Joanna lives on the floor above mom and me but in a way she’s kind of my best friend even though she’s twenty-three and I’ll be seventeen next week. We met the day after mom and I moved in here four years ago when Joanna was a college student. There is this small room in the lobby with a few game and vending machines. I was playing on the only pinball one when she came in to get something from the vending machine before she left for school. I was having difficulty with the game and in my frustration—I didn’t know she was there—I kicked it. It felt like I just kicked a bowling ball and I started to hop up and down holding my foot. I actually almost cried but suddenly I heard laughing and there was Joanna cracking up at my expense. It was a bad first impression I guess but we didn’t really see each other again till Halloween a few weeks later when mom forced me to go trick or treating around the apartment building.

I was dressed like a ninja just using some dark clothes I already had. I ended up on her floor and she was the second door I knocked on. She had opened the door dressed up like a sexy zombie witch, her words not mine. Joanna squealed at the sight of me and made me come in to not only shower me with candy but made me play Halloween games with her and watch horror movies. In the end it was kind of fun and my opinion of her as a total bitch changed. I didn’t get home till nearly midnight. I probably would have stayed the night if mom hadn’t sent Hank the security guy to look for me because she was worried half to death.

“How’s the floor?” she says she wanders over and decides finally to help my skinny body up. I am unfortunately lanky and thin even though I eat like a cow. Joanna says I make her feel fat but she is far from that.

“You scared me,” I glare at her as I dust myself off.

“Sorry, hun,” she pats my cheek then hands over my book before she moves towards a washer beside mine where she sat a basket of laundry. So that must be what I heard, the plastic hitting the metal machine.

Joanna is in only a pair of sleep shorts and a Pink Floyd t-shirt. In fact she doesn’t even have shoes on. Though it seems she took the time to put on eye-shadow, liner, and mascara. I think she even has pink lip-gloss on. She’s so weird but I love her. Not in a sexual way but more like if I had a sister I hope she would be like Joanna. Her hair looks cool too. All bleached blond and cut in an inverted bob with the hairs underneath a shocking bubblegum pink. She’s an artist so I guess she can afford to look like that. If she had an office job like mom she’d be in trouble I’m sure. I don’t think they’d appreciate the lip ring either.