MISFIT IN THE CITY: Series One

Episode One: THE BEST WEEKEND EVER (part 5)

[This is the final part of episode one, and when you're done click the song in the youtube link I posted, and imagine it as the end credits to the episode ;-)]

Episode One: THE BEST WEEKEND EVER

Part Five

After the disturbing feminists' meeting in Prospect Park, Reiko and Neena strolled the shaded pathways in relative silence. Neena had of course tried to poke and prod at Reiko's motivation for joining the group, but all she'd gotten were unrelated responses about the weather. Neena wasn't at all deterred however, because she'd spent some time with Reiko in Europe, and knew the best way to disarm her: find the sugar, give her the sugar.

Sugar was the main ingredient in the toppings at the "pay by the gram" fro-yo counter, where Reiko and Neena now stood as they debated their selections.

Neena scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "It's just that peanut M&Ms weigh a lot more per unit that Gummi Bears, you know? So do I want a sporadic yet meaty M&M every three to four bites? Or a slightly unsatisfying abundance of chewy gummies?" She sighed. "Life...it's all about choices."

Reiko held up a scoop of Oreo cookie chunks. "You're still paying, right? Because mine's like a pound and a half now."

Neena nodded and opted for the gummies, before heading to the register to pay. Reiko followed carefully, cradling a dessert that was fit for a gluttonous fifteen-century monarch. Neena watched Reiko inhale the heaping dessert; this was the time to disarm her.

"Hey Reiko..." Neena said, her eyes momentarily bulging when Reiko's dessert cashed in at eleven dollars, "remember when we hung out in Paris?"

Reiko shrugged. "Sure."

Neena pulled out her debit card and paid. "I guess that means you also remember those French guys in Paris complementing your pretty hair and skin? And how you basically fucking loved it?" Reiko's face went red as Neena went on. "It's kind of funny because now...now I'm not allowed to say 'pretty' in your weird-ass cult."

"I'm getting a table outside," Reiko said, before grabbing her dessert and disappearing without another word.

Neena was hot on her trail, and she joined her outside a few seconds later, with the door chimes jingling behind her. She sat down across from Reiko at a bistro table for two.

"Guess what else I remembered?!" Neena exclaimed. "It was that night at the Eiffel Tower, when its glittering light show reflected in your eyes while Laurent serenaded you, as I creepily watched from nearby while chugging the last of the rosé; tell me you don't remember that."

Reiko glared before taking a big bite. "I was obviously in vacation mode; the life of a teacher is stressful."

Neena slowly nodded. "And now all of a sudden you're a what...activist? Hmm...that's not the Reiko I met taking body shots off a French girl in a bar at three a.m."

Reiko slammed her first on the table. "Well maybe it's time to make a change!" Neena was a bit thrown off by Reiko's sudden passion. "I mean don't you remember how strict your parents were when you were younger?!"

Neena shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"Well mine were too," Reiko said. "And now that we're free we're using that power to do what exactly? To binge-drink and troll for hot men?!"

Neena shrugged. "It doesn't count as binge-drinking if it's wine."

Reiko took a huge bite before continuing with her scolding. "I'm serious," she said in a fro-yo-filled voice, "the Internet has magnified how deep inequality and sexism goes, and we can't just sit on the sidelines; we need to be the change by speaking out!"