10. The Roommates
Rhys
So, while I think we can all agree on using your newfound powers for fun and profit, I have to take a firm stance on this. I was cautiously optimistic that we would all be sensible, but it turns out that my caution was warranted, so let me be absolutely clear. Abusing your power through cruelty and gaslighting is evil. It will ruin you, it will ruin your partner, and when the law finally catches up with the times and starts legislating hypnosis, it will ruin all of us as well. You do not want this.
But, to end the show on a more positive note, it has otherwise been a delight to hear from everyone! Many of you already have ideas of your own for hypnotising people, and for what your new relationship dynamic is going to...
"Hey Clarissa!" I said loudly, having snuck all the way from my bedroom to practically beside her as she sat on the couch, without her noticing.
Clarissa whipped around, knocking one earbud out of her ear to reply. "Rhys! Sorry, I'm just catching up on my new favourite podcast."
"Cool, cool!" I gave her a thumbs up. "I heard you come in and thought I'd say hi."
"Hiii!" she waved, an over-the-top performance of flailing arms and a wide grin while we were less than two metres away from each other.
"So, it's my turn to cook tonight," she continued, "did you get the dishes done from yesterday?"
"Ah," I facepalmed, "no I didn't. I'll get right on it."
"Please do!" she said.
I excused myself to the kitchen and got into it. Truth be told, I was feeling a little guilty. I was well-positioned to do the dishes at any time of the day, and I still hadn't managed to get around to it until 6:30 in the evening, at someone else's prompting.
"What about the laundry?" Clarissa called after me.
Fuck. I forgot my stuff was still on the communal clothes rack. "Uhh...I'll take it down after dinner?"
"Never mind, I'll get it now!" she replied. "I need clean socks for tomorrow."
"Fair enough," I sighed, an uncomfortable pit lingering in my chest as I scrubbed a plate.
While I cleaned, I thought about how the household had changed over the past couple of months.
Originally there were four of us: me, Tamara, Pete, and Victoria.
When I moved in, I wasn't sure how we'd all get along, but Tamara was the kind of girl that anybody would like. She was pretty, outgoing and made friends as easy as breathing.
She'd been the one to adopt Victoria into our circle; an old friend of hers from primary school, and man, she was so shy and nervous when I first met her. She was still like that a bit, but as I got to know her, I saw more and more of what she could be like when she was out of her shell. Bookishly nerdy and thoughtful, with tiny hints of the fiery and passionate Italians who raised her.
And then there was Pete, another of Tamara's friends, was the only other guy in the house; a tall bloke, lanky but muscly, who did nothing but play video games in his spare time. Part of me wondered how he stayed so ripped, but then, any desire I had to hit the gym was quickly stifled by the dreaded thought of... well, hitting the gym.
Our little group had been going well for years, until Pete got really serious with his girlfriend, and he told us apologetically that they would need their own place together. We were all stoked for him, of course, and threw him one last pizza party before he left. But a change of roommate meant a change in the dynamics of the apartment. After sifting through a sea of online applicants who ranged from 'bad' to 'very bad', we found Clarissa.
She was fun and silly, and she had a way of being earnestly straightforward, but she was also busy. Pete was a lot more laid back and 'yeah, whatever', while Clarissa was always on a schedule, and that included doing chores. To my dismay, Tamara and Victoria had enthusiastically agreed to her making a roster for us to clean the house by. As the one person out of the four who worked from home, that left me nowhere to hide when it was my turn.
Still, it could be worse. At least she wasn't holding a grudge about it.
I flopped down on the couch, dishes done, as Clarissa excused herself to the kitchen. The TV was on, but I didn't much care what I was watching.
"You, uh, did the colander too, right??" Clarissa asked from the other room.
"Yep!" I called back.
"Okay."
Not much later, the front door opened, then shut again.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Tamara teased, and I realised that I was sprawled sideways on the couch.
I sat up. "Hey Tamara, sorry, I'm just," I punctuated my statement with a well-timed yawn, "a li'l tired today."
"Poor baby," she pouted, "come on, budge up, if you're not gonna watch anything, I wanna continue my marathon."
I handed her the remote. "What are you marathoning?"
"Hi Tamara!!" Clarissa interrupted, rushing out to meet us. Tamara stood to let Clarissa hug her, oven mitts and all.
"You're in a good mood tonight!" Tamara observed.
"I'm making a pasta bake for dinner," Clarissa said, "care to join me?"
"Oh, uh, sure!" Tamara said, allowing Clarissa to steer her into the kitchen.
I leaned an arm over the back of the couch, "What about your marathon?"
"I'll, uh, get around to it later!"
Okay. More space for me, then!
I relaxed in front of the TV, while Clarissa and Tamara cooked, Victoria joining them when she arrived home. Nearly an hour later, and dinner was ready. I had to hand it to them, it was a really good, hearty pasta bake, but the effort of making it had taken the wind out of Clarissa's sails.
"Hwoooff," she sighed, as we sat down together on the couch with our plates in our laps, "I think I might have to turn in early tonight."
"You've totally earned it," I said, partly to assuage my guilt from earlier.
As it happened, dinner had knocked all of us out, and everybody was in the mood for bed. I retired to my room, to find that Clarissa had painstakingly folded all the laundry I'd forgotten to take off the rack earlier, placing it carefully on my bed.
Aw, Clarissa, you really didn't need to. They won't stay like that for 2 seconds once they're in my drawers.
Tamara knocked on my still-open door. "Hey, you."
I glanced over, as I began to put away my clothes, "Hey, all good?"
"Uh, it's my turn to wash the dishes, and... I don't think I have the energy for it," she admitted. She gave me her best droopy, sad look, with wide eyes and a pouting bottom lip. "Could you do it? Pleeease?"
I sighed, opening the drawer, "Sorry, I'm as wiped as you are. Maybe if you get up early tomorrow morning...?"
Tamara leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. I felt her eyes lingering on me, like I was being scanned.
"I'll kiss you for it."
My eyes widened, and the shirt I'd been holding dropped out of my hands as I turned to face her.
"...What?"
She smirked, "I think you heard me."
I could feel my face get hot, "I mean, I did, but--
"I'm gonna be blunt," Tamara interrupted, "I know you like me, and I like a lot of what I see, too, so I think this'll work for both of us."
"Uhh...are you asking--"
"Not asking you out, no," she clarified, "Not looking for a relationship or anything past kissing right now. But, in exchange for you doing my dishes," her eyes flickered down to my lips, "I'll kiss you."
My mouth was suddenly a desert, and I swallowed nervously as I seriously debated pinching myself.
"You're serious," I said flatly.
"A hundred percent," she giggled, moving off the wall and closer to me. "No tricks."
