–
There she went, on exact 10:45 she took her bike and started cycling to Rotown. Doing her homework from 11 till 2 on Thursday had become a ritual. Doing everything at home wasn’t an option, because her neighbor had his Thursday morning ritual. Sawing, drilling, hammering and making noise is what he did. He started early in the morning until the end of the afternoon. That’s why one day she decided to do her homework at Rotown, because it was the perfect place. Not too quiet and not too noisy. Doing her homework in the library didn’t work for her. It was horribly quiet over there and it made her pee non-stop and in Rotown she didn’t develop a peeing problem.
She came here for quite a while now and the staff knew she was coming every Thursday. Just like today, she stepped into Rotown and there was a hot chocolate milk waiting for her. She smiled and thanked the boy behind the bar, sat down and opened her books.
–
While he was busy yawning he started all coffee machines and he cleaned up the mess his colleagues had left him the day before. He should have gone to bad earlier, he felt completely broken. Luckily it was Thursday, his favorite workday of the week. Every week at 11 o clock that cute girl came in an and she always made his day a little bit more fun. She did not say much and was busy making homework , but sometimes she came to him just to chat for a few minutes and he knew they had a connection. He did not dare to say much, because she barely seemed interested. But he was gathering his courage to ask her out. And while he did not have the courage he was looking forward to every Thursday. What would he make for her today. She often drank hot chocolate and mint tea, but sometimes she asked for a cappuccino. He decided to make her a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and when she arrived he saw that she was happy with her cocoa and he gave himself a pat on the shoulder.
–
It was Thursday morning and this time her neighbor started even earlier with hammering and drilling. What the hell was he doing every time. First she thought he might be some sort of artist but she asked around and nobody knew what he did. She was also the only one who suffered from his loudness. Apparently her bedroom and living room was right above his office and therefore bothered by the noise. She decided to give him a visit and ask if he could turn it down. After all it was 6 in the morning and Rotown was not open until 11 so she didn’t had another option.
When she knocked on the door a strange fat man with grease and dirt on his clothes opened the door. It was really weird and some stains looked like blood. ‘What?’ he said. ‘Could you maybe turn it down, it’s so early’, she said. He took a good look at her mumbled something and then slammed the door. Oh well it was worth a try. She would take a shower and do some cleaning trying to kill time and then went on her way.
–
Because she looked so tired today he brought her a cappuccino. ‘I thought you could use this’. She smiled and told him that she had an early morning because of her annoying neighbor who’s a fan of making noise. He smiled and walked back to the bar. He noticed that he was nervous when she spoke to him and he did not want look foolish, so he hurried away. While he was cleaning they made eye contact and he saw that she was blushing. I knew it, she does like me! Now he only had to figure out how he was going to ask her out.
–
The following Thursday her lovely neighbor started at 6 am again. She was very annoyed. Why does he start so early for God ‘s sake?! She asked him nicely if he could turn it down a notch. Normally he started at 9. What made him change to fucking 6 o’clock. She decided to knock on his door again, but he was just as unkind as last time. Only this time he stared a little bit longer before he slammed the door in her face. She heard him mumble even more than last time but she decided to let it go. She was so annoyed, but thinking she was going to Rotown and that cute guy was working she couldn’t care less. She really liked him, but she never asked someone out before and it didn’t look like he was going to ask her out. She should come up with some kind of strategy or something. They made a lot of eye contact so it looked like he was into her. Maybe now that she cut her hair he didn’t like her anymore. Oh well… school before boys…
–
He looked at her while she was busy writing. Today was the day he was going to ask her out, definitely! She looked so pretty today and it looked like she had a haircut and it looked awesome. He gathered all his courage and walked towards her table. When she looked up and smiled he started to panic. He pretended he walked towards another table to clean. Fuck you big pussy, he thought to himself.
By the end of the afternoon she packed her things and said ‘see you next week’. ‘Yess, till next week’!! And he waved while she grabbed her bike. Next week he was going to do it, he was certain.
–
Goddamned it was 6 am and he started again. Yesterday she had put a note in his mailbox with the question if he could use the afternoon for his rumbling. Furiously she walked downstairs and knocked loudly on his door, noticing that it was already open. She walked inside and followed the noise. Eventually she stood in the room where the noise came from. The room was really strange. It was full of wood, wigs, dolls, masks and plastic body parts?! In the middle there was a table full of drills and weird looking machines. The machines made a lot of noise, but the man was nowhere to be found. His place looked like an altar with strange collections and it gave her the creeps. She would go to the police or something to fill in a noise complaint, she didn’t wantto be here any longer. When she turned around, the man suddenly stood in front of her. Before she could react she received a blow to the head. Unconscious she laid on the floor.
–
He was waiting with a cup of coffee with a small note attached that said ‘wanna have a cup of coffee together sometime?’ He knew it was corny, but he didn’t had any other idea. At 11 exact he was ready to be as charming he could be, but she wasn’t there. Strange, normally she’s right on time and she said ‘till next week’.
One hour later she still hadn’t arrived and her cocoa was cold. He didn’t knew her that well, but this was nothing like her. At 7 pm his service was over and he was disappointed. Why didn’t she show today… he should have asked her out last week. What if next week she wouldn’t come either, he didn’t even know her name…
–
The pain she felt when she woke up was horrible. She could not move and was dizzy. When she was fully awake and realized what was going on she panicked. She was pounded into a sort of glass case and she was missing her left arm and foot, or did it only seem that way? Was this a dream?! Her neighbor was sitting at the table and in his hand he had a leg. He was painting her leg with transparent paint. If that was her leg where was her foot? This was a total nightmare. She started yelling and screaming hoping someone could hear her. Her neighbor responded by giving her an injection. Slowly she felt less and less. She noticed that breathing was getting heavier and heavier and heavier.. so heavy that it stopped. She could not breathe and she knew this was the end. Full of regret she blew out her last breath. And now she was just hanging there like a doll wrapped in a box and her neighbor quietly continued with painting her leg.
–
Already 8 weeks ago was the last time he saw her. Even though it was a long time, he carried the note with him every Thursday just in case she walked in. His colleagues also noticed that she was no longer visiting. Maybe she moved to another place? While he was busy cleaning tables one of his colleagues threw him a newspaper. ‘Look!’ In the newspaper was a large picture of the girl who came in every Thursday to make homework at Rotown. The girl he wanted to ask out. ‘Sasha Brooks missing’ it said. He felt nauseous and read that the last time they heard from her was 8 weeks ago on Wednesday. He finally knew her name, not that it still mattered. Eight weeks missing, he wondered what happened to her. He took the paper from his pocket and threw it in the trash. He didn’t need it anymore now. Suddenly a cute girl stepped into Rotown. She was not the same as Sasha but what the hell. He took the note out of the trash and started walking to her. He will not make the same mistake again.