'Room Rules'
The moon shone brightly, and the silence of the evening wrapped the four corners of Jalil's room.
They were staring at the walls as their thoughts wandered elsewhere.
"I never expected them to stay longer," Jalil said, breaking the silence. "No wonder they brought a lot of things."
Three days had passed, but the old couple was still at their house. They actually liked them being around, especially Jalil. But the fact that they should stay in one room because the other was occupied by the old couple made the situation more and more problematic.
Not to mention their disagreements about their own room rules. Eliza wanted the lights off, while Jalil wanted the opposite. One couldn't tolerate noise, while the other couldn't stand the prolonged silence. They even argue about how cold the AC should be since Jalil likes it at its maximum temperature.
"We will apply my rule tonight," Jalil said, which made Eliza's one brow raise.
"No way!" Eliza glared. "You didn't follow mine yesterday."
"I did." Jalil defended himself, but Eliza shook her head in response.
"You did not! I almost buried myself in too much cold! You turned the AC to max in the middle of the night, you cheater!"
"That's because it's too hot. I could even fill up the pool with my sweat!"
"What are you, a polar bear? You should've built a walk-in freezer, not a room," Eliza said, then slumped on the bed. "It's still my rule tonight."
"This is my room. My rule!" Jalil insisted, then turned the AC to maximum and lied down on the bed without turning off the lights.
Eliza stood up and walked towards the switch to turn off the lights, then turned the AC to 22 degrees. Jalil instantly got up when the room became dark.
"Are you serious?!" Jalil exclaimed, but Eliza didn't respond and just went to bed, facing her back to Jalil.
Jalil sighed out of frustration as he stood up and switched the lights on again, then returned the AC's temperature to maximum.
Eliza looked annoyed as much as him. "Are you for real?!"
"Yes, I told you, my rule," Jalil firmly said as he went back to bed.
Eliza didn't say anything and just walked towards her cabinet and picked up her hidden Bluetooth speaker. She glared at Jalil's back as she turned it on and connected it to her cellphone. Then she placed the speaker in the small space above their heads and put it on full volume.
She never held back as she played one of her favorite songs, blaring Jalil's ears.
Jalil gave her a death stare. "What is wrong with you?! We're not the only ones here; you might wake them up. Turn it down!"
"This is just a mini speaker; it's not that loud. It can't be heard outside. You have your AC and lights; let me have my music." Eliza deadpanned.
She smirked after she lied down in bed and faced her back to Jalil. It was just a little revenge. She endured for 2 days, letting Jalil apply his room rules since it was actually his room. But when they agreed for her rules to be applied, Jalil broke one of them. Now, she was just making it even for them.
Meanwhile, the old couple was just silent while listening to the other room. They stared at each other as they heard the faint arguments followed by loud music.
The old man looked at his wife with his brows knitted in confusion and asked, "Did I just hear Jalil talk like that?"
His wife sat beside him with a small smile on her lips. "Jalil has been a good and obedient grandson to us, honey. He's also an excellent and collected CEO of your company. I could say his wife was unconsciously teaching him to be himself without being careful and wary of others. We never heard him talk like that because he was being mindful of what people might think and feel. I guess Eliza was slowly changing that. Emily made him more gentle, sweet, and obedient. But Eliza pulled his inner self out there. That was what I observed at least.
Her husband sighed. "Was that a good thing?"
The old lady just shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows?"