I knew I wasn’t going to sleep as soon as the banging started. My apartment neighbors were at the beginning of either another fight or another raging party. Banging always meant one or the other. The clock read 10:30 so it was the perfect time for a fight. Parties usually didn’t get going until around midnight or so.
By the time twenty minutes went by, I would know if it was going to be a fight for the ages. I tried to slow my breathing so I could possibly fall asleep. But after another half an hour of banging and stomping, I knew sleep wasn’t going to come easily. Two hours in, I reached for my phone to call the landlord. The landlord who I knew wouldn’t do a thing. So why call? Instead, I pulled on my shoes to see if anything would come from my knocking. Usually they didn’t hear a thing.
My plan for revenge became more detailed and complicated the longer the banging boomed and shook my walls. I knew the banging – and sometimes the music – was cover for their fighting, I just wish I knew exactly what they were saying to each other. What they were accusing each other of. The sun rose as my plan came together as I was already tiptoeing out the back door. My neighbors really had no idea where their cars would be as soon as they woke up. I knew all the places to hide stolen goods.
Standing Room Only 