Episode 6 - Lock Out
Sara was startled out of her daydreaming by the wailing of sirens. She had left the mess in her living room and decided just to go to bed. Sleep had evaded her and she could think of nothing but Chloe and what she had said. Chloe, who's friendliness attracted her in this alien and lonely world she had moved to. Chloe, who obviously had more than friendship on her mind.
Sara pulled the covers up close and thought back to her school days. She found herself thinking of the phys ed teacher that she idolised, Ms Collins, for whom she would do extra work just to be around her. Every morning in 8th grade, Sara would go to school early and help set up the gymnasium with her. Sara had cried when Ms Collins transferred to another school.
Chloe reminded her of the teacher. Both tall and athletic, they even had the same hair cut. Sara frowned at the image. Could it be that her idol was a lesbian too? She shook the thought off.
The sound of the siren was close by and she decided to investigate. She peeked out the window and saw flashing lights at the end of the street. They seemed to be out front of the pub that they called the Prince of Wales. She hoped that this wasnt going to be a regular occurrence; emergency vehicles screaming past her window every night. She decided to clean up, seeing as though she couldn't sleep.
Every glass in the place had been used and a lot of them still contained booze of one description or another. She poured them down the sink with a grimace, emptied ashtrays and dumped what was left of her cheese platter in the bin.
She heard footsteps running past her window and up to the second floor. Whoever it was banged on a door and she heard muffled voices and exclamations. A door slammed and she again heard the sound of feet running down the front steps. It was obvious that someone from the building was in trouble and she found herself hoping that Chloe wasn't involved.
Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to throw on some clothes and investigate. She walked toward the crowd that was milling around the ambulance, her eyes searching for Chloe. She saw Paulie, who was crying hysterically, and went over to him.
'What's going on?' she asked, forgetting her earlier embarrassment. He saw her, threw his arms around her and went into a fresh bout of hysterics.
Sara stood awkwardly with this small, sequined man sobbing on her tshirt. She gave his back a polite pat not knowing what else to do. Eventually he calmed down enough to tell her that Midge had been hit over the head with a champagne bottle ... fortunately empty, he added.
The paramedics were bringing her out on a stretcher, holding a huge, bloody wad of gauze padding to her head. Her white suit was covered in blood. She was conscious but groggy. The police were escorting the mullet to their car. The stretcher wheeled past them and Paulie threw himself on Midge, sobbing again. The ambo tried to peel him off, Paulie initially resisted till he saw who it was then smiled and posed seductively. Midge was oblivious to his flirting and was slurring "Livin' La Vida Loca".
Sara was about to leave when someone called her name. She looked around and saw a grrl she recognised from her party. She remembered her outburst and turned to skulk off. The grrl caught up to her.
'Hey, how are you?' she asked.
'Fine,' Sara mumbled and continued walking back to her apartment. The other followed beside her.
'Hey, great party,' she chirped. Sara raised an eyebrow and continued walking. 'Ended a bit abruptly but hey...guess you were cranky from the move, eh? I hate moving...' The grrl continued prattling on at a million miles an hour about how many times she had moved. Sara wondered if she had any idea that she was being ignored, thought about it and guessed not. By the time they reached Sara's door, the stranger was telling her about her yeast infection. She had no idea how this topic had progressed from her rental history and she didn't really want to know.
Sara waited impatiently at her door for the grrl to draw a breath so she could excuse herself. Seemingly she had no need for oxygen so Sara interrupted her mid PAP smear speech.
'Hey, I got to get to bed. It's late.'
'Oh yeah, I guess it is. I never go to bed before dawn. I sit up talking to my grrlfriend all night,' Sara pitied her grrlfriend. 'She's in England so it's the only time we get to talk.'
'I'd hate to have your phone bill,' Sara grumbled and searched for her keys, frantic to get inside and away from this woman who just wouldn't shut up. She suddenly realised that she didn't have her keys. They were on the kitchen bench.
'Oh, FUCK!' she yelled and kicked the door. It wasn't the smartest thing to do and she began hopping around on one foot.
'Hey, wow! Whatcha do that for?' the grrl asked, wide eyed.
'I locked my keys inside you moron,' Sara snapped, still hopping and holding her wounded foot.
'You locked yourself out and I'm the moron?' she shot back. She waited until Sara stopped jumping around and then continued, 'I can help you out. I know where you can get a spare key.' Sara eyed her suspiciously,
'Where?' she asked. The stranger smiled, crossed her arms and leaned against the wall,
'You got to kiss me first.' she crooned.
to be continued... |
