ROOMMATES NEEDED: Berea, KY

3 room house
2 toilet
1 couch
videogame, TV
 
Like good personality. Apply Now. Send information to [email protected] (not real address).
 
“It’s been an entire week, and I’ve already had fifteen people email me. Should I delete this ad now? I’ve almost grown to like it too much... It must be good for how many responded.” Aiden Valentine remarked as his blue eyes stared at the computer screen longingly with his chin rested upon his folded arms on his desk. The house was beginning to feel far too empty since his mother left a couple of days ago to allow him some space while he was attending college. His mother was renting the house out to him and whoever he ended up sharing the space with, so it was his duty to find responsible people! It’s just... he couldn’t decide who he should accept just by the online replies. They all sounded great! So, he decided to hold interviews at his home so he could get a better feel for those who emailed him. He was just waiting for them to start arriving and--- wait. They’re arriving soon!
Aiden jumped from his chair and practically dived for the clothing he had left on the floor to throw them into the dirty hamper beside his bunk bed. He hurried over to his dresser that sat opposite of the bed and rummaged through the drawers to search for the proper outfit he should wear for the interviews. A sweater? No... too warm. A button-up shirt? Yes! Wait... no. What if they thought he was too serious to live with? Ah! A loose t-shirt! And jeans! Perfect. Aiden did a quick 3-minute change and noted to himself that in order to be a more successful theater major, he should practice changing clothes faster. Good idea... focus! His eyes darted to the clock that hung on the wall above his dresser, and he couldn’t be more surprised! Was it really already 1:00 p.m.? His first interview was in fifteen minutes! Quickly he hid his pajamas under his bed to deal with them later and then ran out of his room to organize the living room a little better. His hands rapidly grabbed for the snack trash that was strewn out across the table in front of the television, and he hurried into the kitchen which lay adjacent to the living room to throw it all away in the actual trashcan.
            Aiden’s cleaning continued like this, rushing to make the house as clean as possible before the guest’s arrival. That doorbell should be ringing any minute now, and he knew the house could have looked better if he had only started sooner! He reached his hands up and ran his fingers through his thick, brown hair and breathed a deep sigh as he tried to ease the stress that he was beginning to experience. What are you worrying about, Aiden? If they don’t like the house as it is now, then they have too high of expectations and perhaps wouldn’t like living here anyways, right? With a nod to himself, he decided that was a good answer and rid himself of any further anxiety, though he did remain a little nervous. Again, his eyes lifted to the clock above the stove and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. It was 1:30? Where was his guest?
Pacing, Aiden found himself in the living room in front of the entrance, wondering how he was to present himself to his late guest. Was he going to accept someone who is late? Of course! Anything could have gone wrong. Who would he be to count that against him?
DINGDONG! Aiden’s attention was brought to the entrance, and with a little too much excitement, he was all too eager to grab the door handle and open the wooden door only to reveal a young man with bleached blonde hair whose expression seemed to show a lack of amusement. This guy already had a duffel bag and a suitcase in his tow, which was a little more than shocking to him. This was just an interview! Aiden’s excited smile faltered into a confused and anxious one as he tried to make a sense of how to go about the situation. “Uh... Come on in. What’s your name?” he asked, trying to keep up a welcoming attitude.
            “Evan Sugar.” The boy across from him replied simply. Aiden could have sworn that this guy was making an attempt at smiling, but it seemed to be really painful for him... maybe he needed a friend! This was the perfect opportunity for him to help someone out! He stood aside for Evan to enter the premise and then shut the door behind him. To his surprise, Evan was already making his way to the sofa for a seat and set his belongings down beside him before he propped his legs up on the table across from him. He certainly knew how to make himself at home it seemed. He had never met someone quite like this, but maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try befriending new people. A positive attitude is always the way to go!
            “Evan? Ah, I’m Aiden Valentine. You /were/ expecting an interview right?” Aiden asked uncertainly as he positioned himself in a chair across from the couch, which he had set up earlier for this one-to-one confrontation.
            “That’s what your email said. I like videogames and have a great personality.” Evan replied in a monotone voice, his eyebrows raised as he waited for a response from his interviewer. He held his hands clasped and placed over the top of his head as if to show how relaxed he was in the situation, and it was then that Aiden came to this obvious conclusion. Of course! He had his bags already with him because he was homeless! Oh no, this poor guy! At least he was able to somehow find his ad to provide him with the opportunity to come to his home! Besides, he likes video games! He would definitely get along with this Evan guy, and perhaps once he has a roof over his head, he would be a little more cheerful. It’s decided then!
            Aiden beamed at the idea, totally falling in love with the idea of helping another person out to the best of his abilities. “Okay, then it’s settled! You can stay! Let me take your things to the room real quick. We have another guest coming in another 10 minutes or so.” he informed him as he cheerfully grabbed hold of Evan’s suitcase and duffelbag. He set the luggage carefully beside the base of the bunk bed and quickly returned to the living room so as not to leave his guest in boredom for too long.
            As he entered the room, Evan’s hazel eyes silently questioned and judged this strange kid as he tried to comprehend why what just happened... happened. He called that an interview? He knew from the ad that he didn’t seem to know how this sort of thing worked, but was he really going to accept him without knowing practically anything about him? After all, he himself merely cited exactly what he had emailed Aiden because he was too lazy to say anything else that he might have said. This guy... could not choose anyone else without his say. Otherwise he knew he wouldn’t turn anyone down! Carefully, Evan pulled his legs off the table and sat up only to lean forward to speak with Aiden more seriously, “I think I’m going to stick around the room and help you choose who else stays in this house. I’ve got good sense.” he assured Aiden.
            With this, the next interviewee arrived, right on time. Aiden answered the door with his normal cheery nature returning once more, though this time he wasn’t confronted with such a lack of amusement. The guy at the door had a pleasant smile on his face, and he even wore a button-up shirt to give himself a nice appearance!  “Is this the right place for the roommate interview?” he asked, checking the paper in his hand that he had printed off from his email.
Aiden nodded eagerly, already pleased by this first impression as per usual. It was very difficult for him to not be pleased by someone else’s presence. “Come on in! You can join us in the living room.” He stepped to the side to allow the stranger to walk inside. He seemed nice...For now.
Once this newcomer stepped into the building, Aiden closed the door and followed after him, teetering back and forth on his feet once they came to a stop to discuss. “What’s your name?”
“Chad Lang.”
“Chad. I like that...Well, Chad, have a seat!” Aiden suggested with great excitement as he sat back in his chair and gestured for him to take a seat on the couch beside Evan. This was going very well! At this rate, he could have his roommates picked by the end of the day quite possibly!
“Thanks.” Chad smiled appreciatively as he took a step toward the couch and sat next to Evan and offered a sort of nervous smiled to him simply to be polite. “Hey.”
“No,” Evan said plainly, and quickly at that. Immediately after his foot made contact with the dark brown, wooden floor, he could smell a stench emanating from his entire body, clothing and all.
“No?” Aiden asked with alarm, looking at Evan as a confused expression replaced his once excited appearance. Why didn’t he agree? For being such a chill seeming guy, he was certainly quick in making decisions such as these it seemed.
“No.” Evan repeated as he moved away from Chad and resituated himself on the opposite side of the couch, leaving a cushion between them. He smelled of cigarette smoke, and he could not and would not live with someone who would constantly smell like that, who allowed his belongings to carry the stench, or even who may have the possibility of smoking inside the home…Absolutely not. “He smells of smoke…”
“I do smoke,” Chad chimed in to confirm his statement, watching Evan’s reaction to him with slight apprehension. He was very aware that Evan completely judged him by his habit, which he knew could be a problem for some people. He completely understood, though it kind of that this meant he couldn’t stay here. It seemed like a nice place.
Well...That didn’t turn out the way he had imagined it would. Aiden remembered what Evan had said about having good sense… “Ah, well...That is a bit of a problem. My mom doesn’t want a smoker in the house. But it was nice to meet you, Chad!” He went from thoughtful to cheery in 0 to 100. These interviews were going very quickly...At this rate, they would be waiting forever until the next interviews and maybe he won’t have all of his roommates by the end of the day...
Chad saw himself out after the decision was made, not entirely disappointed by the outcome. There would be other opportunities elsewhere, and he knew that.
“There’s maybe twenty minutes until our next interview... I can show you around the house!” Aiden suggested as he smiled at Evan, trying everything he could to get him to open up, to smile...Anything! “What do you say?”
“Sure, I guess.” Evan shrugged, not really giving it much thought. As far as he was concerned, he would have to know where things were located...He just wished this alien creature of a person would stop giving him such a goofy look. It was obnoxious.
“Follow me, and I will take you on the grand tour!” Aiden hopped onto his feet, swaying in an attempt to regain his balance after standing so quickly. Was Evan giving in and getting warmed up?? He was definitely going to find out!
Evan got up and followed him, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked. He wasn’t all that impressed by the house itself: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and kitchen. It was a normal family house...To him, at least. Sure, add 5 more guys in there and let it become a testosterone paradise. He almost cringed at the thought...He returned his gaze to the back of Aiden’s head, realizing he was speaking to him. “What?” His monotone voice never ceased.
“What year are you?” Aiden asked again, not really bothered by having to repeat himself. He was beginning to wonder if this was a normal attitude for this guy...
“Sophomore.” Evan responded. He wasn’t going to give any more information than was necessary. He barely knew the guy that had given him the spot as roommate, and it wasn’t like him to spout out personal things to just anybody.
“Sophomore...Cool! Well, I’m a freshman! So...I guess I can ask you how things go, huh?” Aiden seemed very pleased by this. Evan was a year ahead of him, and liked video games?? It was just getting better and better! “You must know where all the cool campus hangouts are!”
“Campus hangouts…?” Evan wasn’t quite sure if he really knew where any cool hangouts were on campus. Usually those belonged to the smoking/drug crowd, and he was definitely not a part of those. Though he could picture Aiden being one of those partiers that get in trouble for being too loud or too rowdy. “Depends on what you’re into, I guess…”
“Oh? Really?” Aiden looked back at him momentarily. “Well, that’s something for later on! Here’s the first bedroom.” He pointed to the door to his left, and then gestured to his right with his thumb. “That’s the second room. We’ll share that one, since I’ll have my video game set up in there.”
Evan nodded slowly. At least he was going to get to play video games this semester…“Okay...What about the bathrooms?”
“There’s a bathroom down the hall and to the right, and there’s one in the master bedroom. I’m leaving that to whoever moves into that room. Both are pretty much the same, though.” Aiden gave him a smile. “The other room is also on the left side down there, across from the bathroom.” He gestured back down the hall towards the living room. “How about we go back to the living room and wait for the other guest to arrive?”
Evan nodded again and turned back around to walk away from Aiden. He was unsure if his decision to stay in the house was a good one. In all honesty, he would have preferred to be alone. He could have applied for a single room on campus, but something had told him to apply for the roommate position, and it bugged him. He didn’t know how well it would work out for him to share a room with an overly lively alien freshman. He took back his seat on the couch and propped his feet up on the table once more.
Aiden returned to his chair and looked Evan over again. It was becoming apparent to him that maybe the attitude he had put on was so that no one could tell that he was having troubles! It made perfect sense! He couldn’t actually be so apathetic, right? Once he got settled in and made new friends, he would be just fine! He really was going to help someone, after all! “What games do you like to play?” he asked, trying to lift the mood. Maybe that would be what would open him up!
“I dunno…” Evan stared at his hands, watching the way his fingers moved when they flexed. “I got back into console games recently...Especially with the new releases of Pokemon and Zelda.”
This guy liked Pokémon?? Aiden was really impressed. “Anything else??” He was so excited to know what games they could play together...it was killing him now!
“Mario. It’s one of my favorites, really. I grew up with it. Played on the Nintendo 64 and the original Gameboy…” Evan trailed off, realizing he had begun to ramble on about himself. “But I’ll play anything, I suppose…”
Aiden was beginning to idolize him. He hadn’t heard as many words from Evan’s mouth than when he was talking about the video games he liked. He knew it was going to be the one thing that would help him come out of his apathetic slump. “I think we’ll have a lot of fun playing games together, Evan!”
“Yeah…” Evan looked over at him and tried his best to return even a little bit of a smile to acknowledge the positivity that Aiden was spouting at him, though he couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to survive the first week…
 
Not long after, the next interviewee arrived at the house and knocked on the door. Aiden got up quickly, made his shirt look presentable, and ran to the door only to pull it open with the same excitement he’s held for each person he’s interview thus far. “Welcome! What’s your name?” he asked quickly, extremely happy to see another smiling face on the other side of the door. Evan’s introduction had greatly shocked him, and he wondered if the next person at the door would give him the same treatment each time.
“Troy Henson! Boy am I glad to be here! I have been looking forward to this since I got your email response!” The guy, Troy, was peppy...peppier than Aiden in some strange and terrifying way. “May I come in? We can get chatting right away! I think we can become good friends!”
“Definitely!” Aiden moved aside. “Go ahead and have a seat on the couch!” He liked this guy. He was happy, and it dispersed in the air around him like a disease-- A good disease! He watched him get seated beside Evan, and even with a questioning glance from him, didn’t falter in his attitude. Man, he wished he had been that tough! “So, Troy, what can you tell me about yourself?” he asked as he sat in his chair once more.
“Well, I get along with everyone! And I mean everyone.” He looked over at Evan, giving him a big smile. Whoever this was hadn’t introduced himself yet, but he assumed that this guy sitting beside him was a roommate that had been picked out from the interviews as well. At least there were plenty of spots available, so his chances for being picked were high he assumed. “And I like meeting new people!”
Evan couldn’t keep the judgement from his expression at all. This newcomer was worse than Aiden, and he was beginning to think of him as being actually bearable. He would rather be around Aiden for weeks on end than to be with Troy for an hour, and that’s saying something. “Yeah.. It’s noticeable..” he said, cringing at the fact that he actually spoke to the human being that sat beside him. He looked over at Aiden, unsure as to whether or not he could tell the obvious discomfort that he felt about the whole situation. Evan was staring right at him, as if waiting to hear his opinion. He had given it very quickly for the last one. With a sigh, he collected himself before he could say anything that would get him in trouble in the future. “Thanks for showing up and giving us your information...We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”
Troy was surprised by Evan’s comment, considering he had only just stepped into the house not so long ago and wasn’t even asked any of the typical interviewing questions. He wasn’t even the owner of the house! His eyes shifted over to Aiden and then back to Evan, looking between them a couple of times. “You’re not gonna ask me anything else?? Like, if I have any strange habits or things like that?” This guy, still unintroduced to Troy, was sounding a bit apprehensive about letting him stay.
“Well, the fact that you have to ask that suggests that you might... and we can keep that under consideration... But there are more interviews we have to conduct before we can have a final answer.” Evan was becoming slightly annoyed at the lack of acknowledgment his words had received. If this guy really cared about people, he would respect what he was saying...Though he wouldn’t say that out loud--not unless he really pushed his buttons.
Troy looked at Aiden. “When should I expect to hear back?” He wanted to hear it from the voice of the one that was actually doing the roommate selection. He could get along with everyone, but that didn’t mean he would let people catch an attitude with him.
“Well, I have interviews still today and some tomorrow...So, tomorrow night, most likely.” Aiden smiled, trying to put reassurance into the conversation. Evan was very blunt with his words, and while he could tell he wasn’t all that pleased with the personality of the guy, he was kind of proud that he didn’t just outright say no. He had actually tried to make the guy feel as if he was being given the chance among the other candidates. “I appreciate you coming out, and I’ll inform you when I have the results!”
“No problem, I will be waiting to hear back!” And with that, another interviewee was out the door.
 
Once Troy was gone, Aiden returned to his seat and glanced at Evan. He knew this guy had a heart and soul somewhere--he was able to hold his tongue through Troy’s whole spiel! Though Aiden knew that someone with that type of personality might be a little too much for their apartment to handle. He knew he could be just as rambunctious as Troy could be, and that would be overload for everyone in the house! He had to think of the others! And as much as he would have loved to be surrounded by people that were just like him, he had decided that he would get people with all types of personalities so he could befriend all kinds of people. “We have just a few more interviews today,” he informed Evan, though he figured he already knew that by what he had said to Troy. “I appreciate your help with the choosing. I wanted to do a kind of melting pot, you know?”
Evan nodded slightly, though he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. A melting pot? Like, fondue? Did he want fondue to share? “Melting pot…?” he asked, uncertain. He couldn’t mean the food kind of melting pot, right?
“A mixture of people!” Aiden exclaimed. “You know, like America? The Melting Pot!”
He seemed to be a bit too happy about his history reference for Evan’s liking. “I see..” So no, not food. Though, that sounded pretty good.. “Do you have food in this place?” He felt kinda bad for already asking about eating, but at the same time, he had gotten off the plane not long before he had showed up for his interview. “I haven’t really eaten since this morning.. And airplane food isn’t the best.”
Airplane food? Evan had been on an airplane? Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of that? Aiden face palmed himself, disregarding that Evan would have no idea why he was doing it. He wasn’t homeless, he was traveling back from home! “I have some, but not very much. I still have to go to the store.”
Evan didn’t really care about the amount of food or what type; he was hungry period. “Any food is good food…” He shuffled his feet to the kitchen, not sure where to look but willing to search the entire room to find something, /anything/ to eat.
The next two interviews flew by as well, even with Evan stuffing his face in the kitchen. He would give his input between taking slurps of chicken flavored ramen as he looked into the living room from where he sat at the breakfast bar facing the guest and Aiden. Despite his original impression of Aiden, the way he was handling the interviews since his own was changing to be more structured, with better questions. He was learning, and it showed that he was actually serious about pleasing him when it came to their other roommates. He didn’t have to put his two cents into the conversation as often as he had at first.
He was curious, then, how Aiden was going to handle their next interview. The moment Evan saw the man walk through the door, he instantly recognized him. Jin Kasey...One of the more serious people he had seen on Berea’s campus. He would not mind at all if Jin became one of their roommates. He figured he would be respectful of the space and a great contrast to the extremely rambunctious nature of Aiden. He would be someone that he could relate to.
Once inside, Jin Kasey promptly gave a slight bow and offered a handshake to Aiden along with a pleasant smile to show his appreciation for being allowed this interview. His Korean features revealed his lineage, and even the way he carried himself was proof of his nationality. He seemed to be very respectful. “It is nice to meet you. My name is Jin. And you are Aiden Valentine?” he asked just to make sure he was pronouncing the name correctly, his weak accent clearly of Asian origin. His English was actually pretty good!
            Aiden couldn’t help but be amazed by Jin’s formal aura that he seemed to have and was absolutely thrilled to be meeting a foreigner! “Yeah, that’s me! Grab yourself a seat, and we’ll get started.” he invited him cheerfully as he closed the door and made his way to his usual interviewer seat and gestured for Jin to take a seat across from him on the couch.
Jin was more than surprised to be meeting someone as obnoxious as Aiden, but honestly the happy personality he held really wasn’t a bad thing and could certainly be helpful at college. He himself was a rather optimistic person, but he definitely allowed his serious nature to take over most of the time. He was more of an introvert than anything. As he sat himself across from Aiden, he awaited the questioning with almost no signs of nervousness at all, that is for the exception of one thing… his leg was constantly bobbing up and down. Otherwise he seemed to be completely calm!
            “So… do you like dogs or cats?” Aiden asked out of the blue. This was the first time he was interviewing someone without the assistance of Evan, so he was practically blank on what questions were proper for this situation. Besides, the type of animal someone likes actually can say a lot about someone’s personality, or at least that’s what he’s heard!
            “Uh… dogs. I like cats, but I believe I’m more of a dog person.” Jin answered uncertainly, rather confused by this strange question. Was there a reason this was the first question posed to him? Was there meaning behind it? Perhaps he was thinking of getting a pet?
Evan stared at the two from his seat at the breakfast bar and took a moment to just close his eyes as a pained expression fell upon his face into a grimace, his hand raising to perform a slow face palm. Did he really just ask that? Was he not paying attention to what kinds of things he himself had asked or mentioned in these interviews? Seriously… With a sigh of exasperation, he stood from his seat and decided to join the two in the living room, leaving his empty bowl on the counter and then sitting on the far side of the couch to help interview Jin. Aiden just needed help… “Just how well do you get along with others?” he immediately asked just to cut to the chase. He had only heard of his reputation, but he didn’t know him personally.  
Jin’s eyes averted to the speaker that now questioned him, rather surprised by his interruption and his lack of introduction. Even with this slightly intimidating person interrogating him all of a sudden, he remained calm and thoughtfully gave an answer, “... I get along with everyone I believe. There’s no one I greatly dislike.” he replied simply. He didn’t think they were looking for a lengthy response; it was better to be precise.
Really? No one, not one soul?? Was it even possible for someone to like everyone? Then again, he could always just dislike someone a little instead of greatly. Evan narrowed his eyes at Jin as if questioning whether or not this was true, but he was nevertheless satisfied enough with the answer to move on to one of the more classic questions, “What are your hobbies?”
            “Ah, what I like to do… I like playing video games, playing intramural soccer and volleyball, and I guess reading.” Jin replied with only a small portion of his list of hobbies. He figured he should include video games because of Aiden’s ad, but otherwise he just chose hobbies from his list at random!
Interesting... he seemed to be the athlete type, but he also had a few indoor activities that were similar to his own, so he didn’t seem to be that hard to get along with. Evan considered this for a moment and then thought of a question that might be helpful in sealing the decision. True, he had only asked two questions, but Evan was confident in his judgement skills and had no need to interrogate him. “What can you bring to this household?”
What… can he bring? That was actually a really good question… There had to be a reason why they should allow him to stay with them, so he needed to find an answer that would grab their attention! But… what kind of answer would that be? He pondered on this for a moment as he considered what college students generally need when staying at an apartment or dorm with other people. What did others look for in their roommates? Personality, of course, but… oh! Many times, Jin has overheard the complaints of others, including his friends, about the cafeteria food on campus, and there was a possibility Aiden and his friend would have mutual feelings. “... I can cook. I mean, I can cook Korean dishes better than anything, but I’ve learned how to make American foods as well over the years I’ve spent here.” he replied with more confidence in his answer than he had expected from himself.
Evan raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed by his claim to be able to cook. He himself was not exactly a chef, and he could practically guarantee that Aiden wasn’t either, considering the selection of food and ingredients he held in the kitchen (or lack thereof). Plus, Aiden seemed to be absolutely delighted by this answer. “Well then, I think that’s all,” Evan decided before giving a nod of approval to Aiden.
            Aiden perked up when he was given the chance to regain his spokesman position and was absolutely thrilled that Evan was giving his approval to someone at last! He thought he would never choose someone! “Do you have your things with you? If so, you can go ahead and move in with us,” he went ahead and suggested to Jin.
Immediately Jin’s leg stopped moving, and somehow he seemed to become relieved when he didn’t even look that stressed to begin with! Was he really accepted?? That was easy! The corners of his mouth raised to form a small smile as he became less tense in the body as well, “Ah, no… I still have to grab my things from my previous apartment. Would you mind if I move in tomorrow morning?”
“Of course! Any time after 10:00 should be okay; just call me when you’re on your way. My number is listed on the ad. Oh, and we will be interviewing more people around 1:00, so you know,” Aiden replied with an enthusiastic smile. The three of them exchanged thanks and goodbyes (or nods in Evan’s case), and finally the last interview was finished once the door was closed behind their newest roommate. Aiden was excited for the next day with the thought that Jin would be officially living with them, and he would know exactly who his other two roommates would be.