You cross the chequered tiles to the front door. Bae opens the door with a small copper key. Upstairs is Aileen’s room, and the shared bathroom. To the back of the house is the shared kitchen. To the left is Bae’s room.
A light tan Danish phone is ringing on the coffee table. The cat on the futon registers the sound by a movement of one ear, but remains otherwise curled as before between two cushions.
The room is comfortable with the residual heat from the large radiator beneath the bay window that has recently switched itself off. Patchwork curtains, a few rugs, some knitwear peeking from a wooden drawer, and a denim with a lot of badges hanging from the back of the door.
The phone rings off, and then starts again, prompting the same reaction from the cat. On top of the set of drawers the fax/printer shows a single green eye labelled “NLQ”. It is a multipurpose device that can also make copies. A nice feature but it uses up a lot of ribbon. The phone gives a final ring and rings off.
“I don’t like the phone much,” says Bae. She checks a notepad above the fax machine for the college office number. “Sit down,” she mutters absently.
Do you sit on the plush armchair, next to the cat? (goto 37)
Do you sit on the unmade bed? (goto 65)
Or do you sit on the mini double-seat sofa? (goto 46)