It wasn't often, but it also wasn't rare, that a male would enter the nail spa, whether gay or straight. Most would either be a son or husband, or, even rarer, maybe a brother, uncle, or nephew. Sallin's booth was empty, and her urge to slouch was getting more tempting by the minute. Which was understandable since it was a Monday, the day after the rush.
Once she got home to her apartment, she was slumped and exhausted from holding so many conversations with the customers. There were not as many people coming as she expected, and because of that, she was put on cleaning duty with her co-workers giggling at their worktables, which she found ignorant and lacking in maturity. Being as she was, she took her midnight shower, freshened up, and slept on the mattress in the living room that day, knowing no one was there to judge her.
What she was unaware of was that she was being watched at that specific moment through the peep hole at the top of the door.
A few more months flew by, and at that time she finally bought a bed frame and a sofa. With tons of plants hanging from her balcony, most were to be cooked with. She was sure no one in her family would find her since she was deep in the city. One night she heard someone knocking at her door, which was weird since no one knew her location. She ignored it the first time, but it continued, leaving her scared and confused. Sallin was trying new things, like having a phone of her own, even though it was just a house phone, since the year was 1986. She heard of ordering food from a phone but never attempted to try it or even eat pizza. She did it, and she was excited to figure out why it was so popular.
As she sat on the sofa watching a talk show, a knock was heard, and Sallin's instincts were sharp like a cat. Sprinting to the door and checking the peep hole to spot out no one, she opened the door this time just to seek a tiny man in uniform holding her pizza.
Right when she was about to get the pizza out of his hand, she heard rage coming from down the hall. "Sallin!" the grumpy man angrily stated. She spotted him deep down the hall, and even though she couldn't clearly see his face, she knew it was one of her neighbors. She grabbed the pizza boy by the collar and covered his mouth.
They stood far away from the door, in a tight corner in the living room. She breathed harder as the knocks got more aggressive against the door. He could feel and hear her whimpering in fear as he stood in the corner with her. It went on for five minutes—the ranting at the door. Before the boy wiggled out of her arms, the tension in her grip lessened around his waist, letting him free himself. When he turns around to go off on her, he sees her in a really bad panic. So he tightened up and went to the door to approach the man, cursing her out.