CLOUD NINE

Chapter 5

Alizeh woke up to the sound of a loud bang followed by a crashing noise and the combined screams of her flat mates.

"Come out now!" Aileana screeched from outside the bathroom door, using all her force to bang the door. "I have to use the bathroom."

"I am pooping. How am I supposed to come out?" Nina's constipated voice came from inside.

"I saw the bathroom first."

"That's because I let you have the bed near the door, you idiot?"

"I don't think that was such a big favor that you steal the bathroom from me. You know I get pressure to poop after a good cup of coffee."
Only the sound of quick flushing was heard from the other side.

Alizeh rubbed her temples and got up. Her hair was falling all around her face. She forgot to tie them at night. She had tossed and turned in bed till late due to the unfamiliarity of the place. The stars had smiled at her from the crystal blue sky and the brilliant milky white galaxy stretched out as far as her eyes could go. She missed those stars she used to count as a child.

A cloudless sky was a cause for celebration back at home when her granddad would get the string cot and they used to lie side by side, watching and naming the stars. She had so easily believed that grandma was one among them and so desperately tried to find her in the millions of tiny specks dotting the sky.

She thought of her parents and how they might be watching the stars too because on the moon, it's always night, unlike earth. The stars don't twinkle there .That was one of the reasons Alizeh never stayed back at the moon.  But now she wished she had. At least she would have the satisfaction of knowing that her parents were all right.

"I hope they establish connection with the moon soon." Nina was standing beside the window suddenly, looking at the frail white half-moon of the morning, which would soon disappear as the sky would assume the starched white hue of the day.

Alizeh broke her gaze from the sky though she was looking at nothing in particular. "Why? Is someone there?"

"No one! Just some friend I used to know back at school!" Nina averted her gaze.

"Just some friend?" Alizeh gave a confused look. After what they all had been through and the people they lost, Nina couldn't be too bothered about just some friend. He or she must be really special.

"He was my closest friend. You could say lover but we weren't officially a couple."

"Oh!" an uncomfortable silence hung between them.

"My parents are there too," Alizeh finally broke the silence. "I think they all are okay."
She tried to put on a big smile but failed.

"You know why I disappeared yesterday?" Nina was fidgeting with her hands.
Alizeh waited for the answer. She knew Nina wasn't the type of girl to keep lots of secrets, unlike herself.

"It was Ash. He said he wanted to talk so..."

"Who's Ash?" Alizeh tried to recall.

"The gorgeous guy with deep burgundy hair and black eyes. He has huge muscles too" Nina piped up before stopping abruptly.

"Oops!" Alizeh winked, "better don't let Aileana know. Things already aren't much better with you two."

"She's an arsehole," Nina muttered.

"I heard that, you bitch," Aileana commented from the door.

"I'm happy you did."

And both the girls were face to face again, fists are drawn tight.

"Ladies, ladies!" Alizeh crawled out of the covers to pacify the duo. "Remember we have to search for work today. Put on your best makeup and dresses. Our bosses will interview us on 3DCam"

"Oh fuck! I'm late." They both screamed in unison and lunged for the dressing table.

Alizeh tuned out their bickering as she focused on her own morning routines.

In spite of the quarrelling and the chiding, both girls were looking spectacular once they were done. Nina had put on a simple v neck tee in blue and a light teal pair of jeans while Aileana dazzled in a crisp black suit with a ruffled white shirt. Her hair hung in ringlets on her shoulder and there was no jewellery on sight.

"Should I wear this or that?" Nina held out two earrings to Alizeh. One was a sparkly drop down silver and the other looked like a chunk of chocolate.

"Ahh" Alizeh scratched her head. "Don't you have anything a bit less gaudy?"

"Oh yeah!" she took out a pair of rhinestone flowers that could cover her whole earlobe.

Alizeh just shook her head and turned to the mirror. She was wearing her rani purple leggings with an ornate blue kurta, buttoned at the neck. She looked just like any other Indian girl as she braided the last strands of her waist-length hair. She had a cloud of hair once. But climate and stress had reduced the volume to half and Alizeh was too busy to lament her hair when the world was dying.

The dress clung to her figure and hugged her curves at the right places. She didn't bother removing her tiny gold bead earrings. The only thing out of place was her glasses but she was half-blind without them.

"You look stunning in that- that-..." Aileana looked at Nina for help.

"It's a Kurta." Alizeh smiled. "It's something we wear formally. But I'm afraid I look voluptuous."

"You don't...duh!" Aileana rolled her eyes, "You look fabulous, just more womanly than girlish and it's a good thing."

"Besides that's a royal colour combo," Nina pointed out, "Blue, purple and gold embroidery. You're a queen, Alizeh."

Alizeh blushed. "Enough of chatting, let's go to the job exchange office and look for something we could do."

"I'll better be going to the weaving school then, while you two go out to earn, " there was a sadness in Aileana's voice.

"It's okay." Nina's voice was soft, no sarcasm, no double meaning, and just pure, unconditional affection. "We don't mind."

The little exchange surprised Alizeh. How could two people who had just met and fought like cats and dogs everyday actually care about each other so much?

"Yes!" she said aloud, "I'm glad somebody here is at least living her dreams. Nina's an artist. I bet lots of people would be waiting to grab a talent like hers. I'm worried about mine."

She looked back at yesterday when during checking in, the receptionist didn't even recognize who a writer is. Literature was fading away from the world, fast... so was love, genuine love.