Her contact falls out and there's no hot water in the shower

Balanced precariously on one heel Rachel noticed her reflection in the mirror, and her eyes widened. Dropping her foot her hands rushed to her face, feeling crustiness covering every inch.

The word 'Us' reverberated through her head and she began to feel faint as her eyes gave her a message of a face that was streaked with smeared make-up and white crusts. Her vision began to go black and she dropped herself to the counter, turning on the sink and splashing her face with cold water and she started hyperventillating.

"It's okay, it's okay. It's not what it seems," she told herself, splashing her face a few more times before popping back up to look at herself in the mirror. This time her face seemed blurry until she leaned closer.

"Fuck! My contact fell out!" she exclaimed, slapping off the faucet and searching the sink futilely. If it fell inside it was long gone, and a long search around the edges showed no sign of the little clear lens. "God dammit! I hate glasses. I don't even know where they are!"

Seething she yanked open the glass door of the shower, turning on the water to a furious spray, remembering only as she was about to step in that she'd forgotten to take off her shoes. Swearing beneath her breath she eased her feet out of the stiletto's with the ease of one who wore them daily, then stepped into the shower.

A scream all but shattered the glass of the shower as a seemingly freezing ice storm pelted down upon her. She jumped, twirled, and nearly fell in her rush to get out of the wintery bombardment.

"F... f... f... .fuck!" she swore, dripping on the tiles, clutching herself as she shivered. Slowly she approached the shower again, looking to make sure that she'd used the knobs correctly. Sure enough, the knobs are in the right place for hot water, so either someone else used it all up or you've been cut-off. But why would you be cut-off when you just paid the rent 3 days ago?

"D... d... dam... mit!" Somehow it's just not as satisfying to swear when it comes out as a stutter.

Looking down at her filthy body and back to the cold water Rachel steeled her shoulders, knowing she absolutely had to scrub herself.

The ensuing shower had to be one of the fastest, most frenetic ones that Rachel had ever taken. She longed to spend an hour scrubbing herself in hot water, but as it was she had to settle for a quick scrub and shampoo. She couldn't even bear to stay longer to try and clean out her insides!

Teeth chattering and body shivering she stumbled out of the shower, fumbling for towels, only to find nothing there. "F.. uck!"

Remembering the boxes Rachel rushed out of the room, tried to tear open the first box, and realized she'd need a knife. Unable to stand the shivering any more she rushed out to the balcony and the blessed warmth of the scorching mid-day sun.

"Why hello there, neighbor," a voice said from the balcony next to hers, the two separated by a one-foot gap and a clear glass fence.