The Girls Club (10 page)

She read your mind?

“Thanks Rosh”

“Call me when its over”

Almost sounded akin to ‘call me when you’ve had your appendix out’, or, ‘call me when you’ve had the frostbite removed from your genitals’.

She slipped it into her pocket.  Never before had she ever taken such a thing.  She wouldn’t be doing either she tried to tell herself.  Grass was the worst she’d ever done.  She’d put half in Carolyn’s drink.  Drastic times called for drastic measures.

Is that wise?

It was cowardly.  And the one thing Karen didn’t like in the whole world worse than a bully, was a coward.

Take it yourself or don’t bother with it at all.

Sex with the receptionist was one thing, giving her the drug was another.  Before she had time to second guess herself she popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed. Then she brushed her teeth.  At least this way her conscience was clear.  How could she have been considering drugging her?

That’s pretty low.

I’ll tell you what’s pretty low.  This fucking plug hole.  Look…ow.

She cleared her throat and looked hard into the mirror.  Her eyes were getting wild.  Not as wild as ‘day glow teeth’ but pretty fucking wild.  How long had she been stood here, brushing her damn teeth?  That was a quick reaction alright.  Hastened by her poor sleep the night before and her inability to eat much today. 

You’re officially getting out of your head.  Good job you’ve got a taxi ordered because you’d wrap a car round the nearest lamp post in this state.

“I won’t eat your apple” she muttered as she turned off the light.

She had chosen beige pants and black shoes.  A lavender coloured shirt that was low cut enough to be tempting without being too provocative and a necklace her mother had given her a very long time ago.  She picked up her leather jacket and made sure she had her mobile phone in her pocket.  She wanted to be ready to call the emergency room should her head start to fall off.  Which at this point was a decided possibility.

OK.  Game plan.  Give her plenty to drink.  But not you.  You’ve done enough friggin’ damage.  Get her home.  Give her what for.  Then get the fuck outta Dodge.

And we’re not to eat the apple?

Riiiiiiiight.

A bit of fresh air cleared her head a little.  She had a text from Rochelle, she couldn’t read all of it, her eyes were doing jiggy things, she caught the tone of it though and she mentally thanked her for the best wishes. 
Good luck.

Between bitter medicine, apples, the back office, day glow queens, the Chain and a pill. She didn’t feel there was much left in life she would ever need to do to feel fulfilled ever again.

Carolyn was waiting at the kerb when she pulled up n her cab.  Wearing some kind of faux fur concoction that really did look at home on the wicked witch.

Watch it now.  Say what you want.  But do it without opening your mouth.

Sound advice.  And she was glad she’s thought it too, she almost told Carolyn that she looked like something that fell out of a leopards arse.  The high heels did nothing for her either.  Made her look like a hooker, and not a very highly paid one either.

She smiled.  Carolyn smiled back.  Karen told the cabbie where to take them. 

They didn’t talk much.  Karen felt that every time she opened her mouth some Pandora’s box was going to be opened and no God living or dead would be able to return the wrath.

Carolyn didn’t let on she knew anything was wrong.  Karen thought perhaps she didn’t suspect.  How could she when Karen was behaving like a perfect gent.  Opening doors for her, pulling out her chair, she’d pulled it too far but it had been accidental.  Carolyn had hit the floor.  Karen had to stop herself from announcing to all those present that the Queen was fine, she hadn’t dropped her apple in the slightest.

They had a few laughs together.  Amazing as it seemed.  Carolyn was enjoying herself!  It was a real date.  Sarah would have been proud, of that much Karen was sure, because here was adversity and she was soaring above it.

“Are you ready to go?”

Where to?  Hades?

“Sure”

And why not, I haven’t seen an apple in the past five minutes.  I’m sure its fine.

“Come on then. My place”

Where you no doubt have your magic mirror you crone.

Karen paid the tab and they hailed down a cab outside.  Karen waited to feel anxious about what was going to happen and was actually more bothered about what might happen if she got there and there was a bowl of juicy red apples sat on the table.

Could I just raise a point here?

Sure.  But you know the rules.  Apples are off the menu.

Ok sure.  This is the part that counts.  We’ve got this far.  Just a little further and hopefully we won’t ever meet anyone we dislike so much every again in the course of our conquests.

But no apples?

No apples.  Promise.

She let Carolyn shut the door behind her.  Everyone had apartments out here.  Tin can sized flats where you could hear all manner of noises day and night.  There were no apples.  There was however a wild cat.  Karen set about the task at hand with gusto.  She didn’t shame herself in anyway she felt, whilst the pill perked through her synapses she could just generally run on autopilot.  It was however very important to make sure that at no point an apple came anywhere near her.  She kept making errant glances around the room as if apples had magically sneaked up on them whilst they were on the job.

She’s not THAT stupid.  You’ll have to eat the apple AFTER she’s gotten her rocks off!

Karen ignored her thoughts.  A thing she found easier to do as time went on.

Carolyn was very vocal indeed.  If it wasn’t for the fact that Karen had been hearing ringing in her head for about an hour already she might have asked Carolyn just why it was necessary to make such over exasperated noises when really, Karen wasn’t
that
good.

Carolyn had drunk plenty of wine.  It didn’t take long to fulfil her sordid desires.  Karen was glad.  She had started to feel quite ill. 

People die taking pills you pillock.

No.  People die when they do things that make them think of baby corpses and dead rotting flesh in their mouths.

Carolyn didn’t reciprocate.  No surprises as to why she had never progressed along the Chain.  Karen was heartfully glad.  She left Carolyn half dressed, (the bottom half was naked), she put the over cover on her so she wouldn’t get cold and let herself out.  By the time she hit the lobby she was feeling a low grade panic.  Her eyes were all over the place.

Call someone.

Who?

She took her phone out and picked Rochelle out of the list.

After about a dozen rings she was sure it wasn’t going to be answered, then she heard Rochelle’s voice small and distant and put the phone back to her ear.

“…alright?”

“Erm. I haven’t eaten the apple if that’s what you’re afraid of. But I’m outside the Queen’s building and I can’t seem to think of how to get home.”

“You took the pill?” she sounded concerned.

“Yeah. But its alright. Really. I just feel a bit crappy and I can’t get home”

“I’ll be right there. Listen.” she could hear a zipper being pulled up, “Wait in the lobby, if you hang around outside in that state you’ll either get picked up by a cop or a pimp, I won’t be long”

The line went quiet, “Apples?” she asked morosely.  Karen felt very ill indeed now.  She went back into the lobby and sat down.  When she was trying her hardest to look like she was behaving she looked at her worst.  Back when she’d been a young lass she’d gone home quite drunk one night.  Tried her fucking hardest to make it look to her mum like she was fine.  Went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, walking a straight line, or so she’d thought, she had ended up pouring scalding hot water on her foot.  Made a right mess.  A nostalgic smile crossed her features.

Karen had been slowly nodding off when she felt the hand on her shoulder.  Icy panic was replaced with relief when she saw Rosh’s sleep flustered little face looking down at her.

“Christ Karen. Come on” she took her arm and led her out to her car.

“Come back to mine. In another four hours we were going shopping anyway”

“Oh shit. On, Rosh, oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was so late”

She put her in the car.

“You should have given her the pill, she’s famous for them. I should have said, I’m such a dick. Look at you”

Karen looked at her nose.

“I feel sick” she croaked.

“Then be sick, maybe you need to get rid of it”

Following orders Karen opened the car door and threw up into the gutter.

She leaned back in and shut the door.

“Better?”

“Little.”

“Did you drink anything?”

She means apple juice…

“No beer. Felt weird already”

“Ok.”

Rosh was calling herself all kinds of fool for this happening.  She should have told Karen that Care liked her recreational drugs.  She would get her home and make sure she stayed in one piece.  Look after her.  Just like Karen had looked after her the night Demi rolled into town.  The streets were quiet and the car cruised at a respectable speed.  She pulled up outside the apartment block and got out.

“Come on you crazy Brit” she put a hand under Karen’s armpit and hauled her out of the car seat.  She’d been dozing a little but now Rochelle had to make sure she got something down and that she also managed to keep it before she let her sleep.  They tottered up the steps together.  Karen uttering gibberish all the while.

In the apartment she sat Karen at the kitchen table and made her drink tea.  After a cup Karen’s colour seemed to level out at white, but it was a marked improvement on slate grey.

“Can I ask you something?” Karen looked deadly serious.

“Look, if this is about Demi…” she put her hands on her hips.

“No, its far more serious than that I’m afraid.”

“Its not about fucking apples either is it because that’s all you’ve gone on about!”

Karen grinned hugely.

“Idiot” she gave Karen a hug. 

“Lets get some sleep” Rosh put her into the bed next to her.  People were going to talk if they kept ending up this way.

Karen started to snore almost immediately.  Rosh watched her a while. 
Crazy Brit.
There was something about her.  Things had certainly gotten very interesting since she’d arrived.  Rochelle didn’t care about sleeping with her.  It would be nice sure.  But being her friend was a lot nicer.

Karen made a snorting noise and Rosh put her head straight on the pillow.  Whatever she was dreaming of it looked like she was angry.  Snarling almost.  The pill had been a silly idea.  But she had been trying to help Karen get past Carolyn.  In a way she had.  Karen had looked frightened to death when she’d picked her up off the sidewalk and truth be told Rosh was worried she was having a bad reaction to the drug she’d given her.  People died doing less.  Just then Karen sat bolt upright in bed and made a strangling noise, “Rosh?” she was going to be sick again.  Rosh dived round the side of the bed and hauled her up, she didn’t even flick the bathroom light on the toilet was right inside the doorway.  Karen clung to it for dear life and Rosh held her hair back.  It was good she was getting rid of it all.  God knows what the rest of the day was going to be like, it seems like they’d lived half of it already.

“Rosh?” Karen sounded like she was going to cry. 

“What honey?” she made sweeping gestures with her hands to see her face more clearly, “I am so glad you’re here” she mumbled.

And they hugged then. 

“Feel any better?”

“Yeah. But bloody hell, I thought I was gonna die. I was having a bad dream”

Rosh scooped her up and led her back to the bed. Going back into the bathroom she flushed the toilet and drew her a glass of water.

“What was it about?” she asked coming back.

Her colour was still ashen, she sipped at the water and her face took on a serious lilt Rosh didn’t believe possible of her new found friend.

“I dreamt you were falling. And I was too late to save you” A tear rolled down her cheek.

Must have been some dream!  The girl was shaking.  Rosh shuddered.  A chill passed through the room.

“Hey now. Come on. Its that stupid pill. I’m sorry you’ve gone through that and I promise the next time you need help getting over something, or someone difficult I’ll find a more legal way to help you”

“Rosh?” she scooted down under the covers and Rosh walked back round to her side.

“Yeah?”

“You’re pretty fuckin’ cool”

Her heart swelled with pride.  She didn’t think anyone had ever called her cool before.

“You’re pretty cool yourself. And you talk funny”

“Night”

“Night”

And they slept for a few hours.