So, yesterday I woke up at 10 or so. I had some tea for breakfast, cooked lunch and then I headed to class, since I had a debate on Patrick Modiano in which I had to intervene, at 12. As soon as my turn was up, I packed my things and left the class. I went straight to the library, since I had an important Lexicography project that was due that night, and which I had yet not finished.
On the library stairs I saw Tony, Lin, Albert, Paulie and Michelle, talking to a random dude who was interviewing them for his master's thesis. I waited for them to finish smoking and we went to the third floor. I kept working on the project and didn't stop until 15. I then went downstairs, to join the group on the eating tables. I bought a water bottle in the supermarket and sat with them as I ate my rice with vegetables and soja sauce.
Mark joined us at some point, he gave me some chocolate donuts. Lin had gone off to have dinner with her grandparents, then Tony and Michelle went upstairs and Mark, Paulie and Albert stayed in the dining area for some more time. Albert and Paulie, who don't really know me (nor do I know them much), asked many questions about me. First Paulie said that she was surprised when she first met me, because apparently I looked very "stiff" but then the first time she spoke to me she said she thought I was really cool and laidback. She then said she had also been surprised by the fact that I did drugs (not regularly, but it isn't a weird thing in me). I have gotten this in the past, I remember Sonny last year saying to me "I thought you were very very hermetic and shy until the first day you spoke to me", and I remember Alexandre being a little shocked the first day we went to a party and I sniffed ketamine from some German guys right next to the DJ table.
Paulie and Albert gave me many compliments, which made me nervous. They said to me that I looked very well put together all the time, even if I wasn't trying or was wearing sports clothes. This made me very happy because I try to look polite and put together but I never really thought I actually looked so. Mark indeed contributed to the conversation and agreed and said I always looked "clean". Then Paulie and Albert asked about sex and Mark said: "Mads doesn't make love, Mads has sex". They laughed, I became both awkward and glad about the compliment (I guess that's a compliment about me looking like I'm good at sex), and we went upstairs.
So I worked on the Lexicology project at the library first. Then I became tired of sitting in an uncomfortable chair for some hours so I said bye to everyone and took the bus to my flat. Back home, I had tea and spent the whole afternoon and night finishing the Lexicology project.
Mid-afternoon, Nate texted saying they were thinking of going to DNA that night, since there was a boiler room party. I wasn't really in the mood to party but I did want to hang out, so I said I would try to find a way to get on the free DNA list. I texted Sonny and he said he was okay with going out too. Then I told Julie to join too, and told her to ask Saint to get her in the list. I texted Will, the DJ and one of the owners of DNA, who is friends with me, asking about the list. He said "Of course prettyyyy. You +1?"
I finished the Lexicokogy project at 23 and I sent it in. But I had begun feeling really sick in my stomach at around 21:30 and the pain wasn't easing. I texted Alys, a childhood bestfriend who happens to be my neighbour in Sun Valley too. She was home, so I walked to her place, talked with her for a little and she gave me a strong painkiller for the night. I said thank you and left home again.
At 23:30 I had the pill and went to have a hot shower. When I left the shower I got dressed and began doing my makeup, and I think I did a good job. I only wear makeup when I go to parties because I don't want to damage my skin, but when I go out I wish I had more makeup skills because I would like to know how to do eyeliner, I think it would look really really good on me. Julie came to my place as I was finishing up. I didn't want to hurt my stomach so I had some spoonfuls of kefir and an orange for dinner.
Then Sonny texted that he was downstairs in a taxi and we walked down. He came from a family dinner with his mom, Candice, who I had never met before. She stepped out of the car and greeted us, and she said to me "You are Madison, right?" before I had the chance to introduce myself. It was nice knowing that she knew me because Sonny had probably told her about me. It reminded me of the time I first met his dad, John, who drove Alexandre and Sonny to a concert and then he dropped me off at the August 8 underground station. When we were alone in the car he said to me "How is that English Literature project going? Sonny told me you are the best in the class".
In the taxi, I surprised myself talking a lot, but I'm afraid I sounded a little conceited as I did. Sonny and I talked about the Lexicology project and I tried to explain an article about Alzheimer's disease effect on syntactic disruption of speech but did quite poorly. Then I told a joke and they laughed. I also told Sonny that Nate had told me to invite him tonight and said "everybody's always chasing after you" and his mom turned and said "that's such a sweet thing to say!". I'm not sure in which way the sentence came off, because even Sonny said "Oh, please", but I think I didn't mean it in the way it sounded.
The taxi dropped us off at DNA and we went to the street to drink. Well, only Sonny did. Julie and I didn't drink. Julie said my makeup looked good today and then Saint joined us and the first thing he did was look up and down and me and said "Howdy", referring to the fact that I had a cowboy vibe going on (corduroy dark green bell pants, brown leather jacket— I often wear this outfit). I became a little awkward because I'm not sure he said it in a good or bad way, so then he laughed and said "no, but don't worry, it's a good thing, you look good". He then told us a story about taking a train yesterday where a madman broke the window pane, jumped out of the train in motion, the police was after him, he hid in a tunnel, the train had to stop because they were going to cross that tunnel and couldn't because that would kill the man, then something about running over a wild pig and then there was an abandoned baby on the train too. I don't know man Saint always had the craziest most fucked up stories I swear.
Anyway, I was quite tired. We went into DNA, it was a boiler room night. Sonny and I danced for a while, Nate arrived and said hello to us, we went outside to smoke. At this point it was about 4am and Julie had gone home already. Saint appeared and said he was going home now so I asked him to drive me to Cedric's Square, he said okay let's go. Before I left I saw Nine, who charming way said "Naaa I can't believe you're going". He gave me a hug and we talked about Igor's welcome party from Budapest, in June, where we had both been invited with 20 other of his friends who at least I, have no clue who they are. Sonny stayed with Nate and Saint and me left.
We walked through the centre of Sun Valley for 20 minutes or so, until we reached his car. On the way, we found a paper fortune teller on the floor and we read what people had written inside of it. As we were reading a German man approached us and asked for a cigarette and Saint said "yes, but first..." and he asked him to do one of the dares on the paper fortune teller "...imitate the sound of a chicken being strangled". First we had to explain to him the meaning in English, then he proceeded with the imitation. We laughed for a while, gave him the lighter and left laughing. Then Saint lit the paper fortune teller on fire and dropped it in the middle of Virgin Square.
He reached his car, listened to Frank Ocean and I have a beautiful memory of driving down the Blaise Irving university campus, where I study, the windows down, listening to soft music in the night, in Saint's car. He dropped me off at a streetlight, I gave him a hug and walked home. I had toast on butter and a glass of milk at 5am. I played a TV show and I fell asleep in bed at 6am.
YOU ARE READING
2024: diary of a girl in her 20s
Non-FictionAll names and locations have been changed to preserve privacy.
