Title: "Adversity On Gilman: Part 1 of 12"        

         January 25th, 2001

         It was mid afternoon in Berkeley, California. The overhead clouds were doing a fine job of keeping the sunlight from warming the chilly day. Everyone in the town was bundled securely inside of a warm jacket and lined pockets.

         Along the Gilman Apartments, a door slowly opened at apartment #13. A man slowly stepped out. He, too, was dressed warmly; a black hooded sweatshirt and knitted hood were adequate protection from the wind. The hood was pulled down onto his eyebrow line. The lower part of an eyebrow ring stuck out from under the rim.

         He turned back to his door and pulled a key. Locking it, he checked his watch as he turned around to walk to the stairs. His name was Zero. His neighbor's, Matt, girlfriend was supposed to meet him in a few minutes. Her name was Erica.

         As he walked towards the stairs to go down to the floor below, a young woman made her way up them. She was not Erica. Actually, she was a neighbor of his, Carenthia Adams. She was in her mid-twenties. Her shoulder length brown hair fell atop the lining of her long, red jacket.

         They met, awkwardly, at the top of the stairs. She had been living beside him for at least two months. After all of the rumors they heard about each other, though, this was just their first encounter face to face.

         Carenthia's next door neighbor was Mrs. Jenkins, a long time resident of the Gilman Apartments and a woman who despised Zero, despite the fact that she had never even uttered a word to him since the two had lived at the apartment complex. Mrs. Jenkins, a high school friend of Carenthia's mother, was quick to pass on her judgement about Zero to Carenthia. Because of this, Carenthia was very unsure and actually quite apprehensive should an encounter happen between the two.

         Zero had heard what Mrs. Jenkins had told Carenthia about him, via the fact that Erica had heard the entire conversation where Mrs. Jenkins filled Carenthia with the propaganda. He, too, was unsure what would happen should the two ever come face to face. He knew she would automatically have hate for him, something that wasn't new to him in this town. Should he even bother to say a word to her if by some chance their paths ever cross?

         For both of them, their questions were fulfilled as the two came upon each other at the stairs.

         Carenthia considered trying to just walk past him without any attention paid. But he was directly in her way if she tried that route.

         Zero looked down at her as he took the first step down the stairs. Should he say something to her? He knew who she was. He had been informed of how she would look.

         At that moment, the two stopped in their movements, neither knowing which course of action they should take. And at that time, they both looked into the others' eyes.

         Zero looked at her. Had she been completely turned by Mrs. Jenkins' ways? He could read people, to an extent, just by looking into their eyes. Eyes were the windows into someone's soul. Looking into Carenthia's, he didn't see the haze that he had intended to run across.

         As Carenthia looked up at Zero, the man who she had been warned about stood before her. He was the man who Mrs. Jenkins had so strongly spoke against. And yet, by just a quick look at each other, she couldn't detect that threat that Mrs. Jenkins had talked about.

         Zero slowly stepped back, allowing her the right of way. Carenthia, slow to enact, took the initiative and made her way onto the second floor of the apartment complex. She started to continue walking past him, but found she couldn't. She stopped, her back towards Zero as he began the descent down the stairs.

         Zero looked at for just a casual glance before deciding to continue down the stairs. He assumed that the first meeting would just be a chance passing. He slowly stopped, though, as Carenthia turned back around to face him.

         "Are you Zero?" She turned to stop him before he continued down the stairs.

         Zero looked up slowly at Carenthia, slightly amazed that she had actually spoken to him. "Yes, I am." He stood on the third step leading down to the ground floor.

         Carenthia didn't walk closer to him, but stood firmly where she was. "I'm Carenthia Adams. I think we're neighbors."

         Zero placed one foot on the second step and leaned his arms against the stair rail. "I know."

         Well, he wasn't much for long speeches. Carenthia wasn't sure what to say next, other than to not say anything and proceed into her apartment like what Mrs. Jenkins would want her to do. But Carenthia was 24 years old. There was no need in having to do everything that Mrs. Jenkins wished. "I don't think we have met. Odd, though, seeing as how small this complex really is." She smiled to him in a peaceful manner.

         Zero raised himself back off of the rail. He looked to Carenthia, but focused in on the apartment doors that sat behind her. Namely, the apartment of one Mrs. Jenkins. "I don't think it's so much that we haven't had a chance to run into each other. I know it's a fact that you've been told things about me. Specifically, that you need to stay away from me. I just want to tell you, don't believe everything she tells you." His eyes had a glare of seriousness as he spoke directly to Carenthia.

         She wasn't expecting something as serious as that in just a first encounter. Well, perhaps she had. That might have been a subliminal reason why she feared an encounter. But, a rise of defense came up in her for Mrs. Jenkins. "Are you talking about Mrs. Jenkins?"

         Zero nodded to her. "Yes I am."

         "She is not trying to cause trouble." Carenthia felt she had to take up for Mrs. Jenkins. "She was only talking..."

         Zero cut in. "She is. She doesn't know me, never met me. But yet, she's trying to blacklist me with the people in this apartment. I do not want to speak to the woman, but I also do not want her lying to people about me." Zero's eyes shone clear to Carenthia.

         She looked at him, taken aback by the strong and sudden words he had for Mrs. Jenkins. She wondered if he was right, but quickly threw that idea out. Mrs. Jenkins was a good woman. She knew what was best, didn't she? But as Carenthia looked at Zero, she could also feel that he had no reason to lie to her.

         Zero looked up at her. He realized that what he said did in fact probably come off a little sharp to this woman he had just met. It was a sudden rush of pent up frustrations that he had had for this Jenkins woman, all coming out at once. "Look, I'm sorry if that caught you off guard..."

         Carenthia shook her head. "No, it's okay. I..."

         Zero interrupted. "...But I have to meet someone in just a few minutes, so I have to move on." He looked up at her, opening his eyes all the way as he looked into Carenthia's eyes.

         Carenthia stood there, biting her lip a little as she shook her head in agreement. He seemed interesting. But she didn't want to offend him, if she hadn't already. "I understand. Well, it was nice to finally get to meet you." She held out her hand to him.

         Zero looked at her outstretched hand. He wasn't ready to start being a friend to someone he had just met and for all he knew, someone who had or still did hate him. He was slow and deliberate with each step he took back up the stairway. "I'm sure," was all he replied, in a careful selection of words. He extended his hand. The two shook a quick handshake.

         Zero nodded to her, as Carenthia reached inside of her coat pockets for the keys. Zero turned and started the trek down the stairs as Carenthia unlocked and entered into her apartment.

* * * * *

         Zero rounded the apartment corner, heading in the direction of the parking lot in the back. As he turned, he nearly walked into Erica. She had already arrived during the time Zero had been meeting Carenthia.

         "Got here sooner than I thought you would." Zero turned back towards the apartments as the two walked on.

         "Well, Matt's at work. I wanted something to do. I figured I would come over here and talk to you." Erica half smiled as the two walked towards the alley stairs. She had called Zero earlier. She had simply said she wanted to come over and talk. Nothing specific. Zero had been on his way out to meet her when Carenthia had stopped him.

         Zero walked with his hands in his pockets. Both of them looked ahead as they walked. "How have you been?" He threw a small look over to her.

         She looked back over to him. "I've been good. You know, typical life these days." She saw some chairs under the apartment awning. She turned from their path towards the chairs and walked toward those chairs. "How about we sit outside? It feels pretty nice out."

         Zero looked at her a little funny. The wind was blowing. It was cold out. Everyone had to wear thick jackets. But, the cold had not yet gotten to him, so he went along with it. The two walked to the chairs and sat down.

         Erica sat down and got situated. "How about yourself?"

         Zero propped his leg on his knee and lit a cigarette. Erica asked him the question just as he inhaled. He thought a minute before responding. He remembered the phone call from a few weeks earlier. He had nearly forgotten about it, or had tried to. Erica had jogged his memory. "Well...something interesting happened awhile back. Never had told you, though." He blew the smoke out of his mouth.

         "What is that?" asked Erica. She spoke regularly, but there was something odd with the situation. Zero couldn't distinguish it, though.

         He decided not to say something about that feeling, though. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He hadn't seen her in a few days. Perhaps that was why. Instead, he just answered her question. "I was offered a contract to wrestle again."

         Erica looked over at Zero strangely. She hadn't heard him say anything about wrestling in nearly three months. Ever since his final match, he had vowed to stay away from the ring. "I thought you retired."

         Zero was quick to respond. "I have." He paused for a moment, though. "I was offered a few things: money, merchandise, and other things. But it couldn't and didn't convince me to go back to that life. Especially not with the long term contract that they were speaking of." He took another drag from his cigarette and sighed.

         Erica looked to her lap. She kept her gaze low as she vaguely responded. "I wouldn't if I were you. There would be no sense in willingly putting yourself back into that situation." She looked off into the clouded sky.

         Zero watched her as she done that. He knew something was troubling her. He just couldn't put his finger on it. He definitely wasn't seeing things, though. He just wasn't sure how he should approach her about it. She was a good friend of his. But he didn't want to insult her in anyway. Perhaps he should switch the subject. Maybe something had happened between her and Matt. "That's why I'm not." So he then asked, "So, how's Matt been? I haven't seen him lately."

         Her head came back around to him. She responded rather quickly. "He's been working a lot more here lately at the Warehouse." Her eyes lowered back down and away from him.

         Maybe something did happen between her and Matt. Zero thought he should lead a little further. Perhaps he could find out without even having to ask her. "Yeah, I knew that was where he was right now." He blew a patch of smoke out in the opposite direction, then turned his look to Erica's direction.

         She softly turned her face back to Zero, although didn't quite meet him eye to eye. "He's trying to get a lot of the overtime they've been giving out. But, we still find time for each other." She smiled ever so softly. But as she did, she gracefully altered where the subject was leading to. "So, what are you doing for money these days?" Then she looked him in the eyes.

         Something was definitely on her mind. She was trying to change the subject. Zero figured he should go along with it. It would come out of her eventually. "Well, I haven't exactly blown the money I made during my HEW tenure. Life in that apartment doesn't demand a great amount of spending, so I'm able to get by. I assume I'll have to find another job one day, though." He looked at her as her gaze appeared to keep in focus with him, but he could tell her mind was somewhere else. "Perhaps get on at the Warehouse..."

         He had to come out and ask her. "Erica, is something wrong?"

         She stiffened in her chair. A shiver came through her, although it wasn't definite if it was all due to the cold weather. She hurriedly answered, "No, no...I'm fine."

         But there was. Zero knew her. If something was troubling her, as a friend, he needed to be there for her. Especially with Matt at work, her father off somewhere in a depression, Zero knew he could help her if something was going on in her life. "I know you Erica. What's the matter? There was a definite reason why you came over, and I really don't think it was to talk about some wrestling gig. I know how you think."

         She broke. A tear streamed down her face as she turned to look at Zero in his eyes. "Zero, can I tell you something?" Her chin began to quiver ever so slightly.

         It looked to be worse than what Zero had imagined. He scooted his chair over closer to her and put his arm on her shoulders. He talked to her in a compassionate voice. "Erica, you're one of only a few people that I could feel I could talk to. I would hope you could likewise do the same with me."

         She fell to the protection of his arm. More tears began to flow down her face. "Whatever you do, don't tell Matt right now." She sniffed, trying to hold back her emotions.

         Matt? What could it be, that she didn't even want Matt to know? It... "Erica..."

         She spoke in-between sniffles. "But..."

         This was bad, whatever it was. "Erica..." was all Zero could say at the moment, not knowing what she was about to sat.

         She composed herself and looked up into Zero's eyes for strength to say it. "But I think I might be pregnant."

         Pregnant? This was bad. The thoughts in Zero's head flooded him. How could Matt support a child? What would her father say... or do? What about Erica? What would she do? "Erica..." was, again, the only thing Zero could say at the moment.

         The tears flowed smoothly. She buried her face in Zero's chest, not knowing what to do or say amongst the fear that was running through her body. "And I'm scared. I don't know what to do."

         Zero held her and tried to comfort her. He, himself, wasn't exactly sure how to comfort her other than to just be there at that moment for her. "Be calm. Let's think for a moment. Are you sure?"

         She raised up and wiped her face. She looked at the tear spot she had put on the front of his sweatshirt, then looked into his eyes. "I don't know. I'm five days late." She wasn't sure how to further explain her situation and state of confusion and terror.

         Zero took his beanie off and ran his hand through his hair. He was trying to think of a possible miscalculation, error...something that would prove that it was just a false alarm. "Have you taken a test?"

         She slowly shook her head. "No, I'm too scared."

         Zero let out a sigh of relief. There, it was most probably just a false alarm and a good scare for her and him. A friend feels their friend's pain.

         But she continued. "But this never happens to me. It's only no more than a day's difference, if any." Her eyes twitched, knowing that something unusual was happening to her.

         The guarantee flaw killed the hope Zero had kept for the situation. But it still wasn't definite. He saw her growing in fear. "Stay calm," he said. He put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her square in her eyes. "Just try to stay calm. We can work through this."

         Her eyes lost tract from his. She turned her head, folding her arms up against her chest. "I didn't know who to turn to." A few tears began to run down her face again. "Matt isn't ready for news like this."

         Zero took his arm from her shoulder, and leaned forward in his chair. He thought for a moment about what she had said about Matt. He would take it hard. Zero knew it. There was no need for the displacement. They had to tip-toe around the subject with Matt, for a little while at least if forever was to be impossible. "Don't tell him yet," said Zero. "I'm not sure how he'll take it. Just wait and see how it turns out. If it becomes definite, then you'll have to tell him. Otherwise, it would be better if he never knew."

         She twitched and turned in her chair. She only got out "I..." before the tears hit her hard and she fell into Zero's chest for protection.

         Zero sat there for a moment. He had to stay calm in his friend's crisis. It was one thing he had to have for her: a strong shoulder to lean on. So, as they sat there, he just confirmed his thoughts to her. "Just stay calm. No matter what happens, I'm here for you."

* * * * *

         Carenthia sat in her apartment, still thinking about her first encounter with Zero. Her curiosity had been perked. That was a fact. And as she sat on her couch, the urge to go back and talk to him became stronger and stronger.

         She denied the thought the first time it came around. She blamed the cold winds outside. But on the second urge, she decided to go grab her jacket and go back out. He could still be gone to wherever it was he was heading when she had ran into him on the stairs. But she figured it would at least be worth a shot of some sorts.

         She put her jacket back on and walked to her door. She had almost stepped out, but a bottle of perfume caught her eye. Closing the door for just a moment, she decided to spray just a tad of it on. Wouldn't hurt to at least smell good and fresh, even though she was just telling herself that she was just trying to be polite and outgoing to her neighbors.

         She closed and locked her door behind her. But as she stepped out and towards Zero's apartment door, she heard voices down below. She stopped for a moment, just to see if she recognized the voices. She listened intently for a moment.

         "Erica, you're one of only a few people that I could feel I could talk to. I would hope you could likewise do the same with me." The words from below came from a man's voice.

         Carenthia listened. That sounded like Zero's voice. She turned to walk down the steps, but then heard a woman's voice followed behind it.

         "Whatever you do, don't tell Matt right now." Was that the girl who she frequently saw coming to the apartments? The girl who had, rather abruptly and rudely, introduced herself to her and Mrs. Jenkins months ago? It sure did sound like her? Her...Erica, that was her name. That was her.

         Carenthia froze for a moment, though, as she heard Erica crying down below, followed by the words "But I think I might be pregnant."

         Pregnant? That wasn't...?

         She heard Zero's reply to Erica. "Be calm. Let's think for a moment. Are you sure?"

         Carenthia knew that Erica was the boyfriend of the young man who lived almost directly below her, Matt. But, why was Erica telling her story to Zero, unless...

         Carenthia shook her head. It couldn't be Zero's instead, could it? No, of course not. She turned to walk back into her apartment, but heard Zero's voice from down below.

         "Just try to stay calm. We can work through this," he said.

         Carenthia didn't know whether to go back in and leave this private conversation alone, or to stay and see what was actually happening. Perhaps she was just jumping to conclusions. She wasn't sure.

         The next thing she heard was Zero say, "Just stay calm. No matter what happens, I'm here for you."

         Carenthia couldn't listen to anymore of this conversation. She turned back to her door and reached for her key. She was confused. Did it really appear as if Zero had in fact got the neighbor's girlfriend pregnant? Perhaps Mrs. Jenkins was correct?

         Carenthia wasn't sure. She unlocked the door and walked inside. She needed to get some rest. She hung her jacket up and walked towards her bedroom. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the conversation she had just accidentally overheard.