The House

I have no idea how I got to this. I mean really, a dare is a dare, but this is ridiculous. I'm standing here outside the gate of this obviously two-stages beyond condemned house about ready to move my belongings in and even I'm a little scared. It takes a lot to scare me. I mean I used to race the train to the crossing until my parents found out took away my keys for two months. Anyway, I’ve heard the stories about this house for years. I think I was about six when they found the body of old man Rivers in the basement from where he had fallen down the stairs. No one had seen him for about six months. I don't know how long he had been in the house, but I remember one of the medics had ran out of the building and had thrown up in our bushes while they were moving the white-draped stretcher out of the house.
I didn't like old man Rivers very much anyway so I didn’t miss him much when he was gone. The house was supposed to have been a town historical building so the city did what they could to clean it up and restore it before selling it to the next owner. Rivers didn't have any family so the city took ownership after he died. It took three garbage trucks to haul all his junk away and the local animal shelter was full of cats for about two weeks as they were trying to decide what to do with them. I think there's still a few descendants of those cats running around the town, those animal control hadn't been able to round up and re-home.
I don't know why I'm still standing here at the gate, the house isn't going to get any less creepy looking. There have been five owners since old man Rivers died, but none of them have lived here for more than six months, the last one didn't even last three weeks. Mark, my friend, bought the house at auction before he found out the history of the house. We worked construction in Dallas together when I was going to college. He decided to move a few months after I did because he wanted to start a house-flipping business. He made a fortune in real estate in Dallas and I guess he wanted to move to Boise to get away from the heat of Texas. I had no intention of living in Boise after graduating from college, but when you graduate with a Bachelors in Philosophy there’s not a lot of high paying jobs out there for the taking.
Mark said I could live in the house rent free as long as I helped out with the repairs. I don't know if he was joking when he said he would pay me $10,000 if I made it 30 days in the place, we were at least four drinks in when he said it, but I could use the money. He said it’s livable and it needs to be occupied to keep the vandals away until his crew finishes their current project and can get to this house. I wouldn't even be here if he hadn't dared me to stay in the house. I told him I didn't believe in ghosts, and the old neighborhood haunted house wasn't going to scare me away.
I put myself through college working construction. It took an extra two years, but at least I graduated without any student loan debt. My knees and my back scream at me every morning when I try to get out of bed. That last fall from the roof nearly did me in, but the workman’s comp will put food on the table until I'm strong enough to go back to work. Maybe I'll go to one of the technical schools and get my computer science certification.
Thinking about school isn't going to get me into the house any faster. Mark just pulled up.. I better go get my stuff out of the bed of his truck. The futon isn't going to move itself. Man, that bumper sticker slays me every time. “Yes, this is my truck and no I will not help you move.” It's a little ironic that he's helping me move now. Of course I think I'm doing him as big of a favor as he's doing me. I don't think I can take one more day of living in my mom’s basement.
At least Mark brought a couple of his buddies. I guess the house isn't too bad. The kitchen is small and the stove looks like it's about four-hundred years old. I'm not an award winning chef any way. Grilled-cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Good enough for me.
Futon in the bedroom, dresser against the wall. Box of scratched and dented pots and pans. Two plates, seven plastic cups, two coffee mugs, three knives and a fork. No spoon. Damnit mom, you couldn't even part with one of your precious spoons. I'm going to have to go get a box of plastic silverware from the gas station before I open my soup tonight. I'm glad the soup cans have the pop-tops now. I have no idea if I even packed a can opener.
Mark dropped the last garbage bag full of clothes into the hallway and took off. He needs to get back to work. I’m going to call a cleaning service. There’s no way I'm going to be able to get this place junked out. I'm not fastidious when it comes to cleanliness, but my eyes are already burning from the dust.
Ugh, I think I smell a dead cat. I'm not going to wait. The library’s just around the corner. I'm going to walk down there and get on their wifi while I got the chance. I'll call a cleaning service and get them over here. I know there's a couple that'll come right away.
Once the cleaning crew is done I'll start making a list of projects that need to be done before the flipping crew gets here. I’ll have thirty days in a four bedroom, two bath house with no one else to bug me. I think I'm going to be king of the castle for a while. That’s funny, I thought I had put the keys on the table. Oh, there they are, by the sink.