Clepto Roommate? Wait…What?

I was thinking about how what seems normal in your teens and early twenties, is a little far-fetched later in life. Especially when it comes to roommates.

When I was nineteen my first roommate situation wasn’t working out and I had to find a new place and fast. My co-worker said she had a roommate who they were trying to kick out and she would see if I could stay there until they did. She said my rent money would be the help they needed to finally get rid of her. That sounded great, I thought. I had known my co-worker for about two weeks, so what could go wrong?

I met the roommates (all but the one who was going to be kicked out) and I immediately liked them. The missing roommate wasn’t paying her rent so we agreed that I would pay $200 a month to sleep on the floor and eventually get her side of the room. Happily, I moved in the next day (I have no idea what they told they other roommate as to why I was moving in).

The first day I moved in, Patti (the-soon-to-be departing roommate), was at her boyfriend’s and they filled me in on the real story. She hadn’t paid her rent in several months and she was stealing all their things, a little at a time. A clepto roommate? Wait…what? Anything I cared about had to be locked in the second bedroom, I was told. They said it so matter of fact like this was a normal thing to disclose the day I moved in!

So everyday we would gather a bunch of our belongings and lock it in the second bedroom before leaving the house. And just like they said, whenever Patti came and went, something else would be missing. Like our bath towels or a coffee cup. We’d ask each other, “Do you think she took the plate?,” and “Why would she steal just one plate?” We were so curious as to what she was doing with all these random things but none of them confronted her so I kept quiet too. I have no idea how long they lived with the theft before I got there, but I was busy working and going to school so I was fine with this living situation; My co-worker on one side of the room, me on the floor, a thief (who was very pleasant when she was home), and a gay couple in the other room with most of our belongings.

Patti was kicked out within a month or two with relatively little drama. They taped a “pay or quit” notice on her bedroom door and three days later she left (do you even need to give notice to someone who isn’t paying and stealing your things?). I got the other side of the room and my belongings no longer had to be locked up.

Looking back, I would obviously be much more careful who I would choose as a roommate and I would probably know them for longer than two weeks. But I think that’s what’s fun about being on your own for the first time. You live with a bunch of people and all their craziness, but it’s worth putting up with for the newfound independence.

Does anyone else have any interesting roommate stories to share? I would love to hear them in the comments below. I am sure many of you can top mine!