Jamais Vu

Chapter 13

"So, what do you think?" Nessa asked Lulu.

Lulu stroked her newly coloured hair, the shiny walnut extensions dancing around her shoulders. "Of what?"

"Of Dan!" Nessa peeked through the doorway from the kitchen where she and Lulu stood, stealing a look at Dan in the lounge room. Games night was in full swing, with about a dozen of her friends and James' work buddies chatting happily in little clusters.

Dan was doing great. He'd fitted right in with the group, not in a showy way but just by introducing himself to everyone in turn, laughing and asking questions about their lives and careers. At the moment, he was having an intense discussion with Charls, the lovely TA from the fashion department. Nessa wasn't sure what the conversation was about, but from the way both men were drawing lines in the air with invisible brushes, she imagined it was something artsy.

James, on the other hand, was standing in the centre of the room, commanding the attention of everyone in the vicinity. He'd invited not one, but three of the typical women he usually brought along to an event like this, and all three of them were hanging on his every word. Nessa made a silent wish that the steady amount of champagne the girls were drinking would hit their empty stomachs and cause them to call it an early night.

She and Lulu were mixing up another batch of punch before the games kicked off. Punch was one of Bev's most dearly held traditions, but Nessa was getting adept at creating her own, with just enough alcohol to keep everyone merry, and not enough to knock them all flat.

But while she had Lulu alone, Nessa wanted answers. "So – tell me!" She waited impatiently for Lulu's judgement.

"Dan..." said Lulu, stealing a raspberry from the punch bowl. "What do I think about Dan..."

"Come on, Lulu!" laughed Nessa, nudging her friend. "I want to hear what you think!" It was bound to be positive. After all, Lulu had been encouraging her to date for months, and Dan was gorgeous and clearly into her.

"I think..." Lulu wrinkled her nose. "I think you can do better."

"What?" Nessa dropped the vodka bottle, and it hit the counter hard. "Better? Dan's amazing."

"Lady, I'll admit that he's cute in an excitable puppy kind of way, but I stand by my statement: you can do better. You could literally pick any guy in this city, men of power, wealth, standing. And you choose the broke painter."

Nessa didn't have a response. Lulu continued. "But whatever does it for you, I guess. You being off the market is a huge relief to the rest of us single gals."

Before Nessa could respond, or even begin to process Lulu's negativity, the buzzer for the door sounded. "I'll get it," Nessa said, eager to escape the conversation until she'd decided what to say next.

"'Kay," said Lulu, nonchalantly pouring more vodka into the bowl.

"Lulu, don't, please." Nessa hurried away, hoping she wouldn't drown them all in alcohol. As she reached the door, an absent though trailed through her brain. I thought everyone was here already.

A man in a battered cap stood in the corridor. He had murky eyes that wore the saddest expression she'd ever seen on another human, and he was grimy, coated in a thick crust of filth that was clearly the product of doing it rough for a very long time. His fingers were wringing anxiously, and he stuttered at Nessa, "H-hello."

"Hi. Can I help you?" she asked gently.

"Um, yeah, s-sorry, I'm looking for, that is, I-I..." As he stammered, his eyes darted around, as if he searched for hidden enemies.