Avi Kaplan Prefences (For Aliza)

He's your neighbor

*Like A Good Neighbor

You lie out on the deck of your apartment, taking in the warm sun as you read your latest novel obsession. You turn the pages lazily, nearly dozing because you’re so comfortable. The loud rumble of an automobile makes you sit up. A moving van pulls into the parking lot below you. Curious, and a bit bored with your book, you decide to watch the movers as they unpack their luggage. “Boxes, boxes, mattress, guitar case, bookshelf…” you list off in your head. Not much out of the ordinary. You decide to nestle back into your chair for a nap. CRASH The racket wakes you up; the sound was right outside your door. You rush back inside, to the front door, and yank it open. Arms laden with obviously too many boxes, a man stands outside your door. He is carrying so much that his face is obscured from view. He is grunting, struggling to keep the rest of his luggage from falling. You look down at the now destroyed box on the floor. It reads “dishes/silverware”. You sigh and approach the stranger. “Sorry about you box,” you state apathetically. This guy was ruining your lazy afternoon. “Need any help?” The man motions to a key ring attatched to his belt loop. You understand and detatch the metal ring, reading the room number on the tag. “223… Hey, that’s right here.” You insert the key into the door across the hall from your apartment and open it. The man pushes past you, nearly dropping his boxes in his haste. You aren’t prepared for what you see next. The “stranger” was none other than Avi Kaplan. There was no denying it. He looks at you and smiles, and you can feel your knees buckling. “Thank you so much for the help,” he says in his deep voice that only makes your knees weaker. “I wasn’t sure I’d make it that far.” At this point both of your faces are red (his from exhaustion; yours from embarassment). You side-step awkwardly, not sure what to do next. “Yeah, well, I guess I’m happy to help.” You manage to smile back. “Uh, I’m still sorry about your dishes.” “Yeah. It’s gonna be fun trying to replace those,” he laughs. You giggle. “I know a great store not too far from here. I could take you to get replacements.” Wait. What did you just say? Bracing yourself for the backlash of your stupid burst of confidance, you slowly begin to back into your apartment. “I’d love to!” Avi says, smiling even broader than before. “Here, let me give you my number. You can hit me up when you’re free and we can go look for them together.” He pulls out a scrap of paper, scribbles his number down, and hands it to you. You stare at the paper in disbelief. “S-Sure,” you stammer. With a smile and a wave, Avi begins to walk into his apartment as well, but turns around to face you. “I’m glad I actually found a good neighbor on my first day. I can’t believe my luck.” You then extchange smiles and close your doors. You let yourself slide down the length of your door, still staring dumbfounded at the piece of paper. “Neither can I.”