Malicious Mail Mongering

Every place I've lived before I've barely interacted with my neighbors. I would be satisfied with continuing that fine tradition, but our neighbors here don't allow that. There are only eight apartments in our building, which means that there should not be much drama, especially considering that they are all adults. This is not a dorm or a sorority house, even if the neighbors seem to think it is.

A few days ago Lizzy overheard a screaming match between the nosy old lady downstairs (NOLD) and Gina, our resident crackhead who tries to be friends with us. NOLD was convinced that Gina had stolen her mail. (Personally, if mail was indeed stolen, I would blame Amy since she has a documented history of stealing from neighbors after stealing my shoes.) I'm not sure how that fight ended.

Well, this morning I was leaving for work, and NOLD was smoking on the front steps. I just wanted to get to the bus stop and away from NOLD. In general, I do whatever I can to avoid the neighbors. NOLD was not letting me off that easily. Our conversation went something like this:

• NOLD: "Did you take a sign off the door?"
• Me: "What door?"
• NOLD: "This door." (Gestures to front door)
• Me: "No." (Showing no interest in the topic, eating toast, and trying to get to bus stop)
• NOLD: "I had a sign here. Neighbors have been tampering with my mail."
• Me: "Well, it wasn't us."
• NOLD: "Oh, I know it wasn't you. I know who it was. It was three different apartments." (So, I'm supposed to believe that essentially half of the people in the building are stealing her mail and/or tampering with her mail or mailbox? Even if I did, I wouldn't miss the bus to work for it!)
• Me (walking away): "Okay, well, see you later."
• NOLD: "Okay, have a good day."

Okay, so, I know that I showed essentially no interest in this topic. I was as brief as I could be without being totally rude to her. BUT, I feel confident that next time I see her, she will try to engage me about this topic again. Either that, or someone in the building will either piss her off or do something she finds gossip-worthy.