Читать книгу BOGUS - Jill Ganger - Страница 14

Miguel stood with his luggage at the curb in front of the apartment building. Apt #3 was on the second floor in the rear. His father had seen to it that he had received the key and his rent had been paid for the school year. Miguel took the stairs to the second floor and walked to the rear of the hallway where he found his new home. He put the key in the lock and it didn't open. He looked again and saw a second lock above the first. He put the key into this lock and the door opened. Double lock, but the same key - interesting he thought. The apartment was bright and cheery even though it was in the back of the building. The living room was quite large, the kitchen was more than adequate, and the bedroom had a decent bed. What more could he want? Ah, yes he knew the answer to that - father hadn't told him where he could find a woman, but he was sure that he could easily discover that for himself!

He remembered back to his first day in Mexico City. He managed to scout out the neighborhood around his apartment. He found a supermarket, a small restaurant, a nightclub close by his apartment, and a woman. He was sure that his father hadn’t planned that!

He decided to open his bags and make himself at home in his new apartment. He hung his suits, shirts, and jeans in the small closet. He put his underwear in the chest, and stored his toiletries in the bathroom. He left his briefcase on the table in the living room so that he could study the school information later in the evening. He checked out the cabinets in the kitchen to see what he would have to purchase. He discovered pots and pans, as well as plates and utensils. More importantly he found a coffee pot sitting on the kitchen counter.

It was time to investigate the area around the apartment. He left the apartment locking both locks behind him, going down the stairs, and leaving the building the same way he had come in. He looked in all directions to become at least slightly familiar with his surroundings. Unfortunately there didn’t seem to be any activity in either direction, so he decided to locate the entrance to the University. It wasn’t far down the road on his right. There was a guard at the gate. He explained to the guard that he was an incoming student with an apartment nearby. He had just arrived, and he was looking to shop for groceries. The guard told him that everything he would need could be found on campus. It was a dangerous neighborhood outside the campus, and it would not be a good idea to walk around. However, he would need to show his student identification card in order to proceed through the gate. Fortunately he had his temporary identification card in his pocket. After he showed it to the guard, he was given a map of the campus.

He briefly looked at the map as he walked through the gate, and made a mental note of the locations that he wanted to walk by. While observing the campus on his walk, many thoughts were running through his head. He really wanted his time at the University to be spent studying, and he didn’t want to make himself known in any way around the school. As he thought about it more, he realized that had been his father’s plan as well. That was precisely why he had been given an apartment on the outside of campus. He still needed to know the location of buildings for his classes, but that should be his only interest inside the gate. He stopped and turned, going back through the gate. He wanted to have time to walk in the area of his apartment before it got too late in the day, in spite of the guard’s warning.

Miguel decided to walk around the apartment building going a long block in each direction. He approached the first corner where he was about to turn. It was then that he noticed some activity on the street. As he walked he noticed some small dingy storefronts with a few young men who were congregating in front of one of the shops. As he got closer he observed the men with caution as he had been taught to have in any new situation. The shop was a small dirty looking liquor store. He continued walking as the men silenced their conversations while they watched him as he moved past them. He walked past two more liquor stores and two tiny shops that carried small items of clothing. There was another shop that seemed to sell only smoke goods like cigarettes, pipes, and other accessories. He kept walking until the next corner and he turned. Finally he saw a store sign - it was a small supermarket.

Miguel went inside expecting to see a store similar to the Superama in Mexico City where he had frequently shopped. There were shopping carts inside the door, but that is where the similarity ended. The store had narrow aisles and the floors were covered in dirt smudges and trash. Since this seemed like his only immediate option, he began to load the shopping cart with items that he would need in the next few days. He limited his shopping because he knew he would have to carry everything back to his apartment. He paid for his purchases leaving the shopping cart at the front of the store as he left, and walked directly back to his apartment so that he could put the groceries away. As he passed the same men again, the conversation stopped again until he had gone further down the street. Arriving at his building and climbing the stairs, he unlocked both locks in order to enter his apartment. He quickly closed the door behind him, and locked the locks from the inside. He was already learning to be very aware when he was outside in this neighborhood.

Miguel put his purchases away in the cabinets and in the refrigerator leaving out the coffee. He filled the coffee pot, located a mug in the cabinet, and proceeded to make himself some strong coffee. He was tired from the trip and the long walk through the campus. Finally he sat down and sipped his hot brew.

Miguel pulled out his laptop and hooked up to the wi-fi that was provided in the apartment. He used the computer to investigate the surrounding neighborhood. He discovered a much larger supermarket and what looked like a decent cafe a few blocks away from his new home. He found a bar on the ground floor of a modern office building a few blocks in the opposite direction. He found a phone number for the closest taxi service and attached it to the wall behind the telephone, because he realized that he would be calling this number a lot!

School didn’t start until the following week, so Miguel had the time to acclimate himself. He pulled out his pre-planned schedule of classes and located the classrooms on the map of the campus. He circled the locations so that he would be ready on Monday. He had been sipping his coffee as he was doing his research, but even with the strong coffee he realized how tired he was. Food didn’t seem to be very important to him at the moment so he decided to go to bed instead of eating. He had plenty of time for food and everything else tomorrow!

In the morning Miguel emailed his father first thing, then made breakfast and readied himself for the new day. He decided to investigate the area that he discovered on his computer last night. He wanted to check out the supermarket, and he definitely wanted to get familiar with the bar in the office building. Perhaps this was where he could meet women with no affiliation to the University. He could arrive around 3PM and stay for an hour or more to see if and when women came in after work. He wanted to become familiar with the supermarket as well even though he wouldn’t make any purchases today. He just wanted to walk and have a leisurely lunch as he familiarized himself with the area around the new home that would be his for the next few years.

He enjoyed the walk. He definitely noticed that the buildings and stores seemed in better condition in this direction. He entered the supermarket and discovered that it was similar to the large markets in Mexico City. Walking through the aisles he noted the items that he might buy on subsequent trips, but this time he left the store without any purchases.