She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. The music was angry and fast, the sharp lyrics spitting from the speakers like shards of glass.
“Morning, Kat,” she whispered.
A peculiar mixture of excitement and sickness danced in her stomach. A night out with her new flatmates, her best friends - it was just what she wanted, but she couldn’t help feeling nervous. The smell of burnt toast wafted in under her door, making her feel sick.
She splashed her face with cold water from the sink, then pulled on a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. She wiggled her feet into a pair of pumps, grabbed her keys and shoved two pound coins in her pocket.
Outside, the air was cold and smelled of pollution. She pulled the sleeves of her top over her hands and began running. Jade loved running and she was good at it, too. She ran nearly every day and she liked to do it alone. She liked to run so fast it hurt. She liked to feel her muscles tremble as she concentrated hard on not tripping over her own flailing feet.
She ran along the main road, away from the university campus and the halls of residence. It didn’t matter where she was going, as long as she was moving quickly.
After fifteen minutes, she entered through the big iron gates of a memorial park. It seemed far removed from the busy streets that surrounded it. Jade ran around the park eight times before sitting down on a bench. She let out a gasp of pain as she bent over to ease the stitch in her side.
With her heart still beating hard against her ribs and the muscles in her legs twitching, she walked the long way back to her flat, stopping on the way to buy a burger from a van on the side of the road.
Back at the flat, everyone had woken up and music blared from all three occupied rooms.
Jade went into her room. She thought about putting some music on too, but she couldn’t decide what to play and anyway, she liked listening to everyone else’s music, like a mixtape.
Jade got in the shower, letting the warm water relax her muscles. She let her mind wander and found herself remembering the look that Kat had given her in the kitchen, sharp, like the music she listened to. Jade knew that Kat didn’t believe her and it made her feel funny. Nobody else doubted her, but something in Kat’s eyes made Jade feel exposed.
She thought about Chloe and her plain face with its blank expression and Mark, looking bemused and dopey, but most of all she thought about Kat and the pretty pictures that adorned her arms. Naked and wet, Jade stood in her room, shivering slightly despite the warmth of the heater.
Bang.
She jumped and swallowed sharply at a knock on the bedroom door.
“It’s me, let me in,” Kat bellowed from the hall. “I’m going to the shops. Do you want some drinks for tonight?”
“I’m naked,” Jade said.
“Put something on then.”
Jade grabbed her duvet, wrapped it around herself like a toga and shuffled to the door. Opening it a little, she peered out.
Kat was standing in the hall, wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Her hair was tied up to reveal silver piercings running along the top of each ear. A silver stud protruded from each of her cheeks.
“Drink?” Kat said, holding out her hand.
“Yes please.”
“What do you want?”
“What are you getting?” Jade asked.
“Whiskey. Why?”
“I’ll have that too.” Jade said
“Really?” Kat laughed. “We might as well share, then. I don’t want you chucking up on me, do I? Give me some money - a fiver will do.”
Jade smiled and waddled awkwardly to her bedside cabinet.
“I don’t have it,” she called out. “I’ll have to go to a cash machine.”
“Just leave it, I’ll pay. Buy me a drink later or something, yeah?”
“Thanks,” said Jade. “I owe you.”
“It’s all right, just get dressed. You can tell you’re cold,” Kat smirked, nodding at Jade’s arms, which were covered in goose pimples. “Do you want anything else?”
“Can you get me some crisps? I’ve been out running and I’ve only had a burger all day.”
“Sure.”
For a moment they stood in silence. Then Chloe’s sickly sweet singing voice began to filter into the hall. Kat grinned at Jade.
“Right, I’m off. I’ll see you later,” said Kat.
Jade was left alone in her room. Her best friend was out buying drink and she had to get ready quickly. She already knew what she was going to wear.
She put on her underwear and some tight black jeans. Next she found an old grey vest top that she’d bought to go running in. It was baggy and her bra was visible at the front and back. She wouldn’t have normally worn this kind of thing out, but she liked the way Kat dressed and wanted to replicate it as closely as possible.
She slammed the plug of her hair dryer into the socket and began tackling her mane of hair.
By the time Jade had dried her hair, Kat had returned from the shops. Jade heard her stomp through the door, bottles clanking together as she made her way to her room.
Jade knocked on Kat’s door.
“Come in,” Kat shouted.
“Did you buy me some crisps?”
Jade walked in, inhaling the thick aroma of incense and smoke that filled the room. She was mesmerised at its transformation. From skirting board to ceiling, Kat had turned her room into a colourful mass of posters and not an inch of magnolia was left to be seen.
“Wow, your room is amazing. Aren’t you worried they will make you take it all down when we have a room inspection?”
Kat shrugged. “Here.” She threw a packet of crisps in Jade’s direction.
“Who are they?” Jade asked looking at the posters.
“Models, mainly, and bands. You see that girl there?” Kat pointed out a picture of a tall, busty, tattooed woman with long dreadlocked hair, wearing a sailor costume. “She’s Lola Eternal. She’s a model. Thirty-four piercings and nearly a full bodysuit of tattoos.”
Jade saw that there were pictures of Lola all over Kat’s room.
“Poisoned Heart are my favourite band,” Kat said pointing to a poster of three morbid looking men. “I’ve seen them twelve times and I’ve met them. Look.” Kat pulled up her top to reveal a leopard print bra and a tattoo on her ribs.
“What’s that?”
“Jason Bruno’s autograph. I got it the night I met him. My friend inked it the day after.” Kat grinned and covered herself back up.
“You must really like him?”
“It’s the whole band. I love them, their songs, their music. You must relate? You must love music - I mean, being in a band, you must?” Kat laughed.
“Y-yeah, I do love music," Jade stuttered. I mean, I was more in love with music when I was in the band.”
She could feel Kat’s eyes burning into her, making her blush. She turned and walked to the door.
“Anyway, I’d better go put some make-up on. I’ll see you in a bit. Chloe has cards for drinking games.”
“Don’t lie,” said Kat.
“I’m not. She does have cards.”
“About the band. Don’t lie.”
Jade clung on to the door. “I’m not.”
Kat just shook her head and smiled.
Jade scurried to her room and flung herself onto her bed. Her insides flipped and her head burned red hot. She opened the crisps and ate them quickly, hoping they would settle her stomach.
“I’m not,” she whispered to the adjoining wall.
“How do you know I’m lying?”
Danielle Rose is a writer and blogger based in Blackpool. Having just graduated from Salford University with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she is continuing to study Creative Writing at MA level. She writes young adult fiction, short fiction and performance poetry.
Twitter: @_dani_elle
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