Ailleianne. Tina Marie Maes

an unfamiliar car on the street. She grabbed the surprisingly light boxes and deposited them in the living room before locking the front door. Then she realized what she had done.

      She turned to Ailleianne. “Sorry, I’ve lived alone too long. I always lock my door. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

      “There have been 97 crimes reported in the last 30 days in the northeast side of Madison, which mostly entail theft, or theft from a vehicle, although there have been reports of assault and/or battery, as well as breaking or entering of a private residence. There are also 32 reported sex offenders living within a one-mile radius of your house.”

      “Yeah. So I keep my doors locked.” She turned back to the door, making sure the latch and the deadbolt were secure. “Can’t believe you wanted to live here if you know that much.”

      “I would like to rent this space.”

      “Oh, um, sure. I wasn’t going to kick you out.” London wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. “So, when is the rest of your stuff coming then?”

      Aillie mutely pointed to the lone suitcase near the door, and the boxes London had carried in.

      “Uh. Right. Guess you are a light packer.” London, wondering why she didn’t have more doubts, forged ahead anyway. “Well, you can head to your room. Feel free to put your stuff away and make yourself at home. In your room, at least. Um, if you need anything, just let me know. I’m going to finish my coffee in the kitchen and then get ready for work soon.”

      She busied herself in the kitchen, looking up whenever she heard noise. Not that there was much of it. There were couple of drawers opening and closing. After that, she didn’t hear anything.

      This having a roommate thing was way harder than anyone had told her.

      “What do I do now?” Aillie asked, ducking down to poke zis head in the doorway.

      “I’ll be heading out to work later. I work at a store in East Towne Mall. Um, do you have a job? I mean, I don’t want to be nosy, but you seem to have enough in terms of finances to rent. So, are you, like independently wealthy?”

      “I have secured enough finances to not require a career in the immediate future. I am studying here. Is that not okay?”

      “No, that’s cool. I didn’t realize you were a student. Are you going to be heading to the university? And do you have hobbies? When do you think you are planning on being around the house?” When Aillie continued to stare at her, London continued abashed, “Sorry, that was too personal. You don’t have to answer. This whole thing is new to me. I’ve lived with friends but never strangers. I’m not used to sharing my home with someone I don’t know.”

      London looked back down at her coffee, wondering what to say now.

      “I am also unfamiliar with this arrangement. I have never lived in such a strange land. I would like to spend today getting used to your house.”

      London’s head snapped up. Of course! That’s why Aillie was such an unconventional person. Ze wasn’t from around here. London wondered where ze lived, but guessed it was from a European country. Maybe a village somewhere? Ze’s English was good, if not a little too specific.

      “Okay, I guess you can watch TV, um, if you want?” London hesitated. “Or not actually TV. I had to cut that… I mean, I don’t get many stations. My antenna went down, and I don’t subscribe to cable stations. I’ve got a lot of movies though. Why don’t you watch a movie? Do you want to pick out a good one? There’s a black nylon case near the TV in the living room. Open it up and find one. I’ll be in there in a few minutes.”

      Watching a movie with the new tenant... That'll help us bond, right? London really wished she’d figured this out before she advertised for a lodger. But she finished tidying up and went back to the living room.

      London found her new lodger standing over her case, pointing to the title ze selected. "So you found a DVD? Well, let's see what you picked out." She walked over and saw it was actually the first one in the case.

      "Alright, I’ll put in in the DVD player. The system is a couple of years old but it’s not too difficult.” Feeling Aillie’s eyes on her, London slid the disc out of the case, and popped it in after turning on both the TV and DVD player. She went to sit down, but stopped to show her new tenant the the two remotes and telling zim quickly what each could do.

      Aillie stared at her, "Ah. The big black box is used to project the movie."

      "You got it." London shook her head. This person would never cease to amaze her. “You know, I know there are people who don’t really get new technology but you are something else. I can't imagine what backworld planet you are from."

      “It is very far from here.”

      London laughed at zim, then realized she was the only one. Ze had the most confused look on zis face.

      “Right. Okay.” They preceded to watch the movie in silence. Thankfully ze was quiet throughout the movie, and London found herself enjoying the break from reality. When she got up to grab a pop from the fridge, she noticed a confused look on zis face. She didn’t ask.

      As the credits rolled, she looked at her clock. She had about an hour to get ready and be at work. She stood up and headed upstairs but stopped on the bottom step. “All right, I’ve got to get ready for work now. Feel free to put in a new movie whenever. Let me know if you have problems.”

      Aillie looked up and stared at her. She nodded at him, hoping ze understood. She watched as zis confusion seemed to clear and then zis head bobbled in tandem as ze spoke, “Yes, I remember how to work the machines. I will watch more movies. This has been a highly entertaining experience.”

      “Alright, you enjoy yourself. Um, there are lunch places around here. I mean, I’m sure you know that.”

      “I do not require food presently.”

      “Of course not. You know your eating schedule better than I do.” She paused again, seeing as ze was still staring at her. When ze didn’t ask anything, she gave another wave and hurried upstairs.

      It took her a little under 30 minutes to get ready for work. It would have taken her less but she kept stopping to listen if her new tenant needed anything. When she was ready, she returned to the living room, where Aillie was sitting in the same spot as before, peering intently at the screen, watching another movie. Ze had the weirdest habit of sitting ramrod straight. The person must have really had a strict childhood.

      She waved to get Aillie’s attention. “All right, I’m off. I wrote a list of numbers on this pad here,” which she waved to show off, “including the store number, my cell, and emergency numbers. Call me first if you need anything. I mean not anything, since I’ve got work to do. But yeah…” She trailed off as Aillie continued to look at her. “All right I’m off. I’ll probably be back around 9:30 tonight. So, I’ll see you then.”

      London headed out, first stopping at her bank to deposit the money Aillie had given her. With that done, she headed to the mall, and her store.

      The I&O boutique had a prime retail spot in the middle of the East Towne Mall, perfectly situated between the anchor stores and the food court. London felt herself relax. No matter how zany the last few weeks had been, here she at least knew what to expect.

      She told herself she loved her job managing the small boutique store. It was a corporate entity which both allowed her to work for salary and enjoy managing her own franchise. And it was great that someone smart and far away was always generating new signage and sales. Every once in awhile, she’d get annoyed given that she was just another store in a long list of them. But she mostly enjoyed the challenges. There were times she wished she could make all of the decisions, but without the capitol or the space, she didn’t have a chance to open up her own store. She was determined to enjoy what she did.

      That day however, London was more preoccupied during work than normal. Around 3 o’clock, Sophie, her friend and assistant manager,