Short Stories from Life
The following will be a collection of short stories, musings, and recounts of various interesting or amusing experiences from my life. Hope you may find it entertaining.
The Housemate and the “Stolen” Car
Written on: 21 September 2024
During my undergraduate internship, I subleased a room in a house with three housemates. One of them had just moved in shortly after me, and this amusing incident involving him happened not long after. The new housemate had just rented a car and imagine our shock the morning after when he tells all of us in desperation “I had parked my car streetside and can’t seem to find it now, I think it might be stolen!” We all got worried, and asked him “Are you sure? Where had you left it?” and also “Alright, alright we’ll try and get parking for you inside (the gated community.)” Unable to find the car he went ahead and reported it to the rental agency that it was stolen, and fortunately he had not been liable as it was rental car with insurance paid. The incident left me quite rattled.. and left me wondering am I in an unsafe neighborhood? And in fact the incident compelled me that morning itself to bite the bullet and purchase rental insurance.
The silliest thing ever… in the evening we found out from him “Oh, it wasn’t stolen. I forgot that it’s there a bit further down the street and could not recognize it earlier as I swear to god I thought it was a blue car when I rented it yesterday (night) and now in the daylight turns out it is a gray car.” Sigh🤦
A few days later on my way back from work I noticed a car parked inside the community near our house, and a police car and tow truck next to it. I stepped in to the house, and having this slightest sense of doubt I curiously asked my housemate “Yo they towing a car outside. You have any idea whose it is?” By god, the panicked look on his face as he leaped and bolted outside… Turns out as he had reported it as stolen to the rental agency, they had reported it to the police, and either he or the rental agency had forgotten to update it as “not stolen.” Thus a few days later here the police were having located and dutifully towing away the “stolen” car. It was the funniest thing ever, as despite his pleas they couldn’t halt the process, and he could only stand by in vain and watch as the police towed away a “stolen” car with its owner standing right next to it - right from under his nose 😂 On contemplating whether to go behind it and retrieve it, my dude just went ahead and rented a new car as he had no liability. And the “stolen” car was later returned to the agency.
