The Mom Next Door

40-Away

*jens pov*

Instead of continuing to cry on the plane, I decided to sleep to get my mind off things at least for a little bit.

The flight ended up being pretty long, and I couldn't force myself to sleep the whole time. So I just listened to music and looked out the window for the rest of the time I had left.

Eventually, we arrived and I didn't even realize we were so close. I open up my window and look at all the beautiful lights. For a second, I got that feeling of excitement. I've got this.

The plane lands and everyone gets off. I get my luggage, and walk outside.

Luckily since I came here through my college, they already had rides set up to take students to their housing.

I get into the taxi assigned for me, and they take me to the housing, which is in Paris. I had the option to stay in an international dorm with other people studying abroad, but it was already full, so I got a small cheap apartment instead.

The driver drops me off and I thank him. I look up at the small, kind of sketchy but cute apartment building, and I take a deep breath before walking inside.

I look around the worn out lobby, and there's no one at the front desk. I walk up to the desk and ring the rusty bell. I ring it a couple more times until I finally hear someone coming.

"Merde." I hear a girls voice cuss as it sounds like some boxes fall over. She walks through a door that leads to the back, and I look up at her.

She looks around my age, and she has these piercing eyes. Her skin tone is darker, she looks middle eastern, and her complexion is gorgeous-. She has nice wavy thick hair that falls naturally to the middle of her back, her lips are big and painted with a light shade of red. Her figure is elegant, with distinct fit curves. She's overall really pretty.

"Bonjour." I say and she smiles at me as she comes over to the desk. "Bonjour. Puis-je vous aider?" She says, asking how she can help me.

"Um, J'ai besoin de la clé de mon appartment. J'ai déjà payé en ligne." I tell her that I need the key to my apartment, and that I already payed online.

She looks at me and tilts her head, eyeing me up and down. "You are from the US?" She asks with her heavy French accent and I giggle, embarrassed.

"Yes. I'm sorry my French isn't that good." I apologize. "No, no. It's very good. I can just tell from your pronunciation." She nods and smiles.

"Well, merci." I thank her and she giggles. "De rien." She nods and smiles. "Your name?" She asks and looks to the computer on the desk. "Lopez, Jennifer." I say since it's under my last name.

"Jennifér?" She repeats and I nod. "A beautiful name." She says and I smile. She types some stuff into the computer. "Ah, okay." She nods once she finds my paperwork.

She opens one of the drawers, and pulls out a key. "Here is your key, and I'll take you to where you will be staying." She says and I nod. She comes around the desk, and starts to walk up the slim flight of stairs.

I follow behind her until we get to the second floor. "This is your room, 214." She says once we get to the door that reads '214' on it.

She unlocks it and opens the door, letting me walk in first. I slowly step in and take it all in. The floor boards are creaky, the paint is peeling off the walls, and there's multiple cob webs.

I set my luggage's down on the floor and run my fingers through my hair. I feel myself wanting to cry, then the lady walks over to this big window, opening up the curtains. The light shines in brightly and I walk over to her to look out the window.