DAY ONE - 1819 WORDS, 2 HRS
PART ONE – ARRIVALS
CHAPTER 1 – MISS MARY
“Is it dead?” I asked sheepishly, prodding at its undeniably flabby arm.
“No! Don’t talk such crap… she’s just asleep.” scowled Amy.
The massive lump turned over in its bed before my eyes, making a disgusting grunting noise. I could have easily mistaken it for a hairy swine had I not had my contacts in. She sure looked like a swine. Mary, that is. She was my roommate and if first impressions were anything to go by, it wasn’t going to be much fun sharing a room with her for the year. I was a bitch, no doubt about it but this Mary girl really took the biscuit. And she disgusted me! Apparently she was 20, but I didn’t believe that. She had more spots than an adolescent with acne, and was heavier than a herd of cows.
This first meeting wasn’t exactly great. To finally find my room after an hour of searching and to unlock the door to find this thing curled up in the bed opposite mine. They’d promised me a single room for a start. That really pissed me off. I was a half hour walk away from the clinic, which I’d clearly pointed out was a problem. “This year is going to be great...” I thought to myself as Mary opened her too-close-together-eyes to stare at me with a look of contempt. This was worse than the time I stole Amy’s hair curlers and made her Alsatian curly.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” she said to me with an air of authority which sickened me almost as much as her face. I chose not to answer to snooty Miss Mary and dumped my coat, scarf and bag on my bed. I could see she’d chosen the better bed. The one closer to the closets, to the window-with-a-view (mine showed the elegant landscape of the brick wall from next doors’ apartments), the one farthest from the door – the one I wanted.
“Amy, dear! Are my suitcases still outside?”
“Yeah… want me to help bring them in?” she asked. I could tell she was still in a mood from me shouting at her about wanting to share a room with Jack and not me. Jack was Amy’s boyfriend. She called it long term, said they were in love… but I knew that secretly he was in love with me. After all, I was the one with the looks, with the intelligence, with the finesse!
Once I’d filled the room with my things - my clothes, my music, my PC, my shoes etc – I turned to Miss Mary who’d been eyeing me over a copy of Vogue magazine, and said:
“So… roomie! Nice to meet you, I guess. I’m Rebecca. Keep your things out of my half”. I then proceeded to stick a line of masking tape across the room, dividing it roughly in two… the swine watching me relentlessly. She sniffed once I’d finished. The sort of sniff that says “have it your way! I know I’m better than you”. I hated her.
***
Amy and I went shopping that afternoon. I didn’t have any money, but it was good to get away from Miss Mary. We strolled down Princes Street, taking in the views. That was how I liked it. Just me and Amy, my oldest and closest friend. She was brilliant, funny and kind. She understood me and didn’t judge me on my often erratic and irresponsible behaviour. She took care of me when I was down and upset and often used to accompany me on my visits to the doctor, which at one point had been very frequent. That was the last time me and Amy took a walk together. I guess it was my fault but I’ll explain it later.
Anyway, we were shopping. Neither of us bought anything, but it was good to be in Edinburgh and free. Aberdeen was harsh, living with our parents with very little freedom. It felt good to be out there in the city, and I was happy.
“You see that lady over there, the one in the red coat?” I whispered to Amy.
“Yeah… what about her?”
“I bet she murdered her husband to be with that guy.” I pointed to the significantly younger man she had attached to her arm like a handbag. “She axed him…”
The Woman in the Red Coat
She’s in love with a younger man, and her geriatric old husband just can’t perform. She doesn’t know whether to let him – her husband – down gently or just allow the affair to continue as it is.
A week later she decides it would be easier just to kill the old fool, but she doesn’t know how to do it. Drugs? No, they’ll suspect. How about pushing him off a cliff when on a leisurely stroll on a sunny afternoon? Too cliché. She wants to do it in style, a bloody death for her husband-who-can’t-get-it-up. She picks for her weapon, a sturdy axe. The sort wood cutters use.
She chooses a Saturday night to do it, nobody will be looking for him, and she can say he went away for the weekend. He’s drinking a brandy, perhaps a little tipsy as she comes up behind him in her favourite white coat, axe in hand. He turns to her, smiling. She looks at him, smiling. She raising the axe and down it comes!
“Oh, shit! My coat!” she screams as she looks down at the red spatters all over it. These will never come out. She dyes it red, to mask the stains.
***
“Yeah… right.” stared Amy blankly. She hated it when I did that. Even I hated it when I did that! I just couldn’t help myself. We took a taxi back to the halls and I invited Amy to join me for a drink. She said yes, and it was at times like this I knew I was glad I had come here, and not let my past troubles mess things up for me. Amy was there for me, and that was all I needed then.
I didn’t know then that my possessive attitude towards my best friend would lead to trouble. I loved her, and I didn’t want her to be friends with anyone else. She was my friend, so why should I share her? I never told her this, I was scared of what she might say to me. Maybe she wouldn’t talk to me again? Maybe she thought it was unsafe to be with me. I don’t know, but it led to trouble when Jack arrived the next week.
CHAPTER 2 – BROKEN HEARTED
Jack was stunning. He came from Stonehaven, but worked in a music shop in Aberdeen. That’s where I met him – yes, that’s right; it was me that introduced him to Amy! I would never have talked to him had it not been that he asked how I was. Nobody asked me how I was, and I was touched when he did! I was pretty stupid though, instead of the usual answer which might be something like “I’m good thanks, how about you?” I said “utter crap, how do I look?” and burst into tears right there at the counter. From there, we exchanged numbers and started hanging out. At the time I was only seventeen, and he was twenty. He was cool though, chilled out and laid back. I liked him because when I got worked up he used to calm me down. He was a substitute for Amy who, at the time, was spending much of her spare time with her current obsession Trent. God knows what his real name was, or where he came from… he was moody and deep. He was fake, and I didn’t like him. Jack was genuine and when Amy broke up with Mr Fake, she started hanging out with me and Jack. They soon hit it off, and I became jealous. Amy was always the one flaunting her breasts, making love to every guy to look at her in that way. She stole Jack from me, but I knew he liked me best, I just never said it.
When Amy and I decided to head off to Edinburgh University, Jack said he’d like to apply too. After all, he had the grades. I was thinking of telling him no, telling him he couldn’t, but two things stopped me. Firstly, what did my word mean? He wouldn’t not bother just because I said not to. And secondly, I liked him. I didn’t want him to hate me, just because I was jealous of his and Amy’s relationship. I let it drop, and he was accepted along with me and Amy. By that point, the two of them were going strong, but I always knew in the back of my mind that he liked me best. How could he possibly not?
***
Amy and I waited outside the University apartment the two of them were going to share. He was late, and I was teasing Amy.
“He doesn’t love you, he won’t show up!” I said, seriously.
“Don’t say things like that. You know it’s not true, and it hurts my feelings. We’re supposed to be best friends, and it doesn’t feel like it when you say things like that.”
“Sorry, but it’s beginning to look that way – he’s an hour late already and he hasn’t called you, has he?” I stared at her, puppy eyes. She wasn’t buying it. “I care about you Amy! I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She turned to me and I felt guilty. I really loved her, and truly didn’t want her to get hurt by Jack. What if they broke up and still had to live together? What if he cheated on her?
Amy was right though, he did show up.
“The traffic was awful.” He moaned. “I stopped to buy you flowers though, and a Beatles CD!”
He was looking at me, I swear. Though he handed the gifts to Amy and she smiled. She looked happy. I felt bad, lonely. Amy turned to me, and gave me the CD and flowers. Take these upstairs will you? I didn’t want to leave the two of them together; I thought they might forget I was here and ignore me the whole afternoon.
When I let myself into the apartment, the sun shone sadly through the little window in the kitchenette. I broke a glass, trying to fill it with water for the flowers. I cut my finger picking up the shards. I dropped the CD, broke the case. I didn’t care.
It was true; I was torn up about Amy and Jack’s relationship. I didn’t want Jack, I wanted Amy. I wanted her to be my friend and I felt like this wasn’t possible when she was with Jack.
CHAPTER 1 – MISS MARY
“Is it dead?” I asked sheepishly, prodding at its undeniably flabby arm.
“No! Don’t talk such crap… she’s just asleep.” scowled Amy.
The massive lump turned over in its bed before my eyes, making a disgusting grunting noise. I could have easily mistaken it for a hairy swine had I not had my contacts in. She sure looked like a swine. Mary, that is. She was my roommate and if first impressions were anything to go by, it wasn’t going to be much fun sharing a room with her for the year. I was a bitch, no doubt about it but this Mary girl really took the biscuit. And she disgusted me! Apparently she was 20, but I didn’t believe that. She had more spots than an adolescent with acne, and was heavier than a herd of cows.
This first meeting wasn’t exactly great. To finally find my room after an hour of searching and to unlock the door to find this thing curled up in the bed opposite mine. They’d promised me a single room for a start. That really pissed me off. I was a half hour walk away from the clinic, which I’d clearly pointed out was a problem. “This year is going to be great...” I thought to myself as Mary opened her too-close-together-eyes to stare at me with a look of contempt. This was worse than the time I stole Amy’s hair curlers and made her Alsatian curly.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” she said to me with an air of authority which sickened me almost as much as her face. I chose not to answer to snooty Miss Mary and dumped my coat, scarf and bag on my bed. I could see she’d chosen the better bed. The one closer to the closets, to the window-with-a-view (mine showed the elegant landscape of the brick wall from next doors’ apartments), the one farthest from the door – the one I wanted.
“Amy, dear! Are my suitcases still outside?”
“Yeah… want me to help bring them in?” she asked. I could tell she was still in a mood from me shouting at her about wanting to share a room with Jack and not me. Jack was Amy’s boyfriend. She called it long term, said they were in love… but I knew that secretly he was in love with me. After all, I was the one with the looks, with the intelligence, with the finesse!
Once I’d filled the room with my things - my clothes, my music, my PC, my shoes etc – I turned to Miss Mary who’d been eyeing me over a copy of Vogue magazine, and said:
“So… roomie! Nice to meet you, I guess. I’m Rebecca. Keep your things out of my half”. I then proceeded to stick a line of masking tape across the room, dividing it roughly in two… the swine watching me relentlessly. She sniffed once I’d finished. The sort of sniff that says “have it your way! I know I’m better than you”. I hated her.
***
Amy and I went shopping that afternoon. I didn’t have any money, but it was good to get away from Miss Mary. We strolled down Princes Street, taking in the views. That was how I liked it. Just me and Amy, my oldest and closest friend. She was brilliant, funny and kind. She understood me and didn’t judge me on my often erratic and irresponsible behaviour. She took care of me when I was down and upset and often used to accompany me on my visits to the doctor, which at one point had been very frequent. That was the last time me and Amy took a walk together. I guess it was my fault but I’ll explain it later.
Anyway, we were shopping. Neither of us bought anything, but it was good to be in Edinburgh and free. Aberdeen was harsh, living with our parents with very little freedom. It felt good to be out there in the city, and I was happy.
“You see that lady over there, the one in the red coat?” I whispered to Amy.
“Yeah… what about her?”
“I bet she murdered her husband to be with that guy.” I pointed to the significantly younger man she had attached to her arm like a handbag. “She axed him…”
The Woman in the Red Coat
She’s in love with a younger man, and her geriatric old husband just can’t perform. She doesn’t know whether to let him – her husband – down gently or just allow the affair to continue as it is.
A week later she decides it would be easier just to kill the old fool, but she doesn’t know how to do it. Drugs? No, they’ll suspect. How about pushing him off a cliff when on a leisurely stroll on a sunny afternoon? Too cliché. She wants to do it in style, a bloody death for her husband-who-can’t-get-it-up. She picks for her weapon, a sturdy axe. The sort wood cutters use.
She chooses a Saturday night to do it, nobody will be looking for him, and she can say he went away for the weekend. He’s drinking a brandy, perhaps a little tipsy as she comes up behind him in her favourite white coat, axe in hand. He turns to her, smiling. She looks at him, smiling. She raising the axe and down it comes!
“Oh, shit! My coat!” she screams as she looks down at the red spatters all over it. These will never come out. She dyes it red, to mask the stains.
***
“Yeah… right.” stared Amy blankly. She hated it when I did that. Even I hated it when I did that! I just couldn’t help myself. We took a taxi back to the halls and I invited Amy to join me for a drink. She said yes, and it was at times like this I knew I was glad I had come here, and not let my past troubles mess things up for me. Amy was there for me, and that was all I needed then.
I didn’t know then that my possessive attitude towards my best friend would lead to trouble. I loved her, and I didn’t want her to be friends with anyone else. She was my friend, so why should I share her? I never told her this, I was scared of what she might say to me. Maybe she wouldn’t talk to me again? Maybe she thought it was unsafe to be with me. I don’t know, but it led to trouble when Jack arrived the next week.
CHAPTER 2 – BROKEN HEARTED
Jack was stunning. He came from Stonehaven, but worked in a music shop in Aberdeen. That’s where I met him – yes, that’s right; it was me that introduced him to Amy! I would never have talked to him had it not been that he asked how I was. Nobody asked me how I was, and I was touched when he did! I was pretty stupid though, instead of the usual answer which might be something like “I’m good thanks, how about you?” I said “utter crap, how do I look?” and burst into tears right there at the counter. From there, we exchanged numbers and started hanging out. At the time I was only seventeen, and he was twenty. He was cool though, chilled out and laid back. I liked him because when I got worked up he used to calm me down. He was a substitute for Amy who, at the time, was spending much of her spare time with her current obsession Trent. God knows what his real name was, or where he came from… he was moody and deep. He was fake, and I didn’t like him. Jack was genuine and when Amy broke up with Mr Fake, she started hanging out with me and Jack. They soon hit it off, and I became jealous. Amy was always the one flaunting her breasts, making love to every guy to look at her in that way. She stole Jack from me, but I knew he liked me best, I just never said it.
When Amy and I decided to head off to Edinburgh University, Jack said he’d like to apply too. After all, he had the grades. I was thinking of telling him no, telling him he couldn’t, but two things stopped me. Firstly, what did my word mean? He wouldn’t not bother just because I said not to. And secondly, I liked him. I didn’t want him to hate me, just because I was jealous of his and Amy’s relationship. I let it drop, and he was accepted along with me and Amy. By that point, the two of them were going strong, but I always knew in the back of my mind that he liked me best. How could he possibly not?
***
Amy and I waited outside the University apartment the two of them were going to share. He was late, and I was teasing Amy.
“He doesn’t love you, he won’t show up!” I said, seriously.
“Don’t say things like that. You know it’s not true, and it hurts my feelings. We’re supposed to be best friends, and it doesn’t feel like it when you say things like that.”
“Sorry, but it’s beginning to look that way – he’s an hour late already and he hasn’t called you, has he?” I stared at her, puppy eyes. She wasn’t buying it. “I care about you Amy! I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She turned to me and I felt guilty. I really loved her, and truly didn’t want her to get hurt by Jack. What if they broke up and still had to live together? What if he cheated on her?
Amy was right though, he did show up.
“The traffic was awful.” He moaned. “I stopped to buy you flowers though, and a Beatles CD!”
He was looking at me, I swear. Though he handed the gifts to Amy and she smiled. She looked happy. I felt bad, lonely. Amy turned to me, and gave me the CD and flowers. Take these upstairs will you? I didn’t want to leave the two of them together; I thought they might forget I was here and ignore me the whole afternoon.
When I let myself into the apartment, the sun shone sadly through the little window in the kitchenette. I broke a glass, trying to fill it with water for the flowers. I cut my finger picking up the shards. I dropped the CD, broke the case. I didn’t care.
It was true; I was torn up about Amy and Jack’s relationship. I didn’t want Jack, I wanted Amy. I wanted her to be my friend and I felt like this wasn’t possible when she was with Jack.
posted by Sweet Heart Dealer at 10:45 AM
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