I just had the scare of my life.
I went home for lunch today. Despite living only seven blocks from my place of employment, I rarely go home for lunch. Today was an exception; I had forgotten an essential item for my overnight bag that I had packed at 6am this morning. I took the bus to my building, and went upstairs to my apartment.
I unlocked the locks that my roommate and I usually use. We have an extra deadbolt that neither of us deems necessary to actually lock. You can well imagine my confusion when I realized that the extra deadbolt was indeed in use. I thought that perhaps my roommate was inside, and had simply locked the extra deadbolt for some added security.
I entered the apartment, and the bathroom light was on. After going inside the bathroom, I was surprised to see that our bathtub was full, and the painters tape that was over the secondary drain had been completely ripped off (we both like to take serious baths). I poked my head out of the bathroom and yelled for my roommate. All I received in response was silence.
Thoroughly freaked out now, I close and lock the bathroom door. I immediately send a text message to my roommate.
“Did you come home and run a bath? Tub is full and tape is off the drain…”
No response. I send a second message.
“I think we need new locks… We seem to have a guerrilla bather. Water is still warm too.”
Roommate sends a text back.
“No. Did not. Gross. I shall call the property manager.”
At this point, I am shaking with fear-induced adrenaline. What if the surprise bather is still in my apartment? I pull out my pepper spray, hold it at the ready, and go into my room. I walk around, checking my closets and underneath my bed. No one is there, and from what I can tell, nothing has been disturbed. I walk into the kitchen, and grab the huge meat cleaver I had used last night. The pepper spray is moved to the left hand, and the meat cleaver is in now in my right hand. Armed thusly, I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone rang. I also nearly stabbed myself in the head with the meat cleaver as I answered my phone. Apparently, being scared out of your mind makes you forget that you have sharp things in your hand.
It was my roommate, now just as freaked out as I am. She didn’t get a satisfactory response from the person she contacted at the property management office, so she is calling me to ask if anything is missing from our apartment. I cradle my cell phone between my chin and shoulder, and walk into her room to inspect it with the pepper spray and meat cleaver.
Nothing is missing. Jewelry is intact, my laptop is right where I left it, and nothing is disturbed, aside from the tape and the water in the tub. She tells me that she’s calling the property manager again.
I’ve now been at home for over half an hour, so I call my boss to tell him what is going on. He tells me to take all the time that I need, and make sure that the locks are changed promptly.
My roommate calls back, and no longer sounds nearly as panicked as she had sounded ten minutes earlier. She explains to me that the maintenance guy entered our apartment to fill the tub and check for water leaks. Apparently the woman below us had complained that there was water leaking from above her. We did NOT receive a 24 hour notice of intent to enter, nor did we receive any sort of phone call that the maintenance guy was entering our apartment to check for a water leak. There was also no note left on our door, stating that someone had been in the apartment.
A girl that I know who works as a lawyer on the same floor as I do told me that I have a case for negligent infliction of emotional distress (I was so scared I was still shaking for 20 minutes after the phone call with my roommate), breach of contract for the lack of notice of entry, and being unable to maintain “quiet enjoyment” of the property that we are leasing. What say ye, o lawyers of Qt3? Think we’ve got a case? At the very least, a couple of months of free rent would be nice.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. Although I’m sure I looked hilarious with the pepper spray and meat cleaver…
