Making a security deposit

When I heard Moira's car pull up over the running shower, I was on my feet before I knew it. I hadn't consciously decided to work on my houselord first, but I guess some part of me wanted to get it over with. I fixed my dress again and left the bedroom, considering my approach.

The truth was, I was in a pretty tight spot. I had financial aid to pay for school, but I'd been stretching it thin to cover housing already. I could get a job, but it would interfere with some of the scholarships, probably costing me money overall. And I was down to just the really predatory student loans, if it came to that. The only rooms in my price range were miles from campus and really sketchy; even before you factored in the clocky t-girl aspect.

I found Moira leaning against the kitchen counter, an empty bag of veggie straws beside her. She was leafing through some mail, still in her work clothes. MBA-chic, the tan pantsuit was fashionably boxy on her thin frame, the color complimenting her light skin and neat blonde bob. Nude lipstick was her only obvious cosmetic, though there was probably more invisible makeup at work. She never wore heels, and her brown flats left her several inches shorter than me.

"Oh, hey Jamie." Moira eyes flickered up from the mail as I entered the kitchen, then back. "Need something?"

"Yeah, actually. I wanted to talk about my place in the house."

That got her attention. Moira set the stack of letters down and looked at me steadily. "Ari talked to you?"

I nodded.

"I'm sympathetic to your situation. And I agreed when Ari asked if you could stay with her, temporarily. But now we're past 'temporarily,' and I haven't heard anything about when you're moving out."

"Totally fair. I wasn't doing my best long-term thinking when I moved in, I'll admit. And it's been harder to find another place than I realized. Maybe we can work out a new arrangement here?"

She sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not in the market, Jamie. This house just isn't built for five people. It's cramped, we're all sharing one lukewarm shower, and you and Ari are still just paying for the one room. If anything, I'm losing money, since we pay more on utilities."

"No one ever said anything about—"

She waved me off. "Short term, it doesn't matter. And I'm not willing to talk long term, I'm sorry. I want to offer affordable queer housing, but I can't do it for everybody."

She was right about the house. It had felt cramped, five adults (three of them single) trying to work around each other. I wasn't too worried about it — soon we'd all be a lot more intimate — but I couldn't exactly say that. And I was surprised at the perspective I could have, knowing that I'd win our argument one way or another.

Normally, I liked Moira well enough as a person, but I also resented her a little. For her family wealth, the power she had over us, the way she didn't seem to acknowledge it. Now, I could see her side, at least a bit. She had bills to pay, and that meant providing a certain living experience here. She saw me as jeopardizing that. I knew then that she'd be sympathetic to all my issues, she'd offer earnest advice, and she wouldn't change her mind. Good thing I could do it for her.

"You can't help everyone, that's true," I admitted. "But providing queer housing, that goes beyond just balancing the books, doesn't it?"

Moira nodded. I wasn't sure, but I thought I could see a hint of the Sophistry Generator's telltale openness in her expression. "I know I was lucky to have a stable place when I was in school. Lucky to own it myself, now. I try to pay it forward."

"Right," I said. "It's about taking care of your people, doing what you can for them. And not everyone, like you said. But for the people who live here, that's your role, right?"

"I suppose so..." Now her eyes had fully glazed over.

"Well, I'm one of those people right now. I'm asking for your help, and you have the ability to give it. If this is really about something more than just a transaction, we all owe each other whatever we can provide."

"You're... right."

-25 BS. 67 remaining.

The app's blank stare faded to a conflicted expression. Moira hesitated. "Well... maybe I haven't been as generous as I should be. But still, it doesn't feel fair to everyone else, living with the inconvenience."

It wasn't shocking that one argument hadn't fully resolved things. I'd already thought of a follow-up, one that I hoped would have some upsides in the long run.

"It wouldn't be the first time a bunch of gays shared a cramped house, Moira. Isn't that part of the queer experience?"

"I mean—"

"No, I'm serious," I interrupted, eager to get Sophistry going again. "The normal narratives don't work for us. We have to make our own, break some of the usual expectations."

"That's. True." Moira seemed tense even as she agreed, a variation on the app's trance I hadn't seen yet. Each word sounded ****, almost like she was fighting the app's aura of credulity. If she was, at least she seemed to be losing.

"So, we share tight housing, we move in together really fast. We live in ways most people wouldn't expect, might even find uncomfortable. If the house is really a queer space, surely we can all tolerate and adapt to things outside the norm here."

"Makes. Sense."

-15 BS. 52 remaining.

On one hand, I was burning through BS pretty fast. On the other, if I was right about how the app worked, I'd be getting a lot of mileage from both of Moira's new beliefs.

"Okay, Jamie," Moira said as the blank stare receded. She ran her fingers through her hair thoughtfully. "I guess there might be a path for you to stay here. I'll need to check with everyone else, though, so I'm not promising anything just yet."

"Of course," I said, hoping my smile wasn't too smug. "I appreciate it, Moira."

She smiled back. "And I appreciate you holding me to my principles."

"Feels good to do good, right?" A favorite cliché of my dad's, one of those things I often said purely on reflex.

Moira nodded in response.

-5 BS. 47 remaining.

Oops. I didn't think the app would work on offhand comments like that. Maybe the back-to-back arguments had made her particularly susceptible. Regardless, I needed to stop before I spent all my BS. I quickly excused myself from the kitchen, pulling out my phone as I walked down the hall.

XP +2! Next level in 3XP.

CASH +2! Total: 7.

New profile added: Moira Duval.

New profile added: Duval House.

Perfect. The app's welcome page had said beliefs would spread through social groups, and Moira was clearly the authority figure for our house.

Moira Duval
Age: 29
Relationship: Housemate, landlord

Beliefs:

• When I have the means, it's right to take care of my housemates' needs.
• I should tolerate abnormal situations in the house, even if they make me uncomfortable.
• Providing for others makes me feel good.

Keep going, you've almost unlocked paths for this target!

The first two were pretty much what I was aiming for, but that third belief was a bit of a curveball. Sounded fun to experiment with, though. I didn't know what to make of the "paths," but like most of the app's mysteries, the solution seemed to be using it more.

I closed Moira's profile and saw that there was a new split in the Profiles tab for Groups. I clicked the lone entry there.

_Duval House
_Population: 4 (not including user)

Beliefs:

• When I have the means, it's right to take care of my housemates' needs.

• Source: Moira Duval

• Spread: 25%

• I should tolerate abnormal situations in the house, even if they make me uncomfortable.

• Source: Moira Duval

• Spread: 25%

Exactly what I'd been hoping for with those beliefs. I tapped on the Spread number, and it showed me a list of my housemates' names, with only Moira checked off. Interestingly, the third belief didn't show up on the house page. Maybe it was too personal or specific to Moira? I could see how things might get complicated if every belief I gave her was spread to the whole house.

My phone buzzed with a text. It had already become strange to see a normal notification display on my phone rather than my mind. I tapped the popup, and a text thread with my study buddy replaced the Sophistry Generator.

Dakota: you do the topology hw yet?
Jamie: ah fuck, due tonight?
Dakota: chop chop bitch

There's more to life than just brainwashing babes, unfortunately. But hey, a girl can dream.