New Flatmate

Yes, it’s true…I’ve got a new flatmate. Before I could get a photo of her, Morgan moved back home to Toulouse to stay at her mother's, and her boyfriend has moved into Morgan’s old room. I don’t know what his name is. I’d been introduced to him a few weeks ago, when he was just “le copain de Morgain” and names weren’t necessary, and now it’s too late to ask for an introduction. I’ll have to snoop around and wait for someone to drop it in conversation.

Anyway, as flatmates go, he’s nice enough, I guess…as he was carting his stuff into the room, he asked if it was a problem for a guy to be living with us. A little late for that, I suppose, but nice effort. Anyway, we’re on amiable enough terms – I helped him proofread an English job application last week, so I guess that makes us friends.

Over Isabelle’s ratatouille dinner, he asked me if my room was very hot, and when I said it wasn’t too bad, he looked skeptical until I qualified that okay, it was hot, but at least not humid like back home. He asked where I was from, and when I answered Pennsylvania, and he asked if that was in the same latitude as Florida. …No. I said a little south of New York, and thought about getting into a discussion about how France is actually further North than parts of Pennsylvania, but decided against it. He asked me how far Pittsburgh was from New York, and when I said that I wasn’t sure, that I never go there, he seemed pretty upset. I had to explain that it’s a five or six hour drive just across the state of PA, but I think he’s permanently crossed Pittsburgh off his list of possible vacation spots.

I don’t know if it’s my lack of French skills or his "lightning-quick" mind, but the remainder of the dinner conversation was very confusing; with the aid of Isabelle, we talked about Tohm‘ahnks and Forrest Gump, 9-11 and an acquaintance of his who narrowly avoided disaster, possible places in the US to catch shrimp, swear words (or “gros mots” - fat words), and literature. He asked me about some obscure American authors I didn’t know or couldn’t recognize (see the above Tom Hanks phenomenon), and I told him I’d just finished a book by Jane Austen, whom he had never heard of.

I don’t think having a new person here will change the dynamic of the apartment too much. After all, I haven’t seen Mr. Morgan around at all, aside from when he moved in. I think Veronique’s glad about having someone else here, though; she seems to have minimal interactions with Isabelle, and the only thing she ever says to me is, “Oh! You scared me!” whenever I walk into a room she’s in. Actually, that happens every single time. It’s getting to the point where I wait for her to leave an area before I try entering. I wonder if she’s lost her peripheral vision or something…I’m not that alarming. I don't think. Also, the addition of a roommate might lessen Malicious’ vicious attacks to the backs of my legs any time I go into the kitchen or walk past the shelf where her cat food is kept. Or at least, there’s another pair of legs for her to pounce on now. Distribute the violence more agreeably for my shins.