I got up from the bar stool and headed towards the living room. It was slightly lower than the rest of the house with only a couple stair steps. Ahead was a fireplace nestled in the corner with bookcases and a tv lining the walls. A long gun was propped up beside the fireplace. The walls themselves had black patterned wallpaper and a tall elaborate wainscotting. But hanging in the center of a wall was a large picture with a golden frame. In it was a painting of a slim bear nonferal with a suit and tie that felt as if they were looming over the room as they glared down.
Wendell was sitting in one of the arm chairs near the sofa with his flip phone out. He seems to be struggling to type something as his hands were a bit big for the phone. While he was busy, I made my way to the sofa beside him and sat down. I kept my head turned towards him until he noticed me. In the time it took for him to get done I noticed he wore a golden ring on both thumbs.
He glances at me with a hint of annoyance, “What do you want deadbeat? Don’t you have a job to get to?”
I tilted my head some at him, “You know you made Dante cry right?”
Wendell flips is phone shut and takes a dramatic breath of air as he rolls his eyes, “He does every fucking day. Does it look like I care? That guy is just a walking bald spot.”
An idea starts to creep up as I fold my arms, “So you hate his guts? Like you don’t even like a single thing about him? If you were standing by a volcano and had the chance to accidentally push him, would you?”
Wendell nods, “I would! That guy h-”
I interrupted him, “Then why is he still here?”
A hint of rage boils up behind Wendell’s eyes as he turns to completely face me, “Don’t you ever fucking interrupt me like that again. I run this show here and if you so much as try to butt in, I will make sure both your eyes know what an acid wash feels like.”
Instead of cowering away, I deadpanned at him. He paused as if expecting a reaction as I waited. Eventually I broke the silence again, “Ok so, could you answer the question? Like you’re the landlord. You can just kick out people you don’t like. The place is so deadbeat cheap you could easily get a reroll on new people. Maybe win the social lottery and you get another prick just as feisty as you are.”
Wendell huffs, “For the record this place is a privilege. I only keep the whiny bitches around for entertainment because I enjoy being mad and calling you guys things that make you crack under pressure.”
I exaggerated, looking to understand, “Oh!!! Ok I get it now! Like, do you really do like that? I just want to confirm before locking in what I think about you.”
Wendell’s eyebrow slightly raises, “Yeah? Yeah, I really do. You can lock that shit in cause I’m not budging.”
I happily get up and put my hands to my hips, “We’ll see about that- anyways I gotta get to my deadbeat job! Gotta earn my privilege!" I flash a smile at him and a finger gun before turning and walking away.
I faintly hear him yelling back at me as I leave, “Wash that dirty ass mane before you go!”
I walk past the bathroom, raising a hand to flip him off before turning out of sight and heading outside the lodge. I snickered to myself with a sly grin, “Marley was right. This is gonna be fun.”