Ratter

So did Mom show you the pictures?

Yeah, yeah. She got a little emotional.

Well, if she had it her way, Mom would have me live at home forever.

Well, at least you'd save on the rent money.

Hey, do you wanna see my apartment?

I can give you a tour through the computer.

- What do you mean? - Okay. Watch. Hold on.

- All right so, this is my living room. - Nice.

- And then this is my balcony right here. - It makes it nice and bright.

Yeah. All right. And then this is my dining area...

- Okay. - ...Slash dancing area.

- It's big! - Yeah.

- This is my kitchen here. - Nice. Even though you'll never use it.

Hey, I can cook a little bit.

Oh, your mom's worried you're gonna starve to death.

Yeah, well, I'm not going to.

- Wait, Emma, you're frozen. - Can you see me?

Heh, heh, you should see your face. Okay, okay.

- Is it good? - There. You're back.

- All right, this is the bedroom over here. - Mm. Nice.

- It's still, like, super messy. - You and your mom did good.

I know. Oh, wait, I wanna show you one more thing.

Hold on one second.

What's up there?

This is like a little storage unit...

or it could be used for really small peep...

- Hey. - Hey, hey.

- Why are you out of breath? - Oh.

Just doing a little ballet. Just messing around.

- Oh, you're gonna start dancing again? - I am so bad.

Oh, stop. So, what did you do today?

Unpacked the whole day. I didn't even go outside once.

Dude, stop being a homebody and go out. Go explore, you weirdo.

I know. But I have to get settled first. You know me and my OCD.

- How was last night? - Well, I ran into Alex at the wrecker.

- Ugh. - Yep, he was drunk.

He kept saying how you need to get off your high horse...

and blah, blah, the usual cra...

Here we go.

The next stop is Essex.

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Whoo!

Okay, I've always wanted to walk across this, and here I am.

Per capita GDP is about 7500.

That's very low given the amount that it exports.

Now, compared to the GDP of the U.S., which exports a...

it could add trillions.

I think it's 2.7 trillion to the world economy, and most of that growth...

- Emma, right? - Yeah.

Your thoughts on economic extraction, very interest...

- ...emerging markets, right? - Yeah.

- Are you a night person too? - Kind of.

I like to do most of my work when the sun isn't out.

Mm. Yeah, especially in the city. So many distractions.

- Heh. - Um...

- Do you mind if I...? - No. Yeah, sit.

- Cool. I'm Michael, by the way. - Emma.

- Are you from New York or...? - No, I'm actually from the midwest.

- Oh. - Wisconsin.

- Cool. Good cheese. - Ha.

- Yeah. - What?

Nothing. It's just that's what everybody always says.

- They talk about the cheese. - Ah.

What about you? Where are you from?

Oh, I'm from Westchester. It's about an hour north of the city.

But I live here now though.

- I just moved here, so... - Oh, okay.

- Yeah, like a week ago. Yeah. - Wow.

Jeez, you have so much to see, and do and to eat.

I should make you a list or something.

- Yeah, yeah, that'd be totally awesome. - Cool.

Or I could... you know, I could take you for a cup of coffee sometime.

I know a lot of really good coffee shops around here.

And what if I don't like coffee?

- Then I can take you to a cheese shop. - Ha. Nice.

Mm. How about sometime this week?

- Yeah. Sure. - Cool.

Well, I'll text you. What's your number?

- 608-473-4127. - Great.

Hello?

Hello?

Alex, I swear to God, if this is you...

Player one. Select your match. Italy.

France. England. England.

Strong serve.

Advantage server.

- I got your text. I'm sorry. - Don't worry about it.

I couldn't get out of bed. Way too hungover.

- Oh, God. - I almost didn't go to class.

It was actually nice to wander around by myself.

Except some guy yelled at me for stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.

I forgot that was a thing here.

Oh, that's not a joke. People are not playing.

Oh, my God, this guy again.

This is literally the fifth day in a row he's texted me...

and I've ignored him every time.

- Is that every guy's dream? - Yes. Thank you.

Would you like to speak with him? Because that's how I'm feeling it.

But, I don't know, I found the one guy who doesn't want that.

- Wait, do you have a person? - No.

I mean, I did. I was seeing someone back home, but, uh, we broke up.

I just feel like I needed a fresh start here.

Yeah. Well, you picked the right place.

- We'll see. - Yeah.

Ugh. Speak of the devil, it's Alex, my ex.

Yeah, he's been texting me. He never really took the breakup so well.

Do you like empanada?

Almost here.

Oh...

Whoa.

This is huge for New York.

Yeah, well, I mean, it's kind of a trade-off.

I live so far from everything.

- He's really cute. - I know, right?

He came up to me in the library out of nowhere.

I knew what he was doing, but he was pretty funny.

Let's see his other photos.

- He has an adorable smile, right? - Yes, I'm sure that's what she thinks too.

Poor thing.

- Oh. And her too. - Oh, my God.

- Oh. And her. - Nicole.

I'm sorry.

I don't I know if I should hang out with him.

- I don't know if I'm ready to date yet. - What?

- You said you wanted a fresh start. - I do.

Well, then you should absolutely hang out with him.

Hey, do you want English breakfast, Earl grey or chamomile?

Um... I'll take Earl grey.

Oh, I'm serious.

I have no idea. Just started playing out of nowhere.

Too much porn, girl. That's what you get.

No, but come on, seriously. What was that?

I don't know. You should take it to that tech place by school. They'll look at it.

They'll probably look at it for free, you're cute.

- Ugh. So annoying. - You know.

- Anything else? - No, just the pad kee mao, please.

- Okay. What's your address? - It's 854 Wilson Avenue, apartment 4A.

- Should be dropped off in half an hour. - Thank you.

It's 854 Wilson Avenue, apartment 4A.

- Should be dropped off in half an hour. - Thank you.

Okay, so have the egg ready.

- Okay. - Now, go back to the pot...

and make sure you still have the whirlpool.

Okay, then I'm just gonna put it in, right?

You're gonna slide it in carefully in the center of the whirlpool.

- That's the only tricky part. - Okay.

You know, so it, like, nestles in there.

Careful.

- Ugh. It broke again. - You're hilarious.

You go from not cooking at all to making really fancy eggs.

Well, you make it look so easy.

I mean, Mom, seriously, mine looks like egg drop soup.

Do you see that?

Yes, I can. But don't worry about it, you'll get it.

And have a little patience.

- I'm just gonna make sunny side up. - Okay.

- So you're feeling okay out there? - Yeah. No, I feel great.

I mean, it's been a bit lonely at times...

but I don't know, I guess I can focus on myself.

Um, and he asked me out for coffee so...

- Where did you meet him? - We're in the same class at school.

Okay.

What's so funny?

Because you're just, like, overthinking everything.

Let's not get into this agai...

When seeing how sustaining the stimulus

could increase the challenges when trying to normalize monetary policy.

It can also lead to financial instability and expose open ec...

- Yes, yes, I did. - Ha-ha-ha.

- I think I'm gonna switch to coffee. - Coffee? I thought you didn't like coffee.

Well, I don't love it, but I need something stronger.

- Do you want another cappuccino? - I'll get it.

No, no. Let me. You got the last one.

All right. Thanks.

- Hi, can I have two cappuccinos? - Yeah, I'll bring it over.

- He's gonna bring it over. - Thanks.

So I'm going to this dance party thing on the lower east side tonight...

- if you wanna come with. - Oh, that sounds fun. But I have plans.

If your plans fall through or if you change your mind...

I'm a pretty good dancer, so...

Wow, that was amazing. They were just so small.

Yeah, I know.

- Such small movements. - In Ireland, it's a techno...

- In Ireland? - It's an underground Irelish sect.

- Irelish. - Yeah. It's English and Irish together.

Oh, that's great. Oh, my gosh.

And they wear electronic kilts and stuff.

- That sounds really weird, but that's... - Yeah, but it's cool.

- You should definitely check it out. - So you like to wear skirts?

- They're not skirts. - They look like skirts.

They're electronic dance blankets.

- Dance blankets? Okay. - Yeah.

Nice move.

Keep it up.

- Hello? - I'm looking for Ms. Taylor.

- Emma Taylor, right? - Yeah.

Here you go. I just need you to sign here.

- Thanks, have a good one. - Thank you.

No.

You didn't sign up for anything?

Sometimes they send stuff from orientation, welcome gifts or whatever.