Prepare yourself a coffee, this will be a long one.

I will start this story by saying that in my country, students mostly don't live in huge dorms like in America or UK. Of course, we have dorms, but it's extremely hard to get into one. You have to be extremely good student but even then it's hard to get into a dorm if you have both parents and if they are both employed. Because of this, 90% of students live in rented rooms or apartments.

It was spring of 2013, and all that I was thinking of was my exams and finals. I really wanted to get into a good college, so I was studying really hard. I didn't even think about where will I live when I move out. One day, my uncle (who lived in the same city where my college was) visited us and said that his best friend is a wonderful woman and she wants to rent a room for one student. It was too early so we said that we'll think about it. 

At the end of the summer, two weeks before the college started, we went to meet her and see the room. My first impression was not good - she just didn't seem likeable. She was an older woman in retirement, she lost her husband 15 years ago, and she never had any children. She had her 13 year old Pekingese dog and it was her whole world. I knew that we wouldn't get along because she never lived with someone that young, and she's used to living alone. Also, from her talk I got impression that she hates the students: she complained how she can't go to the post in campus because it's crowded with students, they use the same parking lot as people from that neighborhood... Another thing that bothered me was that she was a heart patient. My family was always in good health so I didn't want to have that burden of having to take care of her. To be honest, I didn't even know how I will take care of myself. But, it was cheap, I only had to pay the bills, so my parents persuaded me to try living with her. My uncle convinced me that everything will be OK so I said yes because my college was across the street.

My room was about 9 square meters big. First wall was entirely in old windows. The two side walls were blocked with her huge closets & cabinets, and the fourth wall, where the door was, had a huge painting of an angel, and right below that she hanged portrait of her and her dog. Weird, I thought. 

When I started unpacking, she gave me only three drawers to use and she kept her stuff in the rest of the closet space. As someone who had his own room, I really felt uncomfortable because I didn't want her to walk into my room whenever she needs something. The next day she realized that cold weather is coming so she decided to transfer all of her plants and flowers from the balcony into the apartment. Because her living room was too small and she didn't have enough space in her room (even it was bigger than mine), she put most of her plants into my bedroom. I think there was 18 big plants in my room at one point. Everything was OK during the day, but at night I would wake up because I couldn't breathe. There wasn't enough air so I had to sleep with my windows opened. And you all know how cold autumn nights can be.

I woke up early that first day and I went to the bathroom. When I opened the door of my room, I saw her quickly closing the bathroom doors - she was inside. I made myself a coffee and waited for her to exit. When she was finished using the bathroom, I went to brush my teeth and pee, and I saw a puddle in front of the toilet and the toilet seat was wet. I was disgusted. In fact, I never even used that toilet again. I would wait to go to my aunt, or college or to my friends. Later, she offered me with some cake she made, but during the preparation she never washed her hands. She was sick so she coughed into her hands and then pet the dog and then touched the food. I couldn't eat that. That night I slept at my aunt's home.

One day she wasn't home and went to the bathroom to put some makeup. I messed up my eyeliner so I took some toilet paper to remove it. The roll was now empty and I tried to remove it from the holder and put another one, but I couldn't, the mechanism was weird so I left it like that. I didn't need her to scream at me because I broke it. Later that night, I went to brush my teeth before going to bed, and then she called me. She asked me if I needed some toilet paper while I was in there. I told her no, that I just brushed my teeth. Then she said that she removed all the rolls of toilet paper from the bathroom just in case I need one. She wanted to teach me a lesson because I didn't replace that empty roll. I mean, just imagine that, who does that?! I explained her what happened so she showed me how to replace it. (like I had some intention to use it ever again)

The next couple of days I tried being as less is possible in that apartment, and I went home to visit my family. They persuaded me to give her another chance. 

I returned the next Monday and she offered me with a coffee. I thought, why not. Then she told me a lot of stories from her life and she told me a story about her ex subtenants. When her husband died, she rented her other apartment to three young guys. She would check the apartment every week to see how tidy they were - even if they weren't in the apartment! One day they weren't home and she came to see their coffee table in mess - there was money, empty glasses and papers on the table and dirty dishes in the sink. She cleaned the table and washed the dishes and told left them a note that they now have to pay her for her work. I thought that she was joking, but no, she was serious. I mean, she rented them her apartment, she doesn't longer have any right to walk in there, especially when they aren't even home. And also, it wasn't really a mess - maybe they were in a hurry, studied and went to exams so they will clean everything when they come home. 

On Tuesday I used the break between the lectures to come home and have a lunch. She had some friends there but assured me it's ok to sit down and eat. I defrosted some stuffed peppers my mom sent me, I removed the peppers from the plate, and ate the sauce and the stuffing. Then she told her friends how rude and spoiled I was, even if I said that peppers are literally the only thing I don't like to eat. 

On Wednesday my boyfriend came to visit me. We spend the whole day around the town, it was a really nice day and I didn't have a chance to really see to everything. I invited him over, to see my room and to fix my internet connection. He spend max an hour and a half there and went home. Then I heard her talking on the phone and saying how rude I am because he spent whole day here. I was really, really mad.

That night I couldn't sleep. I had a fever and a huge temperature, and I spent the whole night shaking and trying to warm myself even if the windows were closed and I was in sweater and covered with three blankets. I was really worried because I never felt something like that, and my parents weren't there. I fell asleep in the dawn. In 10 am my alarm rang, so I woke up and made some tea.  I felt terrible. She told me that it's good I woke up because it's unacceptable to sleep that late, even if she saw how sick I was. She then invited my uncle because he was a doctor, and also he wanted to talk with me because my parents told him that I want to move out. He said he will be there in eleven, but he came 45 minutes later, and in the noon I had to be in college. I told him everything quickly and I rushed to pack everything and in that rush I forgot my empty teacup on the table. When I came home after the lectures, all I really wanted was aspirin and some sleep. But no, she started yelling at me and insulting me because I left dirty dishes on the table... I mean, I know, I shouldn't left it like that, but give me a break, I was in hurry, I was sick, and this is the first time I left something like that. At the end of the day, it's just a empty teacup. It wasn't like I left dirty plates and forks and pots and crumbles all over the table.

Next day I felt better and I spent most of the day at college. I came home somewhere around 6 pm to eat something and then I wanted to go for a walk with my best friend. Well, she didn't let me!!! I was so mad, and so angry I can't even describe you. Her excuse was my sickness, and I told her that I'm feeling well. But no. She didn't let me. I called my parents and told them to find me another apartment or I'm dropping out. I can't live like this. The deal was that I can go out wherever I want and I can come home whenever I want as long as I let her know when I will be coming back. This is actually the first time I wanted to go somewhere. And I even explained her that I'm feeling well, and that my parents never forbid me from going somewhere when I'm sick because they know really well that when I'm not feeling good, there's no way I will leave my bed. Tomorrow morning I took a bus and came back to my parents. 

I returned just to pack my bags and tell her that I'm moving out in the next couple of days. I didn't say her anything nasty, I really didn't want to argue with her. I just told her that my best friend needs a roommate because her current roommate got a place in dorm and he's moving out. The truth was that a girl from my college left a notice in our Facebook group that she's looking for a roommate. I didn't sign any contract with her, I was free to go. She then started screaming at me, insulted me and my parents and told me some very nasty things.

Tomorrow I gave her the money for the bills and my aunt helped me to put my bags into the car and she didn't even said goodbye, she just took the money. 

I didn't really care, I was just so happy I was finally done with her.