They want me to go. The eviction notice came through my door yesterday, an innocuous looking piece of white paper, in a pure white envelope. I opened the letter, and pulled out the letter inside, like a sword out of a sheath. An eviction notice is a sort of weapon I thought, at least, it is to me. It’s dangerous, and it can destroy someone’s life, as it has mine. Only I’m not going to let them. I’ll not budge an inch. They can pull me kicking and screaming out of the door for all I care.
As I read the letter, my stomach was squishing like a sponge in panic and I felt myself turning hot, then cold. What am I to do? I haven’t been a bad tenant, by any means and I’ve done nothing wrong. I can’t have done, I’ve only been living in this flat for 3 months. I got evicted from my last flat. And my last. And my last. I’m always being pushed around but now it’s going to stop. I’m just going to sit on this chair and wait for next week. Thursday next week. That’s when the letter says I’m going to get evicted, but I’m not going to pander to their expectations. I’m not going to pack up my stuff into bin bags and take all my pictures down, find a new flat and get a moving truck. No way. This chair is much more comfortable.
But how am I to survive, if they do forcibly carry me out? On the street, barely with a job, and with two small children? Never. I wouldn’t be able to do it. Maybe I should budge? Is it a good idea? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try to find a flat, nearby. There must be one decent private landlord somewhere in Liverpool. People think I must be crazy, that I should get a council flat. But they can still evict me, can’t they, and the waiting list is so long, like, 12 years or something! It’s Saturday now, I’ve got to be out in 6 days so I can’t wait 12 days let alone 12 years. How do they expect me to find a flat in 6 days for goodness sakes? But it’s happening. Whether I should stay or go? It’s not so much that I don’t want to find a flat as I don’t want to buckle under my landlord’s dictatorship. But, now I think about it… that’s so selfish… I’m limiting my little ones’ chances by becoming homeless now. No, I’ll budge, and go and find a flat. But I won’t be pushed around again. Next time, I’ll not budge an inch.
Injection of Insanity 