Harold stared at the pair standing at the front door of his unit. "What is he doing here?" He jerked his thumb at Jasper, who looked affronted at his friend's words.
Tracy let out a big smile. "He said he wanted to help, so here he is."
"What does this guy know about plastering audio barriers?"
"Hey, what do you take me for?" Jasper narrowed his eyes at him. "If you didn't know, I was the one who installed Tracy's bookshelves at her place."
Harold rolled his eyes. "Right, the ones that collapsed on her when she filled them with her books and her Nendoroid collections. How long were you at the ER, Tracy?"
Tracy put an index finger on her forehead. "Four hours? I wasn't sure."
Jasper scowled at them. "I get it; I should have been more careful. But I'm now more competent in installing anything involving a wall."
"That sounded so wrong on all counts, Jasper," Harold said while Tracy laughed aloud. "Anyway, since it's rude to kick you out of my place, you might as well stay."
"Oh, how lovely of you," Jasper said sarcastically.
Tracy pushed him inside the apartment. "Come on, slowpoke, let's get started."
Harold eyed the pair. "Where are the guys who will install the barriers?"
"They're working in a small house nearby, but Jason will come over in a bit. He will take the measurements and see if the materials would be right for your place."
Jason arrived a few minutes later and grimaced when he was told what he would do.
"Sir, with your current setup, we need to tear this place apart, and I doubt the condo admin would approve such a drastic change in your unit."
"I'm not trying to renovate my place; I just need to have a sound barrier installed while I'm teaching so that my neighbors won't be complaining about how noisy my students are," Harold said. "Is there a way to do that without tearing my walls apart?"
Jason thought for a moment. "I think there's a way. How do you feel about acoustic wall panels?"
"The ones used in recording studios?"
"Yup, that one. They are not going to damage walls once installed properly. We can do this right away once we buy the panels."
Harold was all for it. The sooner it was done, the better. The quartet went out to buy the panels, and it was a quick trip as Harold was not too particular about the colors of the foam he wanted to buy.
As Jason was in a hurry, he gave the trio a tutorial on installing the foams and left. The installation went well, with the occasional chatter about school and life and mild debates on how to align the panels. By the time they were finished, Harold, Jasper, and Tracy were admiring their handiwork.
"Good work, guys," Harold said. "Now I can rest easy that neighbors won't be barging at my door and scream at me for being loud or be told I'm running a private show."
Jasper and Tracy stared at each other, then at Harold. "What?" They asked in unison.
"A private show?" Tracy's eyes were wide as saucers.
Harold smacked his hand on his forehead. What was he thinking, blurting that out? Were Rayne's words haunted him so severely that he had to quote them?
When Jasper recovered from his initial shock, he burst into laughter. "Sooo, is that how you make your lessons memorable, by putting on a burlesque show? Given your build, your students would remember your muscular system."
Tracy tried to suppress her laughter, but she was not successful. Her peals of laughter filled the entire living room, not noticing or probably ignoring Harold glaring at her. She was laughing so hard that she was almost rolling down the sofa she was seated on. Jasper had to help her up to keep her from falling to the floor.
"S-sorry," Tracy said as she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. "I couldn't help it."
"Really?" Harold narrowed his eyes at her.
"I am sorry! But the thought of you putting on a private show, your neighbors must be experts in risqué shows to say such a thing."
"She's not the type."
"She?"
Harold felt like his mother had caught him in a lie. It was another impulsive remark from him. However, he was being honest. Rayne was not the type of person to see such shows; if she did, he would make sure she would stop doing so.
Hold on, why was being so possessive of her? He was never her boyfriend. They were friends in the shallow sense of the word. They have yet to reach the stage where they were in close friends' territory.
"My next-door neighbor. She was the one who kept complaining about the students. I don't blame her, though, as she works at night and sleeps during the day."
"Ohh, so she's the vampire type. What does she do, make her own private shows?"
Harold had no idea what happened, as the next thing he knew, he grabbed Jasper by the front of his shirt and nearly lifted him off the couch. Tracy screamed and went in between them, trying to hold Harold back from hurting him.
"Dude, what the hell!?" Jasper shouted as he grabbed Harold's arm.
"If that's meant to be a joke, it's in bad taste. If that's what you think Rayne's job is, give me one good reason I shouldn't merge your glasses with your face."
"Harold, let him go. We all know how Jasper can put his foot in his mouth sometimes. No need for you to add a new feature on his face."
"And who is Rayne?"
That knocked some sense into Harold, and he hastily released his friend. He stared at them as if he had woken up from a nightmare. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me."
Jasper put a hand on his shoulder. "No issues. However, you owe us a story."
Harold frowned. "What story?"
"Like who is Rayne and why you are being so bizarre about her."
The three went to the kitchen. Tracy and Jasper were preparing drinks and lunch while Harold was seated on one of the bar stools watching the pair.
"I own the place, and you two are my guests…!"
"Shut it; we're your friends. Besides, I want to cook in this kind of kitchen. It's so modern and spacious." Tracy said. "So talk while we work."
Cornered, Harold sighed and began to tell them how he met Rayne, or rather how she nearly destroyed his apartment door to scream at him for disrupting her sleep. He told them how they managed to settle the problem amicably, although it still went out of control, so he had to soothe her with food.
Both Tracy and Jasper stared at him as if he had gone insane. "Wait, you bribed her with food?"
"I did not bribe her. I calmed her down with food."
"Fine, with how you act, you're like some devotee giving offerings to a goddess," Jasper said as he washed some of the used cooking utensils. Tracy was now plating the meal she had made: beef Chao fan.
Tracy served the food to Harold and then to Jasper. "Since you're still alive, it looks like your goddess accepted your offerings. When can we meet her?" she said as she took her plate and sat beside Jasper.
"Guys, we're just neighbors. She's not going to be Mrs. Sales anytime soon."
"Anytime soon?" Tracy raised an eyebrow.
"But you're working on that, are you?" Jasper teased.
"What? No." Harold stared at him, scandalized at what he had said.
"Sure." The two said in unison.
"If there is one person who should get hitched, it's you two. You're quite convincing on acting like newlyweds; all you two need is a ring and a certificate to make it official." Harold said drily, eyeing the pair closely.
Tracy let out a choked laugh. "Nah. I'm too plain for this guy. Do I look like a supermodel to you?"
While Tracy did not see it, Harold saw the brief flash of pain in Jasper's eyes. Harold felt terrible for his friend. To carry such a torch for a long time was quite a heavy burden he had been bearing.
"Tracy, I'd marry you even if you're dressed in a flour sack." Jasper joked.
"Cringe, man." Tracy made a face then she turned to Harold. "Hey, no redirecting. Rayne sounds like an interesting woman. I would love to meet her one day."
"Yeah, one day," Harold murmured.