After a tedious ride on the bus, Giselle arrived in a small street. The sidewalk followed one property after the next. The pattern was very obvious: shoulder-height hedge, small concrete path to the entrance door, another hedge, side street down into the parking garage, another hedge, next property, repeat. Every property was a multi-story apartment building. This block had been built at least 30 years ago and the colours looked about as vibrant as a mud hole in the desert. Giselle sighed, gripped her bag and walked with a smile toward the tall business person that waited for her a couple of meters away. It was the agent who looked to be in his forties. A stubby beard and large nose were his most prominent features apart from the balding head. He also carried a rather large tummy with him that was large enough to show through the business suit. "Hi, I'm Giselle, we talked on the phone, right?", Giselle greeted the person and got a mumble in response. "Yes, hello. Shall we?", the man said in a rusty voice that betrayed his addiction to cigarettes. Giselle couldn't remember the person's name. Was it Bud? Burk? Something B, but it didn't matter either.

She followed the agent up onto the second floor. There were three doors, he opened the one on the left. Darkness greeted her. "The previous owners took the lamps with them, we need to make due with torches", he told her and clicked on top of a small, black stick. Bright, white light shone into the hallway. The walls had a hideous flower wallpaper and it didn't get better, the further they walked inside. The whole place featured a whooping 3 windows. One in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. The bathroom was hardly bigger than a bathtub and seriously needed a renovation. Actually the whole place needed a renovation. All of a sudden a loud, booming noise erupted from somewhere. Giselle couldn't pinpoint the source. To her it felt like the neighbours ran an underground techno club. Crumbs fell onto her head from the ceiling which she dusted off in annoyance. The agent shrugged at her helplessly. "Is this normal?", she yelled through the room in an attempt to be louder than the music. "I'm afraid so", he stated bluntly. The brunette sighed, "I guess we're done here. I'm sorry, I am a quiet person and I need my place to be quiet". "I understand. You're not alone in this assessment", he almost sounded apologetic and accompanied her outside, "Well, then, I hope you have better luck elsewhere then". "Thanks, you too", she responded and walked back down the street to the bus stop. What a fucking waste, she thought and leaned against a pillar keeping the bus stop roof aloft.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The other agent had cancelled their appointment in the morning. That apartment was rented out already and there was no point in her visiting the place anymore. Eventually she reached home. Annie was already there and the questioning look just made her shrug helplessly, in a similar fashion that Burk, the agent, had shrugged. "One got cancelled and one had a fucking private club on top of it", she explained and Annie stared at her. "I am serious! The music made the ceiling fall on top of my head!", she reaffirmed her explanation. Annie stared at her some more and then shook her head, "Fuck, it'd be hilarious if you didn't need a place to live!". "Yeah, I guess". "Let's look for more places, alright?", the blonde tried to be supportive and put a bowl of salad on the table. They dug in and Giselle managed to get another appointment the very next day after work. She felt lucky and snuggled against her lover while trying to follow the TV show. Half of the story had been skipped over by her the previous evenings when she was so preoccupied. Trying to catch up took all her concentration now. At least she was distracted.

"Good luck, love!", Laury had wished her as she boarded another bus into the outskirts of Blackwater. Today she went into a different direction than the day before. The area was newer, it had been an industrial complex a few decades ago. It wasn't as safe as other areas either, but the apartment complex was huge, had its own bus stop and had been built barely 10 years ago. She was confident that it wasn't that bad.

And she was right. Unfortunately about 15 more interested clients gathered on the small porch in front of building B. "Ah shit", she muttered to herself, seeing her chances dwindle. Most people gathered here were in company. Either couples or friends, with Giselle and additional 3 more being the outliers. Conversations between the different parties weren't happening. The mood was weird and awkward. Suddenly a group of ten people got herded out of the front door by a small, fat woman wearing a blonde braid, too much makeup and a dress that made her look like a sausage. "Alright, next group come with me", she said in a similar rusty voice as Burk from the day before. Giselle followed the group up the stairs and into an apartment on the first floor. It had a balcony, windows, no kitchen and a beautiful bathroom. All of the floor had dark tiles and the walls were painted in a vibrant white. Taking in the place, she could see various couples already trying to compete for attention of the sausage lady. Two additional, single people had papers with their names and resumes. She wouldn't get this place even if she begged. Without a second glance, she sneaked out of the door and took a bus home.