Phantom of the Apartment

Old Friends

     The Sunday morning sun streamed lazily through the windows of the apartment as Jason bustled around in a frantic attempt to tidy up. As he was rapidly washing dishes, Rebecca appeared. She rubbed her eyes as she stumbled lazily around the kitchen.

     "Whatcha doin', Jason?" She yawned.

     "I'm cleaning up the apartment," Jason responded as he scrubbed a plate.

     "Yeah, but why?"

     He put dried the final dish with a worn towel and placed it next to the sink before shooting her an irritated glare. "I told you yesterday. An old friend of mine is coming over today." He placed the final dish in the cupboard. "I have to go change clothes now, so if you'll excuse me I'll be going," He said as he tried to walk around Rebecca.

     Wherever he moved, however, she moved to block him. "Oh! Are you gonna wear the fancy shirt you bought yesterday?"

     Jason gave an irritated sigh as he continued to try to walk past her "That was the plan."

     "Why so fancy?" She gave a mocking gasp. "Is it a date?"

     "What? No! The two of us just haven't seen each other in a really long time and I'd rather leave a better impression than pajamas and bunny slippers." Jason tried to dodge her a few more times, but he remembered that she was a ghost. After a moment of hesitation, he  walked right through her as though she was not standing there and continued walking to his room.

     She laughed. "Hey! That was rude. You can't just walk through people like that. I mean, I understand you're in a hurry to meet you're date, but-"

     "For the last time," he shouted over his shoulder, "it's not a date!"

     "If you say so. Either way, I'll stay out of sight if you'd like."

     Turned around and smiled. "Thank you."

     "Who is this friend, anyway?"

     "His name is Thomas. He'll be here in about half an hour, so make sure you're either gone or you... Well, you know. Do that thing you always do when you're too lazy to just walk out of a room like a normal human being."

     "What thing? This?" She grinned and disappeared.

     "Yup," Jason sighed. "That's the one."

~~~~~~

     If Jason had been rushed before, he was now frantic. He raced back and forth around the apartment in a light blue dress shirt as he tried to make last minute fixes. Rebecca had stayed out of sight so far, and Jason hoped that she wouldn't do something stupid while Thomas was there. His phone buzzed on the counter and he froze for a moment before rushing over to check who had texted him. Sure enough, it was Thomas.

     Hey, Jace. Just pulled up to the apartment. Just wanted to confirm, you live in room 232, right?

Sent: Today 10:29 AM

      Jason typed a quick reply to confirm the address and ran the kitchen to grab the two mugs of coffee he had prepared earlier. He panicked for a moment, thinking Rebecca might have taken one for herself like she used to, but both mugs were sitting where he had placed them. He smiled and made a mental note to thank her for that later as he moved the two steaming cups to the dinning table.

     There was a knock at the door

     Jason ran to the door and paused in front of it. Calm down. Calm down. It's just Thomas. He took a deep breath and composed himself before he opened the door with a grin. "Hey there, Thomas. Long time no see!"