‘Really? Right now it looks like it’s between you and her door.’
Kazeem kissed his teeth and went to bang on the door again when Pyramus intercepted him with a swift step, standing between the door and him. Pyramus sighed. He hated when his dinner was interrupted.
Kazeem blinked. ‘What are you doing, man? You can’t be smashing her . . . wait— are you?’ His laugh was vicious and laced with venom. ‘That would explain so much.’
Pyramus locked his hands in front of him and relaxed his shoulders. Kazeem was a couple of inches taller than him, but he’d never seen anyone so small.
‘I said she’s not in.’ Pyramus’s voice didn’t raise in tone or decibel, it stayed low, like a tiger in the grass. ‘But you’re welcome to try and knock again.’
Pyramus didn’t budge from in front of the door.
Kazeem rolled his tongue in his mouth and sniffed. He nodded as if leaving was a decision that he made out of choice rather than coercion. ‘Fuck it. Have at her, man.’
He backed away, and Pyramus waited until he was sure Kazeem was gone before he went back to his noodles. He noticed that the R&B was now playing quieter. ‘I Wanna Be Down’ was playing now – that was Brandy, right? It was a perfect song. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? Four bites into his noodles, he heard a soft knock against his wall.
‘Hey . . . um. I don’t know if you can hear this . . . but thanks.’ It was Thisbe.
The sound of her voice speaking directly to him made Pyramus weirdly nervous.
He cleared his throat. ‘It’s okay. He’s a dick.’ Pyramus paused. ‘This playlist is sick, by the way. Is it yours?’
‘Yeah. You’re not the only one with taste.’
Pyramus smiled at the thin line that ran through the plaster of his wall.
Thisbe
A few days after Pyramus had dealt with Kazeem, Thisbe’s mother bustled into her room with bags stuffed full of Tupperware filled to the brim with baked sweet goods, rice and chicken. Mama Thiz was talking without inhaling, switching between topics, as she swished around Thisbe’s room, leaving trails of floral perfume behind her.
‘So, I’ve got this great new pink lipstick that is far too funky for me, but I think will look great on your complexion, also, candles are a health and safety hazard, don’t risk your life and the life of others just because you want your room to smell like peonies. Why don’t you buy actual peonies? Maybe we can buy a plant for you in town? By the way, how long have the lifts been out in your building? Should be illegal. I thought I was going to pass out on the stairwell but then this handsome young man helped me with my bags. He was actually on his way down, but insisted on helping me up. So lovely. Anyway, turned out he’s your neighbour! Arms like a ship labourer.’
‘Wow. Ma, what?’
‘You don’t think he’s handsome?’
‘He obviously is, but—’
‘Why did you never mention him?’
‘Why would I?’
Her mother raised a brow and shrugged. ‘I don’t know. When I said you are my daughter, he said, “Ah, I see where Thisbe gets her good looks from,” and I just thought, wow. A young man with taste and the good sense to flirt with the mother of the girl who he very obviously has a crush on—’
Thisbe laughed out loud. ‘Right. Okay, Ma. I know you think that everybody must have a crush on me because you made me, and I don’t mean to insult your work, but I assure you, in this instance, this is not the case.’
She was glad Pyramus wasn’t in his room. He probably would have laughed too. He actually had a great laugh; she had heard it occasionally. It was warm and strong enough to hoist her spirits up when she was feeling low.
Pyramus thought she had ‘good looks’？ This, coupled with his actions the other night, slightly threw her for a loop. Though she rolled her eyes at Kazeem’s incessant texts, she had to admit that she was kind of freaked out when he showed up at her door. Pyramus had defused the situation with such swiftness, and Kazeem hadn’t come near her since. She had surreptitiously peeked through the peep-hole of her door to see the event unfold, and noted that Pyramus was bizarrely topless while warding Kazeem off. It was a good thing Thisbe was a woman of heightened discernment and taste or the sight of him might have been slightly distracting. Despite her resentment that it took another man to ward Kazeem away, she was grateful, and so had said thank you. It had been sweet but – really? He thought she had good looks?