DJ.

I stay late for no one.

I spent my night working circles around you. I completed twenty projects in the time it took you to do one. They say you're not all there, and I had defended you for a long time, mostly because I found you strange, but tolerable. DJ? That has ended.

You should know this rule would apply to any of them. Joy, Chip, Troll, Popa. I would still be livid. I would surely rethink our relationship. The only thing that's different is I could talk it out with them, and I already know Joy and Chip take orders. Why? Because they envy and emulate me. I'm not just being a diva. You've seen it too.

My point? I make the rules. I may be older and wiser and expected to take charge, but you're kidding yourself if you think I will do everything for you and then give you a glowing recommendation and hand you a social agenda on a silver platter to boot. So you and your little folded paper lists can scoot along to the bus stop now. Toodles!

TO AL.

No, I do not feel at home. This is just the place I sleep.

When Al and Boomer kicked Pink out, they didn't take into account the fact that it would be difficult to find a replacement roommate. I refuse to pay higher rent for more than a month. In the meantime, Pink has done everything possible to make my time here uncomfortable. Everything I do is wrong, from the way I load the dishwasher to the way I park my car.

Apparently it is common knowledge that one should shut the bathroom door after any and all use, trapping steam, stench, and mold. Those who do not do so are condemnable by house law. If Pink's dog happens to relieve herself on my bedding, it is not because of her neglect and failure to shut said dog in her room. It is my failure to shut my door all the way and monitor someone else's dog.

Then everyone else chimes in. Turning down the TV volume? Out of the question. Trying to save money on the energy bill by keeping the heater off? Not an option. Taking down the Halloween or Christmas decorations? Forget it. After all, my opinion doesn't matter. I just sleep here and pay rent here. I just store my personal possessions and eat here. I just get in the way of everyone else's bathroom time here. And knocking? Not happening.

And when I voice my frustrations? I am a conniving, greedy, bossy little bitch. How dare I come in and do all the dishes daily and try to improve the standard of living.

So no, Al. I do not feel welcome. This is not my home. And I wish we won't be able to find a roommate next month. That way I can leave.

WILL.

I know, it was just a movie. But was it not meant to stir some emotion?

Mayor invited a few friends out to see "Medea Goes to Jail" tonight. I sat between Popa and Will. And when it got really emotional, Will got a little crabby. SPOILER ALERT! The character Josh gets upset as he is confessing his guilt over his friend Candy's fate as a prostitute. A series of unfortunate but all-too familiar circumstances in their past allowed her to be raped by those he was close with at the time. Baring his soul, Josh lets it all loose in a very personal display of tears and confessions.

Will interjected, "Really?! He's getting so upset over that? Let it go man..."

And for the rest of the movie I could only think "Heaven forbid we believe there is such a thing as a man who respects women enough to carry guilt over loss of virtue."

That's when the movie in general started to irk me. Heaven forbid we believe in such a character because there is no such thing on earth. Never have I seen a man with that much understanding and care for any woman. I highly doubt there is such a thing. Thank you, Will, for reminding me of this. Thank you for signing your name on the list of men who disappoint me. The thing that gets me about Tyler Perry movies? It's not just a sad situation. The sad thing is that in the movies the bad people always get theirs in the end, and the good people come out on top. But in real life, it doesn't happen that way.

I may have made a decision tonight. Georgia? It's over before it started. If there was interest on your end I'm sorry. If there was on mine, it will hurt less to squelch it then it will to sever ties later. Being friends was pretty good though, I don't think it's too late to go back to that. And yes, I love you, too.

GEORGIA.

I thought he was gay. I also thought today would be innocent.

When Popa and I planned our outing last week, I knew I wouldn't follow through unless there were others involved. Her temper and attention span are too short, and that wears on a person as patient as me. I invited Georgia because he's still new here and I thought he would enjoy getting out. I recently discovered he's our age, and he had also mentioned spending time together once before. Little did I know...

I met up with him earlier so we could see the show the others weren't interested in. Popa would be arriving with Temple, although we don't know her too well. Popa invited her, probably because she thought three was a crowd but four would be a party. It turns out Temple isn't a good fit. In any case, Georgia and I met early, and queued for show. After killing twenty minutes wandering, we stopped at the stage to decide whether to wander more or just wait it out.

"What do you want?" He inquired, peering into my eyes.
"I don't know, either way is fine with me."
"But what do you want?" He repeated, more forcefully.
"I don't know."
"I know what you want..."

His soft hands gently brushed my bangs away from my eyes, then slowly caressed my temple and followed down my jawbone, slowly pulling my chin towards his slightly parted lips. But my assumptions and impressions were challenged too much at once, and I rebelled. Actor he may be, but it seemed there was some truth when he turned away and said "That hurts."

A woman too often teased and rejected, and with a long history of hurt, questions everything and takes a long time to trust. A broken heart will very often be divided in feeling. My heart believes he may be using me as a cover. It questions his intentions and integrity. It is scared to invlove anyone it can't hide from. But it allowed me to accept his kiss a few hours later, and for now it can't picture Georgia with anyone else.

PINK.

She is here, but leaving soon. March 1st, to be exact.

Funnily enough March is the month the lease on this house will be up. None of us really want to stay...Clover's spoiling parents are looking at real estate here, and I have been ready to leave since November. But you'll understand that later. That leaves Al and Boomer. And if Al had a clue about the infidelities....shouldn't he though? In any case, the lease will be renewed despite the lack of willing tenants.

Pink wanted out anyways, but had no drive. Al and Boomer were ready for her to leave. It seems strange to me that she is so similar to Al and he and Boomer are so mutually obsessed they could have invented "Three's a crowd." Forget five. In the meantime, they decided enough was enough and gave Pink one month to relocate. She did so promptly, but having paid rent, elected to stay the entire month, just to irk. And she does.

Five people in a car designed with four seat belts is as uncomfortable as it is unsafe, but saving gas is a price worth paying in safety. The one person without current health insurance was trapped in the spare seat by coincidence on the way there. The whole way I fretted and worried, begging my mother's forgiveness after my impending death upon impact, my body strewn out across the highway. I vow to be kind and let it go, only requesting a seat belt on the way home. Then, just before loading for the trip home Pink pulls me aside and kindly says "Do you mind taking the same seats? I have this fear about riding in cars without a seat belt..." As if no one else has a care in the world.

Thank God her time is short. My temper is thinning more quickly than the days are passing. March first seems eons away, but now is not the time to rush away the months.