Page 14Lucky room

Esmeralda barely waved to her friends as she led me outside and away from the inner city. She was cheerfully hazy on alcohol, but still quite fun to talk to. She just came up with the weirdest things to ask me and then looked at me as if they were the most normal things in the world.

"So, you like scarfs, do you?"

"Scarfs? Eh, I guess they're okay. It's not really the season though."

She giggled. "Oh, but they're not for the warmth, I like the style of them."

"Well, it does suit you."

"You sure that kiss was for me and not for my pretty scarf?"

"Hey! You kissed me!"

"Yeah, but you kissed me back. And even grabbed my bottom. You naughty girl!"

I pouted. "It's not like you didn't like it."

And things like that the whole walk through. She was pleasantly teasing me and asking me all kinds of questions. Where I came from, why I was here (a question I wasn't sure how to answer), how long I was staying and other things that felt completely natural for her to ask. It was the most normal I'd felt in a long time, even if she could tell by how I answered that I wasn't used to all this. But, as she was all too eager to say, everyone had to begin somewhere. She was actually two years older than me (one if we counted my 'real' age) and had travelled quite a bit around the country.

And of course numerous little tales on how she lived on almost no money. Having little to eat but often finding people willing to help. With a bit of imagination, she was kind of a vampire as well. She lived on others, but in a very open-hearted way. And of course she helped others as well, like me, when the time came. A little nicer than me at times and not as feral.

With a blush I realized that she might be quite feral as well in her own way.

She led me to a huge building that was a bit off the street. We stepped through a large archway that had a completely worn down sign, making it impossible to know what it was called. Just a large number, 301, was made on top of the worn letters and made everyone absolutely clear what address this was. Behind the archway there was a small place with some chairs, almost falling apart, leading to a large door. This didn't really look like any school I was used to.

"What was this place?"

"A school."

"But it's so ... weird. No classrooms or stuff?"

"Oh, not that kind of school. I think they told me it was a film-school or something. Hence lots of rooms without natural light."

I smiled, it sounded good.

"Let's just ask Josh if there's anything free at the moment. He would know."

She led me further inside and went into the first door on the left. There was a sort of very basic cafe there and she walked to, and kissed, a guy behind the bar. She talked to him for a second while I calmly walked into the room and looked a it. It was oddly decorated, with many colors and some odd paintings on the wall, some even questionable in nature, but it has a very homely atmosphere. There was even a corner with loads of pillows on the floor to sit on, occupied by two guys and a girl drinking. Some round and square tables in different colors and styles and a very small bar with two taps and some bottles behind it.

"Hey Amy? This is Josh. He says there's a room for you and he understands that you still want to hold on to your privacy." She winked at the last bit.

The guy stuck out his hand and shook mine easily. He was quite a bit taller, but very slim and had a kind face. His voice was a lot deeper than I had expected and when he spoke it was a little like listening to a warm blanket. "Just follow me, I think Es will stay for a beer but you look really tired."

"I am."

He led me out of the cafe and to the left, deeper into the building. The elevator was oddly 'broken'. It was a very old one, but that wasn't the odd bit. The whole elevator shaft was filled with all kinds of art, hanging from somewhere much higher. He walked me up to the third floor and showed me a room in the middle of the building. He told me how it was sometimes used as a darkroom, but that the lights weren't working all that well. He gave me a candle and a lighter and told me that I should feel free to get up any time I wanted to and I should ignore all the noise.

He left after that and I lit the candle and headed into the room. It was quite barren at the moment, with a desk and table against one wall and some thin pillows in the other. But, the much more important thing was the large bolt on the inside of the door that was only openable from the inside. It even had one of those pins to make sure that it really couldn't accidentally slide back or anything.

I closed the door and slid the bolt all the way home. Of course I used the little pin and felt quite comfortable here. There was a light-bulb on the ceiling that didn't appear to work with the corresponding switch and the walls were solid concrete, but not barren. There were all kinds of rather beautiful drawings and painting on the walls from edge to edge. One wall, the one opposite of the desk, was even painted in a sort of nature scene. The candle light didn't really do it justice.

My little space explored, I sat down, got my diary out and start writing. I'd barely described leaving the car when someone knocked on the door.

Knock knock?