The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop

The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop, Chapter Five

Thanks to her crowd-pleasing skills, Sally quickly became an accepted member of the group but Maya remained a mystery.

"What happened to you last night?" Asked Sally after Maya had disappeared for the fifth time.

"Oh I just went home. Looked like you guys were having fun though." Sally blushed. What did that mean?

There was a pause and then Maya added, "Clyde loves having a new drinking buddy."

Sally blushed some more, "Yeah, I think I might be a bad influence. I missed you though, I really wanted to talk to you about the book I am reading."

"Oh yeah? What is it called?" 

Sally smiled and dived right in. This was what she had wanted. Back home, conversations like these were so rare. She had never been able to share what made the inner workings of her mind tick. It was illuminating but at the same time it cracked her open, making her long for a few glasses of alcohol to buffer the connection between them.

Back home she had cultivated her closest friendships huddled outside a club, spurting out horrific stories with no real risk of damnation. The other person never listened, why should they? They were in exactly the same position. Their only role was to wait until she had stopped talking. Then, if they were lucky they could release their own pent up trauma onto her. It was pointless, but it did count for something right?

Later that evening Maya was telling Sally about her favourite films.

"'Saturday Night Fever is one of my favourites," Maya grinned. "I think John Travolta is one of the most underrated actors."

"I know," Sally agreed, "I thought it would just be like 'Grease', really cheesy but it's so raw. That bit in the car is horrible."

"Oh god, I know. It's rough. Have you seen 'Fame'?"

"No," Sally shook her head, "I want to though."

"I can lend it to you if you want, it's similar to Saturday night fever, people think it's going to be this happy '80s movie but it's got way more guts than that."

These types of conversations held a special type of magic, highlighting how far Sally had come in just a few weeks but it still frightened her. Why couldn't they be like this after a couple of drinks, what changed?

At the end of the day, the two girls were mopping the floor together when Clyde bounded up to them.

"Lock-in tonight ladies, Sally I know you're down."

"Yeah definitely," Sally laughed as Clyde sprang away from them.

"Are you staying for a drink?" Sally asked Maya.

"You guys went for a drink yesterday didn't you?"

"Yeah I know but, it's Saturday night. Come on you have got to stay for one."

Maya laughed, "You're right, you are worse than Clyde."

"Come on."

"Okay, just for one I guess, but I can't stay too long."

Sally smiled back, 'just for one' that's what they all say. No one can stay 'just for one' especially if she had anything to do with it.

Once all the jobs were finished, everyone settled at the back table, resting their sore feet on the chairs in front of them.

"So who wants a drink," said Sally to the group. "Clyde you want a beer right, Marta and Katja white wine, Ellias red, Lorenzo brings his own and Maya what can I get you."

"Errr," said Maya, "I'll have a coke, thanks."

"A coke?! Come on, I will get you a proper drink," said Sally playfully as she turned towards the bar.

"No, it's okay, a coke is fine," Maya assured her.

"But you don't have work tomorrow, come on just one!"

"No, seriously," Maya insisted, "It's fine, I really can't because of my medication."

"Oh, okay," Sally's cheeks burned. She wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of the evening. How could she have been so insensitive? How could she have been so stupid? After a long pause, Sally swallowed, ignored her bright red cheeks and pointed towards the bar, "One coke coming right up."