The Hinata Apartments

Alice Webber ran a hand over her head to wipe away the beads of sweat. Her blue eyes fixiated on the stacks of paper that lay beneath her strained eyes.
"Want me to get you anything? You seem to be working really hard and I'm saying you really dont have to..."
"Shayne..." Alice moaned, tossing her glasses to the floor absentmindely to rub inbetween her eyes. "I've been a manager at the bar down the street for three years, going on four. Kit is about to take over. Being manager at this dorm isn't all that bad."
Shayne shook her head and scoffs. "Babe, you're twenty-two years old, okay?"
"Come on Shayne-" She threw up her arms only to have Shayne gently surpress them onto the wooden table.
"Hear me out, okay? It's about time I give you the tutorial on how big this is. It's an all-girls dorm. Strike one, because you're gay. Two, it's the china town of Los Angeles California, you can't even understand Japanese, I don't care if you are from Japan. You spent your entire life down here. Number three, this place is in dept by six-thousand dollars. And the owner didn't even leave it in your name."
Alice sighed, resting her head in her palm. "I know, it just so happened to be signed in your name."
Shayne shook her head and sipped at the tea, regaining her concience from gagging. She was a full blown american, and switching into a Japanese dorm wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Thankfully the girls weren't in from vacation. She was having enough relationship problems well enough to have other women pawing themselves over for her.
"It wasn't in my name. This person..according to your so called 'perfect japanese' reading, is Shay Poynter. Not Shayne."
"For fucking sakes, they forgot a couple of letters! Give them a break!"
Shayne shook her head. "Nope. Because I don't live in Nebraska and I'm older than this person. On top of that, it's a male. Do I look like a boy?"
Alice scoffed. "I'm not going to answer that. You're a dyke and you can pass for a guy if you wanted to. So until this so called, Shay, appears to take over the Hinata apartments I deem us the prime headmasters of the dorm."
"I can't do that." Shayne mumbled.
Alice's face subdued in dissapointment and sadness. "But why...wait, Darla?"
Shayned bowed her head and sighed, nodding at the papers. "We're having problems and taking all my stuff to manage an all girls japanese dorm isn't really making it any better."
"Shayne...baby, you cheat on each other every damn Friday. There's no making that sort of relationship any better. Comming home, fixing each others food, missing every oppurtunity to poisoneach other, and having sex only for revenge is not a suitable relationship. So dump the bitch and come live with me. It's perfect!"
Shayne thought about Darla and how she'd take it. She'd be crushed of course, but the relationship isn't going anywhere. Darla was always comming back with women to hang out, and Shayne was doing the same. "I guess it wouldn't be a problem if I stayed-"
Alice took her head into her hands and gave her a short kiss on the lips. "It will be great! I promise!"
Shayne licked her lips and held Alice's hands. "That's a start. Do it again."
Alice playfully slapped her hands away and bent to retreive her glasses. "Your my best friend, that's gross. Now," she walked over to the other side of the room and dug into the drawer. "In here we have the members of the dorm."
Shayne rose from the floor and got up behind Alice, wrapping her arms around her waist to peer at the files that she'd been holding. The inscriptions were all in japanese but there were pictures above them, which at least gave her an inkling idea of what she'd been dealing with. "She looks cute."
"That would be Myou Shukymei. It says she's ninteen years old and she's been staying at the hinata apartments since she was seventeen. She's not married, if you want a sign of celebacy."
Shayne smiled and nodded, kissing her shoulder in soft butterfuly kisses. "That's great, hun."
Alice spun away from her with a giggle. "What the hell is wrong with you are you drunk!?"
Shayne shrugged and smoothed a hand over her hair. "Horny. I haven't gotten laid in sixty-eight hours and thirty-five minutes."
"So trying to score with your best friend is a get back way to make 'you' feel better?"
Shayne nodded. "I was thinking we have sex first, and then review over who else lives in the dorm."
Alice nodded and bit onto her lower lip, thinking. "I've known you since high school. The most you can give me is a hickey dammit and that's final."
She laughed at her offer and looked through the files. "How many girls stay here?"
"Alot of people have come and gone, so there aren't many. To a rough estimate I'd say seven."
"Do you know where the original manager is?" Shayne asked, resuming her sitting position on the wooden floor.
"She's on vacation to Japan. She's suppose to be there for a rough nine months. I don't know why she went there or why she didn't draft one of the hinata girls for the job but I just knew she came and dropped some spices for bar. Sure I gave her bannanas and fruits on the contrary but Shayne, she wanted you. You were always at the bar."
"I don't even know who she is, though. None of my family is Japanese or Asian. Trust me I'd know."
Alice sat in her lap and plopped the papers back on the table. "Then there's someone in your family that you don't know about. She personally told me to find a guy named Shay Poynter. You just so happen to have almost the exact same first name and the correct last name. I see a huge flaw in there. But, she also mentioned a Shay moving to Nebraska to catch up with a 'dying friend'. I'm alive and well so she wasn't talking about you."
Shayned raked a hand through her hair and pinched between her eyes. "He's in Nebraska? So what will happen if he's manager of the apartments?"
"Well, she said she's mailed the starting five grand at his place. And I'm not really sure who is is and what he might do with the money. "
"Hey, didn't your ex settle down in Nebraska?" Shayne asked, twisting the ends of her hair.
Alice shrugged. "I don't give much a of a fuck to recall where she went but I'm going to print out some directions on Mapquest so you can drive out there while I look out on the apartment and organize all this crap and get the rules straight."
Shayne let out a deep sigh. "How long will it take me to get there?"
"By car, a few days. I'll tell you what, I can purchase a plane ticket therefore it wont take as long. I need you to track down that guy before he spends it on God knows what."
Shayne nodded, rising up. "Yeah, kind of makes you wonder what type of guy this is."

Meanwhile....

"Yo' my name is Casper, I'll fuck your momma' like a Detroit rapper. So quick as night I'll fuck up you just right like my dick does to a nasty jap trick..."
"Say, Casper, chill out, I can't hear the TV stupid ass." Shay turned up the volume on the portable televsion set and grabbed the alcohol bottle from the floor.
"Yo' I know a dude named Shay he play wit' himself everyday on a daily basis, sucka'!!" Casper slumped over on the couch and jolted out in a series of laughter. "Say son, you gotta check out Vato's stash, that dude's got everything. He got the weed, cronic, smack , crystal, jane, all dat' shit man."
Shay looked over towards his friend and snorted. His tousled, unbrushed hair swayed lazily over his eyes and his white t-shirt and saggy brown dickies were always two sizes too big. It was pretty sad since he'd known him since kindergarden. He'd remembered when he'd actually brushed his hair and called him 'buddy' instead of 'bitch'. The thought lingered in his head for a while as he stretched against the worn couch.
He couldn't blame Casper. He'd lost his parents in a plane crash in third grade, leaving him with an abusive aunt that he'd learned raped him when he was entering seventh grade. After that, his life spiraled down. He'd joined a gang and from then on he'd been a drug head.
Shay, only a month younger than his friend, had recently starting drinking and smoking last summer. Living with his friend was only temporary until he'd had enough money to get his apartment back.
"Nah, dude. I don't tap shit like that."
Casper cocked his head and stumbled from the couch. "Ah, well. Can you walk me to Stacy's so I can get some money."
"You think we can stop by my apartment tomorrow? I forgot some shit over there."
"We can pass today if you want-" Shay shook his head at his friends proposal.
"You're too messed up to go today, we'll go tomorrow, lets go."
Shay muffled through their roomates and pushed through the door. Living on his own wasn't a piece of cake like he thought it would be. Casper lived with a dozen other minors and people with nothing better to do with their lifes than get high and have sex all the time. The life sickened Shay, but he figured he'd get used to it in time. Casper was dying, after all. He'd been diagnosed with HIV.
The realization struck Shay with a jolt and he stumbled over JayJay, their youngest roomate. "Watch where you steppin' faggot!"
"Move the fuck out da' way then Jay! Yo' lil small ass always crawling on the floor likve you six year old. Go find Vato and catch a cig or something and get out the fuckin' doorway."
The young hispanic boy gave him a dirty look and stormed passed the small crowd and into the kitchen. "He's only twelve, Casper. I don't think encouraging him to smoke cigarettes is good for him."
Casper waved his words away and stepped into the sun. "Damn, its hot out in this bitch." Shay followed behind him and swept his hair back. He needed a haircut more than anything, but could never find the time. When he wasn't walking around town he was sleeping or washing his share of clothes and trying to find food.
The walk from Casper's place to his aunt Stacy's was an estimated hour on foot. If it weren't for the backyard shortcuts and bridges built over the rivers it would probably be a lot longer.
"How are you feeling?" Shay asked as silence crept between them.
Casper spat on the sidewalk, missing an old man's foot by a mere inch. "Don't worry bout' it blood. I'm everything I'm spose' to be til' I die."
Shay shook his head, his heart sinking. "Remember when we were little kids, dude? You were always telling me how we should take every oppurtunity that came our way."
He gazed at him through those familiar dozed-high eyes of his and laughed. "That was before my folks died. Eight feet under, bro. Ain't no more oppurtunities for me no more. You can live em' out though. You doin' a lot better than me. You graduated from high school remember?"
He followed Casper into the train station and jammed his hands into his pockets, the roar of an oncomming train drowning out Caspers last few words. Shay waited until the train passed to talk to him about it.
"Yeah, it was my dream to be an artist remeber?"
Casper shook his head doubtfully. "Nah, deke, I don't remember. I mean..I know you talked bout' drawin' and shit but I never really was happy with that shit, dude. I needed more out of life."
They crossed the track to the other side and exited through the other entrance of the station. Shay sighed. "What did you want out of life that was more important than your drawing?"
He shrugged and took out his box of Kools. "I wanted life, dude. Life, get high of it, smoke it, all that shit just to fuckin' get away you know? Not to worry bout' dying before I get to see my babies and shit."
He offered Shay a cigarette and he thought about it before taking it. Casper lit them both before taking a long drag from his. Shay licked his lips and looked foreward, stepping out of an elderly lady's way. "You...have kids?"
Casper shrugged, taking another drag from his cigarette. "Fuck most likely." He laughed and coughed out a heap of smoke, using the back of his fist to cover his mouth. Shay helped pat him on his back but he threw his arm away. "Chill bro, I'm fine!" he shook his head and laughed once more. "Yeah I got a baby out there somewhere."
Shay took the next street, they were now only a few blocks away from his aunt's house. "How would you feel if you didn't even know who your dad was?"
He shrugged. "My pops was cool but he died, so..." He cut his sentence short, hauling in his cigarette again. "Don't matter."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Shay kept both hands in his pocket, taking one out every so often to remove the cigarette from his lips. When they finally got to his Aunt's house, Casper threw the cigarette away and peered into the side window.
His aunt's place was a mess from the outside as well as in. The unwelcoming weeds was proof that no one cared to even fix up the place, and as they snuck through the window, he noticed the rats feasting on a dead dog carcass in the corner of the room.
Shay turned around to gag while Casper laughed and poked at it with his shoe. "Wake the fuck up bitch!" He laughed hysterically.
"Shut up, dude! What if someone hears you!?"
Casper waved him away and ran a hand through his hair. "Nah, she ain't here. I know where her stash is, though. Follow me."
Shay crushed the remainder of his cigarette underneath his shoe and followed Casper into the kitchen. The kitchen was no better than the room they'd snuck in. The dishes were piled in the sink, black muck in the water that they'd resided in. Casper opened the fridge for a small cockroach to crawl from it. "Ain't no food."
"Can we please just find the money and get the hell out of here, I can barely breath."
Casper closed the fridge and started down the small hallway. "Wait. I'm gonna be right out."
Shay leaned against the wall, noticing a small shiney object glimmering by his converse. He kneeled down and picked it up, surveying it. Not knowing why, he took the small bullet shell and pocketed it. Casper came out with a wide grin plastered on his face and a roll of twenties. "Jackpot. Oh, and look at what I found."
He reached into his baggy dickes and pulled out a 45. Magnum. Shay's eyes shot open and he looked pleadingly into his friends eyes. "what the fuck are you going to do with that?"
"What do you think buck? Imma' save it for whenever I need it." He placed it up to Shay's temple. "Think I need it now, huh?"
Shay swallowed, his hands trembling. "Cas-"
He bellowed in laughter, pulling the gun away from his head. "I'm just playin' with you, dude. I've known you since we was like...babies. I wouldn't hurt you."
Shay let out a heave and quickly turned away from him to the window, hoping the sting that resided in his eye would subside. "We should get going. It's going to get dark soon. You comming or what?"
Casper bumrushed passed him and hopped out of the open window. "Race ya' back to our place!"
Shay groaned, struggling pass the window and down the street with his friend...at least while he could.

Meanwhile: Information Office, Nebraska

Shayne removed her razor cell phone from its holster and dialed Alice's number for what seemed like the billionth time today. After the first four rings, she closed her phone. "Goddamn don't you ever answer your phone these days?"
"Hello?" A distict voice answered from her hand. She shot her eyes toward her phone, her heart slamming into her chest before she'd realized Alice was on speaker and she'd answered after-all. Shayne quickly took her off speaker and wandered away from the front desk outside onto the windy streets of Nebraska.
"Thought I heard a ghost for a moment there. I didn't realize you were on speaker."
"Well sorry to break it to you sweetie but ghosts dont exist as far as I'm concerned."
"What took you so long to answer your fucking phone? I called like ten times."
"Techincally you only called five times and I caught that last one. And for your information I was taking a bath. There is no fucking bathrub here, can you believe that?! There is a hot springs bath that almost scolded my fucking skin."
Shayne rose a brow. "Hot springs? What the hell is that a jacuzzi?"
"Pretty much. I mean it's nice and all, its surrounded by these smooth rocks and they have two of them right next to each other. Gosh babe I think we are going to be in heaven."
Shayne ignored yet another dirty look from the commons. The passerby's, mostly men, turned their noses as they passed her on the sidewalk. Her short-cut hair and snazzy appearance of a brown Aeropostle jasket over a striped button up shirt and baggy jeans weren't really what the people here seemed to find appropriate. She swallowed and nodded absentmindedly to Alice's description, looking away from a boy that looked to be in his early teens as he snickered at her.
"Dude where the fuck does he live at so I can get out of this stupid ass town?"
"What's wrong, Shayne? Is someone over there picking on you?" She asked pessmistically.
"Will you shut up." She told her in a hushed tone, turning her back to the street. "Dude, they fucking kill faggots here did you know that?" She almost whispered.
There was a moment of silence before Alice answered. "Oops, well I'm going to give you his address and you can take a cab there. I can book a ticket for two on your way back here."
Shayne jotted the address down on her wrist with her black sharpie and bid her goodbyes. Apparently there was no need to ask for information when Alice already knew.
She looked both ways down the busy sidewalk and into the street. She didn't spot a cab to at least get a number on her cell phone. Now, she needed information. She turned back into the building and decided to check the nearest cab services to drop her off at Shay's apartment.

Close By, The Cresent Ward Apartments

By the time they'd gotten half way to the door, Casper jolted out in a jerk of coughs and Shay helped him inside, patting his back to ensure that his airways were clear.
"I'm cool bro, you can go bout' yo' buisiness now. I'm going to show Vato what I found."
He watched Casper walk over a sleeping Jenna and cross over to largely built hispanic guy in the kitchen. Shay didn't bother to see what they were going to talk about. Slumping into the couch with a sigh, he dug out the flask that resided in his jacket pocket and popped open the top.
As he took the first two burning gulps, Thomas, the second youngest resident walked through the door, greeting the first few people before taking a seat beside him.
"Sup, Shay? What's poppin?"
He shrugged. "Think I'm gonig to start trying to find a job. I've been living here for a year so far and nothing's happened for me yet. I mean, don't you ever stop and think where the hell your life is going?" He looked into his green eyes and the boy looked as if he considered the thought then shook his head.
"Nah, dude. I really don't care. I got my board and my beer so I'm straight." Shay sighed and took another sip and he spun towards him. "Hey, I know what can trip you out?"
"What?" Shay asked, interested.
"I was walking here right, I had to pick up some rolls from the gas station. Like, you know that information place right next to that card shop? There was a lesbian right there and everyone was noticing her."
Shay leaned back. "How do you know she's a lesbian? Some women like to wear mens' clothes."
Thomas rolled his eyes. "She was gay, I saw her hair cut and all. I think she's new here though. She had a bookbag that could be full of all kind of shit."
"Sounds interesting enough. How'd she look?" Shay asked. Conversations with the residents here was as interesting as watching paint dry but with the young ones, such as JayJay and Thomas, they could possibly have a chance in getting a little more out of life.
"She had short hair that came to her shoulders and it had gel in it. Holy shit..." His eyes shot open. "Holy fucking shit dude she looks exactly like you! No wonder why she looked so familiar!"
"The fuck you goin' on about lil T?" Vato asked, comming over to the couch with Casper following close behind. "There's a bitch out there look like Shay?"
Thomas nodded. "This dyke I saw not too far from here. She was right in front of the info place."
Casper chuckled. "A faggot? Where? We can hang her dude I'd be so sweet, wouldn't it?"
Shay shook his head, his throat too dry to protest. He should have known well enough that Nebraska was the most anti-gay state in America. He'd remembered just a few months ago two young men were found hung in their backyards with various bruises on their bodies. A tremble went through his body.
"Casper, we're not killing anybody." Shay spoke out, glaring at him. "She has every right to live as we do."
"Whatever, dude. Imma' go smoke dis' blunt and call it a night. Any body else want to rock it wit' me I'll be in the bathroom." Shay watched him walk away into the bathroom. The bathroom was usually where he slept when there was no more room on the couch, carpets, or the bedroom. Tonight, it was barely summer and most of the residents were out partying which was a good thing on his part. He usually slept on the couch when the time came around.
Yawning with a stretch, Shay decided that he'd turn in for the day. Tomorrow he'd go out to his apartment and check to see if they threw the remainder of his shit away. Mooney, the manager, insisted his room stay active for the women who worked for him to use. Later tomorrow he'd make a solid plan


to be continued...