(We are introduced to a room where Chen and Chris are sitting side by side with their TV positioned in-between them. Chen's attention is fixated on the program running on TV while Chris appears to be busy surfing through his phone.)
The two lads have been living together for 3 years in the single-room apartment. Each of them with their complexities, differences and temperament, just like every other human out there. They met during their penultimate year at Tamara University where Chen studied Financial Management and Chris studied Humanities.
Their decision to live together was prompted by their inability to handle the ridiculously high cost of renting any apartment close to their school. They considered the chance of living together and the plan became their reality when they got into their final year of study. That was when they got a single-room apartment for $900 per annum.
Like every other teenager going through University, the two blokes came face-to-face with the pleasure of being called 'University Students'. They didn't have loads of responsibilities aside from passing through school, getting good grades and hoping for a bright postgraduate life. That would be a good time for each of them to buy a house of their own, buy luxurious cars and live a buoyant life.
If only they knew what life had in store for them...
It's already two years after graduation, but none of them can afford to move into a more decent apartment. Any thought of buying a house or luxurious car has already become like a fairytale to them. Life happened so fast and it massively affected the economy of their country. Their rent which was valued at $900 when they first moved in has rapidly skyrocketed to $4000 per annum.
Getting a fairly decent job has been a tough ordeal for the lads. While Chen gets paid below the minimum wage as an assistant Economics teacher in a High School, Chris makes do with the stipend he gets as a volunteer worker with Humanitarian NGOs. Life is happening to them and they are not in any situation to help each other financially.
Aside from the macroscopic issues facing each of them which are arguably beyond their control, Chen and Chris also have their complexities which have transitioned to moments of disagreement. There is no shortage of disagreement that pops up since they started living together.
They have had their moments of disagreeing on how to handle the house cleaning, and where to keep the only existing key to their single-room apartment whenever they are both leaving the house. They have also had a series of disagreements about what to eat at each time of the day and they always find ways to reach an agreement afterwards.
The issue of the TV station to watch whenever they are together is one that they just can't reach a mutual ground on. They tend to do this on a first-grab basis. That is, whoever gets the remote first gets to decide which TV channel they will watch. Since the odds are in favour of Chen at the moment, he switched to a show, Life Talk.
The voice of the anchor could be heard clearly;
Life is precious, but it's not like other precious things. You can't touch it like gold or put a price on it. In essence, there is more to life than what most people can imagine and that's what makes it even more valuable...
"Chen! I think we've heard enough of this boring channel for the day". Blurted Chris.
He continued with a rant...
"Who are they trying to patronize with those fancy lines? Tell me what's so precious about life when people are struggling to eat 3 decent meals per day?"
The look Chris has on his face as he went on with his rant is the type that can make anyone feel like he's about to crawl into the TV and gag the anchorman himself. It was a clear expression of disgust towards the whole message in the TV program.
Chen, on the other hand, was clearly unfazed by the rants that Chris was dishing out. He held fast to the remote and continued listening to the fairly inspiring talk about 'Life' and why it's such a precious thing. He obviously knows that his life is a living hell, but had long chosen to adopt optimism in every breath he takes in his lifetime.
They both sat there, bodily present but absent minded. After a few moments of silence between the two, Chen decided to break the deadlock;
"Bro, If you feel like going crazy because of this wretched life we are living, I want you to know that it's understandable. But, you've got to remember that being alive means that things can get better for each of us".
They both looked at each other with a face that says;
My fellow Brokie, we are in this together.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop Or Comma
Thumbnail Image is taken from Pexels