“I paid rent,” I lied to Baxter, who neighed at me reproachfully.
I hadn’t paid rent. I had bought seedlings instead. Like I said, I had terrible decision-making skills. I had been late on rent before, but if you paid a late fee, the landlord didn’t care.
I tore open the envelope, and my heart sank as I read it.
Notice to residents:
The building will be sold in six weeks. All residents are advised to be moved out and find other accommodations.
I sank to the ground, tears pricking my eyes. “I can’t leave…” I gasped. “My garden.”
I ran outside and thought of all the flowers, the plants, the hundreds of hours, and all the money I had sunk into it. What was I going to do?
Amy:They’re going to take my garden!
Ivy:Who?
Amy:I’m being evicted!
Elsie:Go to the landlord and tell him you have rights.
Ivy:Did you pay your rent?
Amy:No. But I’m certainly not going to now.
Grace:Even so, he can’t just kick you out.
Amy:They’re selling the building.
Brea:Ouch.
Sophie:Try bribing the landlord! Bake cupcakes!
Ivy:And pay your rent! Maybe it’s a joke.
I was too mad to make cupcakes. I slammed my apartment door and huffed down the block to the landlord’s office.
Bang! Bang!
He opened the door wearing a bathrobe, dirty sweatpants, and last night’s dinner.
“You can’t sell the building!” I yelled at him, trying and failing to keep calm. “I live there. People live there. That’s my home.”
“I have several offers.” He sniffed.
“Well, I’m not leaving,” I told him, crossing my arms.
He smirked at me. “Of course you are. You already received your notice.”
“You can’t just randomly evict someone like that.”
He laughed, exposing yellow teeth. “You have lease violations that haven’t been corrected. In fact, everyone in the building has lease violations or hasn’t been paying rent or lives in an uninhabitable unit. And some people, like you, have all three.”
“I always pay rent! Sometimes not on time, but I always pay! And that’s a lie. Nothing’s wrong with the units,” I said hotly.
“I already have lawyers working on the case,” he said with a shrug. “Either you’re going to move out, or I’ll have you evicted, and good luck trying to find another place to rent in this city with an eviction on your record.”
He slammed the door in my face.
