Simplicity was fundamental to The Rat’s life.
No rent was rule number one. Rent meant a job. The Rat had never been to higher education, and frankly, he had never held a job that was fully above board. He had a social security number, he supposed. He wouldn’t know if the IRS had tried to nab him for never paying taxes. His last permanent address was either from when he was a child or an extended stay at a friend with who he no longer had a relation because too much mail had piled up at his place. That was the explanation for the relationship ending provided, at least. Maybe he needed a review card for next time, he thought.
You’d be shocked at what you can live off of dumpster diving. People will throw away anything uptown. The Rat rarely had to steal, and it rarely got cold in the city this time of year.
That was where The Rat found himself now, scrounging again. Today’s find: a notebook, barely written in. Maybe this is where he could start crafting his new philosophy.
He jumped out into the brick alleyway to a woman holding her garbage can.
“Well, that’s not a terrible way to spend New Year’s Eve.”
The Rat paused, a little surprised and unsure of how to respond.
“Can I get in there?” She gestured toward the bin he had just climbed out of.
“Is it New Year’s?” He asked, realizing he didn’t know.
“Yeah, it’s the turn of the millennium. You know, Y2K? Society collapses tonight.” She grinned a bit as she said it. He gathered that this was a joke, but he wasn’t sure of the references or why it was funny. He chuckled anyway.
“Well, that’s what my friends say, anyway. Crazy!” She smirked, turning around.
He stood still, suddenly unsure if this was the right time to laugh.
She looked him up and down. “Aw, what the hell. Do you want to come to the party later? It’s the end of the world! Apartment 201.” She gestured to the building she had come from. “I’ll have the door guy let you in.”
The Rat decided to say something before he thought about it. “I have plans.”
The woman furrowed her brow. “Oh, got it. That’s good. Non-New Year plans?”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
“Oh, well. If you change your mind!” She waved at him and turned back to leave the alleyway.
The Rat thought she was really pretty. He pretended to walk in the opposite direction, walked a few yards until he reached the back of the building, and sat down. He wished he learned her name, or said his, or just said screw it and went to the party.
Rule two. He scribbled it in his new notebook:
I WANT TO BE REAL