I really faced a lot of challenges last year but I can laugh about it now since life is good. If you told me things would take such a positive turn, I wouldn’t have beat myself up so much when I was in the pits. However, it was an important lesson that I needed to learn, especially on humility. I found myself living with a roommate who tested my patience in more than one way.
I was going through a lot of financial problems. Clients were dropping out of deals with me and at some point, I found myself stressing out about paying my bills. I had a few clients left who I could rely on for day-to-day expenses but I needed to come up with a long-term plan if I was to survive the hard times.
I approached a colleague who was significantly younger than me and offered him a roommate arrangement. He had been talking about how he wanted to move out from home but he still didn’t have enough money to furnish an apartment. However, he was frustrated living under the same roof as his folks.
“I’m a grown man now. I shouldn’t be living at home.” he lamented.
“Why don’t you move in with me? We can split the bills and you’ll enjoy a fully furnished apartment.”
He didn’t even think about it. It was like he was waiting for the offer.
“How much do you need?”
“Around Ksh 10,000 per month.”
“I can manage that.”
“Okay. Whenever you’re ready, you can move in.” I said and gave him my address.
He came to look at the place the following weekend and moved in the following place. That was how I ended up with a Gen Z roommate.
“Can I ask why you wanted a roommate?” he asked as we enjoyed a plate of fish and ugali which he had prepared.
“When I first started out in life, someone also offered to host me for a small fee. So, I wanted to return the favour and since you seem like a good person, I decided to help you out.” I explained but I didn’t tell him that I was struggling to pay my bills.
For the most part, Zack was a good roommate. He kept the place clean, didn’t play loud music and mostly stuck to himself. He also cooked most of the time since he liked his food.
However, we started having problems when Zack met his girlfriend. We had been living together for 2 months and during that time, he met the lady who happened to be our neighbour.
Like everything, it was good in the beginning since he would spend more time at her place but whenever I left, they would come to my place to “Netflix and chill” since I had a big TV and soundbar.
One day, I bumped into our caretaker who didn’t look happy to see me.
“I’ve been coming to your house the last two days to tell you to reduce the volume of your music,” he complained.
“I’m so sorry. My cousin is still staying with me. He’s the one playing loud music.”
“Tell him to stop or you’ll be kicked out.”
When I walked into the house, I was hit by a foul smell. I followed the smell which led me to the bathroom which was in a horrible state. The toilet wasn’t flushed and there was vomit all over the floor.
Zack explained that they had gone out with his girlfriend and she had too much to drink. He cleaned the bathroom and they left to sleep off their hangover at her place.
I kept clashing with Zack over small issues which were getting on my nerves. However, I couldn’t kick him out since I couldn’t manage to pay my bills. I was stuck with a clueless Gen Z roommate.
I fantasized about the day that I would have the place to myself but that possibility seemed more difficult as the days went by. The moment I realized that I had reached rock bottom was when I came home to find that my roommate had locked me out.
Since we both worked from home, I didn’t bother to make another copy of my keys. Both of us spent most of our time around the apartment and if one left, the other was at home or within reach.
That time, however, Zack thought it was a brilliant idea to go meet his friends with my house keys. It was Valentine’s Day and I was having a particularly bad day. Apart from the nauseating decorations, one of my remaining clients had dropped out of our deals. I was left hanging on to a string financially.
After getting the bad news, I dashed to one of my favourite locals to drown my sorrows as I killed time. I didn’t realize how late it was until around midnight. I took a motorbike which dropped me at my place.
The guard unlocked the gate for me and I left him a small tip then made my way up the stairs to the 5th floor. Some people were still awake, probably extending their Valentine’s celebrations.
I reached my apartment but found that it was locked. After knocking several times, I called Zack. He didn’t pick up. I called him again but there was no answer. I knocked at his girlfriend’s door and also didn’t get a response.
It hit me that I might have to spend the night outside which made me panic. I walked around the building hoping to bump into a familiar face who would let me spend the night but there was no one.
After walking up and down for an hour, I decided to knock on one of the few houses that had their lights on. No one answered at the first house but someone opened the door at the second place I tried.
“Hi. I’m on the 5th floor and it looks like my roommate has locked the house and gone with the keys. Can I stay here until the morning when he comes back or when I can get someone to break the lock?” I explained.
The guy didn’t say much but looked at his girlfriend who nodded.
“Of course. We’re just drinking and playing games,” she said as she pulled me in.
“Oh, I’ll just sit there and watch.”
“You can join us if you want.”
I joined them eventually and we stayed up the whole night. I had fun but I was still thinking about Zack. He hadn’t replied to my calls and started to get worried.
Around 7 am, I went to get the caretaker to break my padlock. I got in, took a shower and slept till around noon. The first thing I checked when I woke up was my phone. Zack hadn’t called me back.
Then around 3 pm, I got a message from him.
“Sorry, bro. I went out of town with my girl and some friends for a Valentine’s getaway. I will be back tomorrow.”
I shouted in anger and nearly threw my phone against the wall but I remembered I didn’t need any unnecessary expenses. Every part of me wanted to pack his things and throw him out but that wasn’t a good idea either.
After I calmed down, I explained what he had put me through since he went with our house keys.
“I’ll make my copy,” he answered nonchalantly and didn’t communicate again until he returned from his trip.
I didn’t confront him about it since I didn’t want to make choices that I would regret but from that day, I started counting the days until I could live alone again.
We lived together for another 6 months before I got a more stable, well-paying job. When I was leaving, I only packed my clothes. I ended up leaving everything else to him and moved to my new place to start a new life. I never wanted to see him and any of my old things ever again.
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