Realistic or Modern The Menagerie on Chestnut Street

[AngieG]

In a small city, an hour outside of Boston, MA in New England, there is a tall, brick apartment building residing on Chestnut Street. Each apartment, while identical in layout, paint color, hard wood floors, etc, holds its own dilemmas, its own stories, and very different people. What happens when all these stories are thrown together and people collide in the best, and worst, way possible? Who knew that in 8 small apartments, so much could happen?

 

[AngieG]

Flo had been awake for hours, it was one of occupational hazards of working in a coffee shop. They had opened at 5, and she had had to be there at least a half hour before that to prep everything. Now it was 8, and the morning rush had, for the most part, come and gone. Even on a Saturday like today there were people who got up to work, but needed a specially brewed coffee to kick start their day.


Flo was at the "coffee bar" today, which she preferred over having to work the register where the pastries were. Here she got to chat with the customers and work for some tips as a mural painting of the Sahara loomed behind her, beautifully done. She had her hair pulled back and her classic black shirt, pants, and apron on. It was a cold November morning, and Flo had just finished trying to push their drink of the month, The Vendetta, on another man who only wanted his coffee to be strong and black.


Seth awoke and was once again shocked that he was alone in his very large bed. Getting over the shock of the divorce would come eventually, but now it still stung. Of course, he wasn't usually alone. Sometimes a cutie from the local bar would come home with him, but sometimes he thought that was worse than just being alone. Unable to stand the silence of his apartment, he quickly got up and showered, but allowed the 5 o'clock shadow to remain on his face that was dusted with exhaustion. He had been up working on a really rough case all last night, and it showed in his tired eyes. He quickly texted Flo and asked her to have something ready when he got there.


Soon after the divorce Seth and Flo slept together a few times, even went on a few dates. But neither were too terribly offended when they both decided to call it off on the same day. Of course, that was months ago. Every now and then one of them would make the trek to the others apartment when the loneliness became too much, but otherwise they never tried the whole romance thing again. Fundamentally different people, that's all. They were still good friends, and went out for drinks together often. Seth arrived at the coffee bar, and the two began discussing their thanksgiving plans. Since neither had family in the area, the plan was to spend it together.

 

[Ani]

By the time everyone else in the city had awoken and started their day, Charlie was still going strong at her sculpture; a beastly thing of wood, chicken wire and paper mache. She was busy with the frame of the thing so it looked less than impressive presently.


Only when she approached the window for some air did she realise it was already morning, her stomach gurgling. A hand over her soft belly the young woman decided to venture out for some food. Terms like ‘breakfast, lunch, dinner’ no longer fit into her schedule anymore. Digging through boxes of her yet to be unpacked items, Charlie pulled out her duster jacket, old but trusty she’d pull it on over her tee-shirt and yoga bottoms, slipping her feet into bed slippers and grabbing her keys and wallet before leaving. Shutting her door and locking it the girl shuffled her way out, rubbing at her eyes in the milky morning light, her hair tucked under her jacket collar, the blunt cut of her fringe pushed back into a tuft atop the crown of her head.


Eyes heavy-lidded and dazed form sleep deprivation the girl shuffled in her slow pace to the nearest coffee bar, brining herself to stand by the counter, looking up at the list of beverages and took her time in making a selection. Occasionally she’d catch herself staring at nothing, the writing on the board going out of focus as her gaze just kinda wandered. Taking a sandwich from the chiller and two chocolate twists she then hunted in her wallet for her card.

 

[Emem]

Emily started her saturday off earlier than most with a trip to the university animal care facilities. Her advisor was away for the next three weeks at a conference, so she was responsible, for monitoring his huge dog genetic improvement program. Julia wasn't sure how he managed to convince the research ethics board to continue to allow him to house a minimum of 60 dogs (not including puppies), 30 of which were breeding stock German Shepherds belonging to the city's K9 police unit. If there was something this city always seemed to have a problem with, it was drug crimes and so the K9 unit was integral to the war on drugs. Apparently it was easier to convince the department to fund unnecessarily large and expensive breeding programs when the city police force helped foot the bill. The other 30 dogs were a random assortment of various breeds. Dr. Thomas was working on a number of crossbreed projects, most of them for use as service dogs.


Going to the animal care facilities always made Emily a little sad because she missed her dogs back home. When she was at the livestock research station for her own projects at least she could rationalize that she couldn't keep a horse in the city, but if she lived in an apartment without a no pets policy, raising a puppy would be great. Emily knew that most of her neighbours managed to sneak in cats, but it was obviously impossible to do so with a dog, and she thought cats were pointless. Today, Emily had to check in on a few of the police dog bitches, who had either just whelped or were due within a few days. The lab techs for Dr. Thomas' program took care of actually caring for the animals, but she had to check the health charts and follow up on any issues with the vet techs, and go with the technicians for health checks on the pregnant dogs and puppies. After that, she had to record phenotypes on all of the puppies. Since Dr. Thomas was certifiably insane, he insisted on keeping records of every possible measurement of the puppies, even for things that would have little effect on selecting the next generation of breeding stock or influence whether they were deemed companion grade or fit for service. There were 20 females in the police breeding program, all of which were bred during their fall heat cycle, so that the service grade puppies would be ready for training in the spring.


Dr. Thomas picked the worst time to decide to go to a conference in Italy. There were 5 litters due within the next week, 7 with pups ranging from being a few days old to six weeks, and another eight pregnant bitches to look after who would whelp within the next two weeks to a month. It was chaotic. Emily was glad that all of the crossbreeds whelped after spring heats, because there was no way she could manage the whole operation if they all had puppies at once.


"Female, black and tan... 430g, 4.2inches long, no apparent conformational defects. Average weight and size. Normal response to stimuli." she dictated to a lab tech, sitting on the floor of one of the whelping rooms with a scale and 'Jessie', Dr. Thomas' favourite, and her litter of one day old puppies. They were recording initial measurements and observations to start the puppy files. The litter had been a little disappointing, they had been selecting for litter size growth for many generations, and the average in the kennel was 7.4, but this was Jessie's first litter and she had only 4 pups. Dr. Thomas was hoping to get a new stud dog out of this litter, but so far the first three puppies had been all male. "And last but not least, oh wait... maybe least." Emily frowned picking up the last puppy, who was noticeably lighter. "Well, got a male. but he's only 360g, and 3.7 inches." she said with a sigh. The lab tech mentioned that one pup had been pushed away from his mother by the others often. Emily returned the puppy to his mother and packed up her things as this was the last litter she had to check on today.


She went into the office to call Dr. Thomas, as he would want to know what was going on with this litter in particular. She got off the phone, exasperated, 20 minutes later. Dr. Thomas was adamant that they really needed the male to be within normal range by their one week measurements, or else they were going to have to cull the pup from being a potential breeding dog and import a new stud for next year, which was costly. He insisted that Emily took the pup home with her and nursed it for the next few days, to get it caught back up.


'Well, I guess I can sneak a day old puppy into the building no problem.' she thought. She left campus with a can of milk replacement, a variety of syringes, a heat lamp and the adorable little puppy tucked in her jacket. She was glad she drove today, it would have been difficult keeping the pup warm walking. She returned to the apartment building, which was rather quiet, it sounded like everyone was out living their lives. Emily walked up the four flights of stairs to her apartment and walked inside. She set up a puppy brooding area on the little kitchen table and then got to work marking some essays, while she waited for the next feeding time.

 

[AngieG]

Flo looked as a new girl, dazed and confused, stared blankly at the coffee selections. "Can I offer you The Vendetta? Coffee of the month, toffee and caramel flavor, maybe with an extra shot of espresso?" Flo offered, moving in front of the girl and smiling warmly.


Seth looked the girl up and down, his mind sparking as he thought he knew her from somewhere. He mulled it over, staring at her perhaps a bit too intently, as he tried to place where he knew her. "Wait, do you live in the Chestnut building.... Apartment.... 2?" Seth asked and Flo looked up, surprised. She herself hadn't recognized her.

 

[Ani]

Charlie had already taken a bite out of one of the chocolate twists, chewing slowly with her gaze still held up at the coffee menu. Upon being spoken to, she’d glance aside, eyes alone coming to the barista.


“Venfeffer?” Her face almost flushed upon realising she spoke with her mouth full, wiping her lips and licking the powder off. “Sorry, ah, yeah… I mean no. Large mocha, please.” Charlie placed her card on the table, awaiting her drink to be prepared.


She was about to take another bite when she was addressed again, wiping at her mouth as before, a few strands of hair sticking to her cheek. Charlie had only recently moved in, and her odd hours of working left her locked up in her apartment. The chance to meet the other tenants had yet to come by.


“Uh. Yeah, actually I do.” She squinted, suspicious.” How’d you know that?”

 

[AngieG]

Flo nodded and set about preparing the drink. She was quick, skilled, and had her drink ready in practically seconds. She handed her the receipt and a pen, ready for signature, and returned the card. She leaned on the counter, inviting herself in to the conversation.


"Seth Banks, apartment 4. I live directly above you. I saw you move in. This is Flo, she's on the top floor though. Apartment 8." Seth said, extending his hand for a hand shake while Flo offered a little wave.


"Are we the first you've met?" Flo asked, surprising chipper considering she had been up at 4 to get here at 4:30. Coffee will do that to you.

 

[TheOneAndOnly]

"Winston? Winston!" Joe shouted as he looked for his ferret, no doubt hiding in one of the boxes. He groaned and overturned another box, only to be greeted with more clothes. "Shit buddy, we've only been in here a few weeks and you've already found a spot to hide. You're good." He sighed and went over to his table, where a stack of magazines, a tv remote, and a half smoked joint lay. He picked up the joint, lit it, and inhaled. "Maybe I should cut back." He thought for the millionth time as he inhaled the sweet smoke, blowing it out into the open window. He suddenly felt hungry, for obvious reasons. He threw on his jacket and called out again. "Okay Winston, I'm gonna go get some food, and if you're not in the open when I'm back, you're not getting any." He opened the door and suddenly, a white blur shot out between his feet and down the stairs. "Winston, you son of a bitch!" Joe yelled, chasing him down the stairs. He finally caught up to him on the 4th floor, landing on him and catching the ferret in his hand, with a loud thump. "Hah! Gotcha." He picked him up and Winston nuzzled into his shoulder. "Aw, shit, I can't stay mad at you, buddy." He gave his head a pet.

 

[Emem]

Emily looked around when she heard some kind of commotion in the hall. It was unusual for it to be loud up here, one of the perks of being on the top floor. It didn't sound like Flo, and actually, she knew that Flo was at work, so she decided to go investigate. She set her little 'project puppy' back under the heat lamp and wandered over to the door. She pulled it open without checking to see if it was a murderer through the peep hole, she was too used to country life, and that kind of skepticism did not come naturally.


She saw some scraggly looking guy who reeked of weed, pinning a gross ferret to the floor.


Emily raised an eyebrow "Uh... sorry... can I help you? We don't get too many people up here." she said, awkwardly.

 

[TheOneAndOnly]

Joe's head snapped up as he heard a voice, and he saw a girl looking down at him from an open apartment door, with evident disdain. He sprung up and brushed his pants off. "Uh, no, sorry. I was, uh, just catching this guy." He pointed to Winston, who was now comfortably seated on his shoulder. "Tricky pets, ferrets. They love messing with you. I don't think I've seen you before, I'm Joe. I live two floors up. You been here long?" He realized he was rambling, and probably looked crazy. He started to turn red as he saw something cold in the girls' eyes. He felt uncomfortable. "Uh, I've got to go. Sorry to bother you, bye!" He dashed up the stairs and flung open the door to his apartment, setting Winston down on the couch. "Way to make me look like an idiot." He said to Winston, who seemed to roll his eyes and proceeded to snuggle up onto the couch. "Jerk." He muttered, and left the apartment, closing the door quickly so as to stop Winston from escaping. He headed out of the apartment to the nearby coffee shop to grab some food. There was a bit of a line, and the people ahead of him were talking, so he waited patiently.

 

[Emem]

Emily shook her head and walked back inside after the guy dashed off. She shut the door and slid the deadbolt into place. She went back to check on the little guy and then sighed resignedly as she went back to marking papers. The illiteracy of some of these first years amazed her, her mind was still distracted and replaying the awkward exchange with 'Joe' in her head.

 

[AngieG]

Flo had just finished making another customer's drink, and she was washing the table when she noticed a bearded, tattooed guy supposedly waiting in line. "There's no line, friend. Just friends chatting at the bar. Taking up precious space." she said, shooting a look at Seth who shrugged and went back to chatting with Charlie. Flo rolled her eyes and smiled at the guy, her mind sparking as she tried to place where she knew him. Of course, she sometimes saw hundreds of customers in one day, he could be from anywhere. "Have a seat. I'm Flo, what can I get for you?" She asked, wiping a coffee mug down. As she was talking, the oven beeped, an she quickly assembled Seth's breakfast sandwich and handed it to him on a plate.


"See? Can't be wasting air if I'm a paying customer, now can I?" Seth said, and Flo laughed.


"You haven't paid yet, bud." She retorted and leaned back on the counter to talk to the newer customer. He wreaked of weed, and Flo tried hard not to laugh. "Well, smells like you had a good morning." she was always too brash, what if it was medicinal or something and she looked like a jerk? Oh well. She'd make him a good coffee.