Cornelius' POV212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTEXnMEjqQ
I arrived at the apartment after 2 hours. There was a bit of traffic on the way here. It was already 8 AM and it was quite sunny here. The driver brought out my duffel bag and my small baggage from the trunk. I thanked the driver for the ride and paid him 45 pounds. He thanked me and told me that the owner of the apartment lives here as well. I took note of that and waved him goodbye.
Before I went inside, I looked at the apartment. The apartment looked a bit medieval. The walls were probably made out of some bricks and stones. The whole apartment was not that big but I thought that it was a good thing. I didn't want to stand out here in Edinburgh because once they find out that I am Prince Cornelius of Scotland, then I would have to escape somehow.
I opened the big wooden door in front of me and gasped as I saw how the apartment looked like inside. There were four paintings by the corners of the wall. They were probably handmade by somebody unknown because I have never seen these artworks before. The walls were painted brown to give it a wooden effect while the floors were grey and they were tiled. There were also two staircases that led to the rooms. Two rooms were on the left side and the other two were on the right.
I walked towards the center of the lobby and tried to look for the owner. As I walked towards the table where the owner probably works at, there was suddenly a sound that came from upstairs. I got startled, and started to ask that person if he or she has seen the owner of this place. I went up the stairs and heard more sounds coming from the door that has a sign saying "Room 137". There was metal clanking from there and someone shouted, saying that she can't believe that she dropped the tray. Since I didn't want them to think that I was eavesdropping, I knocked on the door twice. I waited for her to open the door and she unlocked the door.
"Oh! Hello there, sir! Sorry for the noise. I was busy trying to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies but one of my trays fell. Anyways, what brings you here?", the woman asked.
"Good morning, miss! I was just wondering where the owner of the apartment is. I would like to inquire her about a room that I can stay in for three to five months.", I replied.
"Oh okay! I will contact him immediately that you want to stay in the spare room in this place. For now, do you want to come in? I want to get to know you more so that when the owner comes, I will introduce you to her.", the woman exclaimed.
"Um, okay sure. Let me just leave my bag and my baggage beside the door if that is okay with you.", I said.
"Go ahead! There is still plenty of space in this living room so feel free to place them there. You may sit near the dining table and I will be back in a second. Do you want some tea and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies?", the woman asked.
"Yeah sure! I would like to try your cookies as well as the tea you are going to prepare.", I replied.
She walked back to her kitchen and I sat down on the chair she was talking about. I closed my eyes and tried to think this through. I have to stay in this apartment for a few months and I have to adapt to the environment here and later on, when I start find places where I can be myself, I can try to go there by myself or with some friends. While waiting for the woman to serve some tea and cookies, I brought out my cellphone and checked if there were any notifications or messages there. There was a message from one of my friends, Victoria, saying that my mom contacted her. My jaw dropped when I read through the message. Victoria told her that we were having study sessions at the camp that the school held for the first 5 months since the start of the school year. The second text message she sent me was a picture this time. In the picture, the three of them smiled when Victoria took it. There was even a caption underneath the image. She said that I was still in the middle of finishing my home-work. After checking out these two messages, I turned off all of the notifications except for the messages and calls that I will be receiving in case of an emergency. I placed back my phone inside my bag and fixed the things inside since it got messy when I was on my way here.
The woman went back to the dining area with a tray. It had four chocolate chip cookies and a cup of cinnamon tea. She placed the tray in front of me and sat down on the chair beside me. I thanked her for the food and the tea and I started to eat the cookies. These handmade cookies tasted so good. It was chewy and had some melted chocolate parts in the middle of the cookie. I was enjoying the snacks that she was giving me and when I looked at her, she was smiling at me. I finished eating the cookies and drank some water from the pitcher. After that, I checked the time and it was 10:30 AM.
Maybe I should just sit back and relax for now. I didn't want the woman to think of me suspiciously.
"So, um... what is your name?", the woman asked.
"My name is Max. What's yours?", I replied.
"My name is Ruby. It was nice to meet someone who loved my homemade cookies. I would have tried to start my own bakery someday, but right now there's a lot of competition. Anyways, have you gotten to see Edinburgh aside from where you came from and from this apartment?", Ruby asked.
"Actually, I am quite new here since I moved from another part of Scotland to Edinburgh. I hope that someone could help me with the directions. For example, how to go to the center-point of Edinburgh from here and the other way around?", I replied.
"Oh good good! I can help you with that since I have a small map of this place. I can send you the file or print it out. I can also tell you some shortcuts getting there and going back here.", Ruby exclaimed.
"That's great! Please print out the map instead because I did not bring my computer. Thank you!", I said.
"Okay! Once you get a room, I will print out the copy of the map and you can do whatever you want for now. There are some rules in this apartment though. I can tell you the three rules that you have to remember. First, do not make unnecessary noises. Those noises can disturb those people who are trying to focus on their work. Second, you may go out at any time of the day. You just have to inform the owner about it and he'll take note of it as well. Lastly, if you want to talk with your fellow neighbors, you can either invite them to your room or you can go to their room and chat there. The owner does not want any fights or commotions as well. Do you have any questions?", she asked.
"I have a question. What if I leave this place temporarily and go back to my hometown? Can I still keep the room I am staying in here?", I asked.
"That depends on how long you will be gone. You can ask that question to the owner because he does not want anyone here to just leave the place and keep the room while they are away on vacation or something. Sometimes, he allows that but he has some conditions as well when they leave and when they come back. For now, just wait for the owner and I'll be printing the map for you.", Ruby said.
"Thank you for helping me! I really appreciate it.", I said.
"Your welcome, Max! I hope you enjoy your stay here if the owner will let you in.", Ruby said.
"Yeah hehe thanks!", I grinned.
I finished my cup of tea and I heard a door open. Ruby heard it as well and she told me to go out and meet him before I can get my things. I left her room and went downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, a man stood in front of me and smiled. I walked up to him so that I can greet him.
"Good afternoon, sir! My name is Max.", I said.
"Good afternoon! My name is Markus and I am the owner of this apartment. So Alex, who recommended this place and how did you get here?", the man asked.
"I met this woman named Rosa and she recommended this place for me to stay in. I asked for the address from her and hailed a cab to take me here.", I explained.
"Oh! I know Rosa. She was the one who stayed here for 6 months and she told me that she wanted to move somewhere closer to the center-point of Edinburgh. Well, anyways, let's go inside the room you will be staying in. I'm sure you had to wait for me to arrive and you must be tired from all the traveling. Shall we go take a look?", Markus said.
"Oh okay. Sure!", I replied.
We went up the staircase opposite to Ruby's room. Markus opened the door to the bare room. I looked inside and saw one bunk bed, two desks, and a television that was fixed on the wall. I looked around the room while Markus smiled while leaning beside the doorstep. This room had four sockets as well as 2 drawers per desk. Once I have finished taking a look at the room, I asked Markus how much I had to pay. He told me that I had to pay 60 pounds for the whole room. The monthly fees were 35 pounds. Those fees were equivalent to the supply of water, food, and electricity. I thanked him for letting me stay here. I just had to follow the house rules and get my bags from Ruby's room. I excused myself and went to Ruby's room.
I knocked on her door twice and she opened it. She asked me if the owner would let me stay here. I told her that he has confirmed it once I have paid for the room. She told me that I could already move my bags there. I picked up my duffel bag and my small baggage and made my way to my own room. Markus was still there, bringing some of the things which was not mine. He told me that the previous person who stayed in this room moved to another country because of his job. That person also left some of his things because they couldn't fit in his bags. I thanked Markus and he smiled, telling me that the room is now clean. I got my wallet and gave him 60 pounds. Before he left my room, I placed my hand on his left shoulder and stopped him. I asked him if I could stay here for 3-5 months and after that, I will temporarily leave this apartment for about 3 months or less. Markus told me that it was okay to do that. He also told me that when I leave temporarily, I should bring all of the valuable and important things with me so that others won't try to steal or take away my belongings. I thanked him again and Markus left the room.
I closed the door and took a deep breath. Now that I have my own room, I could sleep on the bed. I freshened up and hung my towel onto the hangers inside the closet. I fixed my bags and placed them at one corner of the room. I was so tired. I lied down on the bed and slept right away.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcpUzRAfYA
