| story 1.2 (edited) |
[20 Jan 2008|01:53am] |
there was only silence on the cab. she turned to her right. saw him slumped against his seat.
"useless." she thought.
she woke him up when the cab reached her home.
"thanks for the ride. bye."
"i'll call you."
'yeah right', she thought.
she took a nice long shower and felt refreshed. on most nights, she'd be so drunk. she wouldn't even have the patience to wash out the smell of cigarettes and alcohol in her hair.
in her bedroom, she opened her drawer. took out the cash. 'yeah, i have enough for this month to pay the bills.'
the lights went off and she drifted into dreamland.
by the time she was conscious again, it was already late afternoon. she checked her phone. she received 2. they were chain letters.
'hate those forwarded smses. so what if i don't forward them? stupid.'
she went to wash up and came back to lie down on her bed again. no work today. just the usual process of decaying all through the afternoon.
just as she was about to drift off to sleep again, her phone rang.
"hello."
"hey, it's me."
"you, who?"
"me. from last night. i just woke up."
"yeah. what's up?"
"i told you i would call. let's go for dinner."
"i'm lazy. i wanna sleep."
"i promise we'll be home before 12am ok?"
"all right then. where to meet?"
after the conversation ended, thoughts flooded her mind. he seemed so cool and distant yesterday. why is he so soft and gentle now?
she got herself ready in 30 minutes. just her normal self. without the makeup and the workplace clothes. just her comfy jeans and sandals.
when he saw her, he smiled.
'nice dimples' she thought.
"did u sleep well?"
she was speechless. what's with this sudden change of attitude?
"yeah. usual. you?" she was feeling awkward by this sudden show of attention. it was disturbing her. she wanted to go home.
"let's go play snooker."
she loved snooker. she loved beating the guys at the game.
when they arrived at the place, she saw the gang who there last night.
'damn! it's going to be another night of abuse. why did i even bother coming? i'm not even getting paid for tonight. why?'
everyone wore very strange smiles. they were particularly nice to her today. strange. no bullying. no abusive words.
mostly, they left him and her alone to play.
it got easier to talk to him as time went by. soon, she was smiling and laughing. ocassionally, there was playful banter, and a pinch on the cheek.
"are u hungry? you are so skinny. we need to feed you. let's go down town to grab a meal."
she nodded and smiled. and realised she was letting her guard down.
'must remain cool', she told herself.
they all went off in a cab with 2 other of his friends. they were strangely very nice to her today. usually, when they met her at work. they'd be pulling her hair. saying nasty things. today, it was peace. it felt nice. it almost felt like he was there to protect her.
dinner was gross according to her standards. his friends ate like pigs though. it was close to 11pm and she told him that she'll like to leave.
"i'll send you home."
"nah, it's okay. you guys continue to hang out."
"just shut up and let him send you home okay? he's not good enough to even send you home?"
unwilling to break the peace, she showed no resistance.
and the two left to catch a cab.
"looks like we can't get a cab. shall we take a walk?"
she said nothing. just looked down the street. it seemed unreal. it was brightly lit, yet, empty of life. it was cool and breezy. it looked just too nice to be real.
"why do you always look so sad?"
"huh?"
"yeah. you are all cool, but you look so sad. your eyes look like they could tear any moment."
“i'm just tired. let's go home."
"stop acting tough. when you wanna tell me, you will. and i'll wait."
with that, he held her hand and brought her to side of the road.
she didn't shake his hand off. not that she didn't like it too.
"anyway, you must be pretty bored to wanna bring me out. do you do this to little girls to pass time? how old are you by the way?"
"why do you think so lowly of yourself? it was so obvious from last night that you were trying to cover up the scars on your legs. i saw them right from the start. haha. i'm 27."
"yeah right. i am never wrong with guys. bet you must be 30. show me your ID."
he took out his wallet and took out his ID. as usual, his wallet was bursting with cash. she noticed him paying all the bills for dinner and the snooker games.
"yay! i'm right. i'm just 20. you are 10 years older, uncle."
"still i look young. all the girls say so."
"whatever."
a cab comes by and they hop on.
he puts his head on her shoulder.
"stop acting cute. i'm not charging you for my company tonight. don't take advantage."
still, he didn't budge. nor did she push him away.
halfway through the ride, her phone beeped.
MAN U 2 ARSENAL 2
"fucking shit!"
"what's wrong? and why's a girl like you so vulgar?"
"i just lost 400 on a match. shit.“
"young girl like you. gamble. haha."
the cab turned into her block.
"bye." she walked out without even turning back. she's lost 400 and there were two more matches she bet on. that was all on her mind. she forgot his existence.
------------------------------------------------TO BE CONTINUED--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
| story 1.3 |
[20 Jan 2008|09:29pm] |
mental calculations went on in her head. the bills, debts, her hard earned money.
'fuck fuck fuck!'
she went straight to the shower. she never liked showers because even if she had cleaned herself for hours, she'd still feel dirty anyway. she stepped out in 5 minutes and heard her phone ring.
heart pounding, she answered the call.
"hey why didn't you call?"
"was in the shower. what's up?"
"just wanted to know you're safe."
"yeah i am. i'm not in the mood to talk. sorry."
"okay. bye."
she went on to check her smses. 'phew! it's just 400 tonight.'
she lit a cigarette and sat by her window. most of the lights in the neighbouring blocks were off. except for a few specks here and there. she looked up at the stars. they were always there for her, they must have provided comfort for so many others like her too.
she put out her cigarette and switched the lights off.
"fuck the 2k. i can always earn it back. i better stop gambling too." she muttered.
as she lay down on her bed, she started to re-collect the events of the day. most times, she'd just sleep straightaway. but today was different. it was probably the most happening day of her life for months. especially since her ex-boyfriend left her. she may have appeared strong by ignoring him, acting like she's over him. nobody knew. she was such a bloody good actress. nobody could tell how much she hurt. until today.
she started to analyse his actions, words and behaviour towards her.
'bet he's married.' she thought to herself.
then she drifted off to sleep.
|
|