Behind The Wall

Nerdy BRAD, 20s, is enraptured with NORA, 20s, only she doesn't know it and and they live on opposite sides of an apartment wall. Her operatic aria in the shower routinely wakes him, only today she has company...a GUY, 20s. Brad watches the guy walk Nora to her car, wearing her bathrobe, giving her a kiss off to work. The guy returns, taking up residence in her apartment and he's loud, switching channels on the TV, distracting Brad into a mistake on a computer spreadsheet. Brad walks away to make coffee -- meticulous in his measuring -- and the guy wails on a sax, jolting Brad into too much cream. The coffee sullied, he dumps it and returns to his desk, the sax growing louder. Brad pounds on the wall, surprising himself. The sax stops. A knock at the door and Brad is reluctant to answer. A pound at the door and Brad peers out the peephole. The guy. Brad cracks the door, the guy asking to borrow a shirt...Nora sexed up the one he was wearing. Brad professes not to have an extra one, the guy explaining that Nora said he would. The guy tries to step in but Brad stops him...the guy thinking it's porn, Brad explaining it's work. The guy asks if Brad has miniature marshmallows, like the ones for cocoa...Nora said he would. He's planning on making a Waldorf salad later on. Brad wants to get rid of him, tells him he'll be right back. He returns with the marshmallows, finding the guy peeing in his toilet and wearing one of his shirts, Nora's bathrobe on a hook. When he doesn't wash his hands and ruminates on what he's going to do with the Waldorf salad at Nora's temple entrance, Brad grows disgusted. The guy senses what he thinks is jealousy and explains he's a musician, he'll be gone after the gig, leaving a very hot Nora available for Brad...he can put in a good word. Brad doesn't want any part of it and when the guy asks if he's gay, the two fight over the marshmallows, the bag ripping, marshmallows flying. Brad pushes the guy toward the door, twisting the shirt off his head and locking him out. Brad painstakingly vacuums and returns to his computer. A knock. The guy left Nora's bathrobe. Brad tells him he'll give it to her himself and the guy asks how he's going to explain how it came into his possession. Brad tries the robe on, returning to his desk. The sax wails loudly on the other side of the wall, Brad brushing it off with a smile. Sleeping peacefully in Nora's robe, Brad awakens to an argument and slamming of the door. He heads to the bathroom where he hears Nora crying. Brad sings her aria, trying to comfort her, and she joins in. A knock at the door. Nora. He hands her the bathrobe and she asks if he's really gay, all this time she thought he was just...odd. He tells her he's not odd and surrenders to whatever gayness he can muster, inviting her in for cocoa.