Chase held the chalice loosely in his fingers, the patterns and colors carefully crafted to depict a bipolar work of art. One half was complete with a set of angular lines, color coordinated like two rainbows each beginning at the outside with darkness and meeting with radiance. The other half was a conformist grey with thin white streaks to break the bleakness.

“Today I’m just the grey,” Chase said to himself as he turned the colored side away from his view. He raised the chalice to his lips and let the scotch drain down his throat. His feet were propped on his living room coffee table as he sat alone in his apartment, but with the anticipation of a visitor. There was a knock at the door, and with it came a smirk on Chase’s face.

He rose to his feet, chalice in hand, and greeted the guest blankly as he opened the door.

“Chase,” the man began, but paused to scan the room. “What have you done to your apartment?”

“I was feeling colorful the other day,” Chase responded, eyeing the chalice in his hand.

“Any painting or changing of a room is supposed to be authorized through me,” the man said. Chase had painted the walls in a haphazard pattern mirroring the goblet. “You must really be fond of that cup.”

“Somedays I’m just colorful. Others I’m just grey.” Chase smiled at his landlord and took a sip of scotch. “What did you need?”

“I was coming to collect rent,” the landlord said. Hearing this, Chase walked to the bedroom to retrieve an item from atop his dresser. His landlord continued. “You’re just a few days late, so I was coming to check. Where’s your girlfriend?”

Chase walked back in the room, the chalice in one hand and the item concealed under his shirt in the other.

“I told you, I’m just a little grey today,” Chase said as he handed his landlord the envelope he held under his shirt. The landlord counted it out to make sure it was correct, and when he discovered that it was he left without saying a word.

Chase went back to his perch in the living room, staring at the wall with imperfect white lines coming down.

“I’m just the grey,” he said. He threw a handful of pills in his mouth and turned the chalice up.