Tom had recently moved out of his apartment and into the bouncy castle down at the fairground. Rent was a lot cheaper, but it was still week to week sometimes. At one point they'd threatened to turn the air off but thankfully he had since gotten back on track.
He was one of the lucky ones though.
His friend Diane had signed a one year lease for a two-seater compartment on the Torpedo, a roller coaster down by the water slides. She often told Tom that things were great and that on the first and third elevations, she had amazing sea views.
Mostly though Diane just looked tired and windswept.
Their chats often revolved around other listings that might be opening up soon. Especially any rumours about cabins opening up on the ferris wheel. That's all everyone talked about.
Tom would often daydream about that. About having his own little cabin on the ferris wheel. To finally have some stability. Both literally and figuratively.
Gareth, one of the ride operators, was hosting a housewarming at his new place on the ferris wheel tonight and Tom had opted not to go. Not for jealousy reasons, but mostly because his motion sickness had flared up. A side effect of having an inflated floor.
Instead he’d spent the evening sprucing up his place with a few things: some soft furnishings, a lamp and a giant bear he’d won at the hoop toss recently. He’d put up a roof covering too the other day but the council had forced him to take it down as it didn’t meet the building code for small to medium castles. Still, the inclement weather from last week had passed and so that night he’d decided to lay down on the floor and watch the stars through the open roof. The noise from the industrial air pump helping to drown out the housewarming, which he was thankful for this time.
He reached over to get an extra pillow, sending a ripple across the floor and tipping his drink over in the process. He cursed under his breath.
He could see if Gareth’s old place was still available. He always did like the dodgem cars as a kid, and the communal living model had always appealed to him too. Less so the repeated whiplash mind you. Maybe he would think on it.
These days he could barely remember what it was like to live in an apartment. How strange it was to think about that now. His old life with all its hard surfaces and glassware, and lack of open plan living. To not even be able to see the stars from your own bed.
The things we put up with, Tom thought to himself, as he drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the fairground. The whirring of the pump, the odd splash here and there from the new tenants over at the dunking machine, the various bells and buzzers ringing from the arcade alley, and the occasional whoosh of the Torpedo in the distance, and with it Diane’s whoops and screams.
I mean, imagine not having turrets…
I hope you enjoyed that little story. Just a quick note here to say that there’ll be no newsletter next week but I’ll be back the following week as per usual. Take care!
A fun little story, yet sad because it highlights a current life issue of ridiculously high rents.
Such a creative story! I really enjoyed it!