The three hour gap between The History of the Book and Introduction to Systems Analysis did nicely. By now Nina had grown to love the room in which Anton lived. The walls were painted black, so was the furniture. In the middle hung a light enclosed by a red paper Chinese lampshade with hanging golden tassels. The room was in perpetual shadow, blurring the distance between night and day, between sex and fulfilment. The previous guy was a ghoul, said Anton, but made no move to change any of it. The rent was sixty five dollars a month, he was trying to live as cheaply as possible. A woman called Sue Lin lived in the next room, he and she cooked on a stove in the landing. Next to the stove was a small, rickety fridge—one shelf for Sue Lin, one for Anton. Sue Lin was a graduate student in English. Her long black hair hung limply to her shoulders, her round face had little pouches under black eyes. Her mouth was small and red, her teeth white and uneven. Nina asked Anton a lot of questions about Sue Lin; she was jealous of any young woman with an undetermined future.
