Determined to continue ignoring him, Allison marched past the table into the tiny kitchen. She found lined across the table six glass bowls, each containing a different color of M&Ms. Evidently Olivia had found her stash again.
Allison pretended to peruse the contents of the refrigerator as she contemplated what to do about the homeless man. She wasn’t sure why he was there, nor was she sure how to go about asking. What did you say to someone sitting around your apartment like he owned it? What if she had accidentally gone into number 5 instead of number 6 and this was his home? But wait, if he was homeless–
“I’m back!” Olivia had returned. Allison closed the refrigerator door and peered through the kitchen archway to see how her housemate would handle the homeless man.
Olivia was carrying a bulging plastic bag. From it, she removed a bottle of Febreeze and sprayed all around the main room. Then she hand the rest of the bag to the man and showed him to the bathroom. He locked the door and a few moments Allison heard the shower.
“Olivia…” she started. The other girl, who was blonde and pink across the cheeks from mild rosacea, turned and beamed at her.
“When did you get back?” she asked pleasantly.
“Um,” replied Allison and gestured toward the bathroom door.
Olivia frowned in confusion.
“Who was that?” Allison asked.
“Oh,” said Olivia, “that’s Conrad.” And she went to straighten the couch pillows.
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