Let's Go For A Pint (Vampire/Humor)

1.4 Can't Be Arsed To Do It

After a day of work and classes, I anticipated a productive evening of chores and studying. Mid-terms were right around the corner and lucky for me both were essays. Before I started, I opted to read ClickBuzz articles. A lot of them carry a bias of shaming someone not on a rainbow spectrum, but I get a kick out of lists. Poorly compiled ones that give out false information make me cringe, but they're addictive. My brain should be rotten enough that I'm a zombie. A clickbait zombie.

As I read through my tenth article, Carmen banged on my door. "I'm busy!" I groaned. Apparently that translated to her as "Please barge into my room."

"Lena, the frat boys of Kappa Phi Delta are hosting a mid-term party. Do you have a mini-dress?"

I took off my headphones, the sounds of trashy, chalga blasting through. While it wasn't something I normally listened to, I had one of those days giving into a guilty pleasure. "No, I don't. Also, it's winter. Why would anyone be wearing a mini-dress?"

"Because you're coming with me. You're not wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt."

Going to a frat party? Fuck no that was happening. Like I needed to imbibe on mystery punch and not remember a thing the morning after. "I can't. I really need to catch up on sleep."

"Your classes are in the morning and you work in the afternoon. Your evenings are free almost every day."

"I pull all-nighters."

Carmen didn't buy my excuse. She knew I had only two courses, and they were pretty much what undergrads take to get a passing grade. Electives they're called? Anyway, Carmen was doing her graduate studies in pharmacology. She had four courses plus a dissertation. She needed a party to de-stress instead of curling up with a book.

"We're about the same size." She put an index finger to her bottom lip and gazed upwards. "Or at least I was your size after I lost weight. I can lend you one of my old ones."

After I removed the headset from my neck, I spun around and faced her. "I'm a grown woman, Carmen; I can make my own decisions. There's no reason for me to attend the party."

Then the blackmail arrived. She waltzed into the room and looked me dead in the eye. "I can start advertising for another roommate. After all, I did ask for outgoing."

"Outgoing doesn't mean go out every–"

"Nuh-uh," she interrupted. She moved in close to where our noses were millimetres from each other. "I asked for outgoing. You said you were outgoing. I can give you a day to pack up and leave. Also, I'll be keeping your share of the rent since you paid in advance."

Sure, I could've asserted myself and show her who's boss. Hell, I could take that even further and kill her. Neither of those would've gotten me anywhere but a jail cell. Good ideas, but not so good ideas. There was the option to move to another apartment and live alone, but that'd increase the chances for a certain someone to locate me. While the cold doesn't bother me I'd be living on the streets for a bit. Not a good idea with my large box. I wasn't sure why Carmen wanted me to go with her to this party. She had someone to meet up with there, at least a classmate or a friend. Then again, this was the safest option. "How long do you want me there?"

Carmen pulled away from my face. "Not long. Just enough for a drink and social interaction with others."

So it was a meet and greet. I hoped they like talking about more than just the weather and what classes we signed up for. I turned around to face the monitor. "Fine, I'll go to this party with you. I can stay for at least an hour, maybe ninety minutes at the most."

Carmen's demeanor changed from malicious to her perky old self. "Wonderful! I'll go bring my dresses over and you can choose from them."

I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know she pranced out of my room. Once she cleared the area, it was back to ClickBuzz and "The Ten Best Blood Sausage Recipes."

---------------------------------------------------------------

Not much to say other than this is a set-up for the final part in this episode. Anyway, I don't have much to bring up here so if you like what you've read so far, no pressure in leaving a comment or adding to your libraries/lists.

Edited 19/08/2017. In addition to that, chalga or pop-folk is a genre of music, mixing dance music with elements of folk music found in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and the Middle-East. The song I have linked here is "Mrazish" by Azis. While the lyrics to the song (from the translation I found) don't suggest anything suggestive, Lena isn't a big fan of modern pop music. A guilty pleasure but not a fan, hence why she calls it trashy.