The Greek Girl: Resisting Love (TAG feedback edition)

Chapter One: the Feline Missile

It was another beautiful morning in paradise; also known as Gouvia on the picturesque Greek island of Corfu.The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the lizards were lizarding and the mosquitoes had been less bloodsuckery than usual in the night. It was shaping up to be a glorious day.

Tali groaned, turning over in her sleep. She didn't share the same sentiment.

She had crashed into her bed far later than she should've; buzzed from a glass of wine or three, having been held up by a rom-com marathon orchestrated by her roommate Ashley who didn't have to get up early to work on a Saturday morning unlike Tali. The tendrils of sleep clung to her as she clung to them, desperate for a few moments more of peaceful tranquility. However outside forces had other ideas...

"Wake up, Tali!" A loud, sing song voice cut through her sleep like a knife. Tali groaned in response, ignoring the voice in favour of groggy slumber. She could not, however, ignore the plan B that would follow.

"Mrow." A heavy, fluffy pillow landed on her chest, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Tali gasped, her eyes wide open and staring into a pair of green, startled eyes staring back.

She reached out to stroke the pointed, alert ears, running her hand down the back, her hand swamped by long, grey fur, standing up on end as if it had lost a fight against static electricity.

"Ashley," Tali complained. "Did you throw Munch at me again?"

"Yeah." Tali focused her eyes onto her roommate, who was twirling a coil of her red hair, a cheeky smile on her face.

"So, why did you subject me to a ten pound feline missile?"

"Because you have like..." Ashley checked the time on her phone. "Twenty three minutes until your shift starts."

"Are you kidding me?" Tali squeaked. "Why didn't my alarm go off?"

She glanced over at her phone, tried to turn the screen on however it didn't cooperate. The screen remained black. Dead.

"Why do I even bother," Tali muttered. "Thanks, Ash. I owe you one. Seems like you're no worse for wear after last night."

"You know me, I can take my alcohol pretty well." She shrugged her slender shoulders, leaving Tali and Munchkin. "Let me know if you need me to give you a drive to the marina."

"I will probably need a lift, thanks." Tali called after her as the door closed.

When she had privacy she scratched Munchkin's head and gently easing out of bed. As soon as she began to sit up the the cat dug his claws into her bare skin. "Ow, ow, ow." She winced, attempting to pry him off her chest.

Once the cat was surgically removed from her body, Munchkin was left to curl up and take a siesta on her bed like the lazy lump he was, whilst Tali rushed around like a whirlwind of clothes and toothpaste and make-up until she looked relatively presentable. She paused in front of her mirror to quickly brush through her hair and apply a thin line of eyeliner to make her eyes look fuller and softer, and concealer to cover the purple bags under her eyes.

"Can you please drive me?" Tali asked breathlessly, dashing into the living room.

"Yeah, course." Ashley jumped out of her seat. "Let me find my keys."

***

"So... you didn't think you'd need to change out of your pyjamas?" Tali asked Ashley, eyeing her sky blue matching cotton top and bottoms with happy yellow suns printed on them, and then at her sunglasses perched on her nose.

"Nah, I'm comfy enough as it is." Ashley grinned as she pulled into the marina car park behind Tali's work. "I'm not going anywhere today."

"Okay okay, no need to rub it in." Tali laughed. "What's with the sunglasses?"