Donna trudged up the steps one by one. For an August evening, it wasn’t too hot; however, that did nothing for the deep ache in her bones. Another twelve-hour day in the office. Another long therapy session acting as counselor for her very unlucky, inebriated coworker. She needed a long vacation.
She got to the top of the stairs and turned onto the open-aired hallway. The breeze hit her skin and a chill ran up her spine as it hit her sweat-soaked shirt. Then her strands of muddy rose hair drifted out and came back to stick to her skin. She ran a hand up and about, pushing the hair back.
She needed to put up her feet. She needed to take the contacts out. She needed to shower and change into clean clothes. She needed to eat something that weren’t bar nuts or instant noodles. She needed to take care of herself for the first time in what felt like a bajillion years.
Her other hand readjusted the bags of groceries in her hand. Junk food wasn’t much healthier, but at least it was different. And if she had her way she was going to gorge herself and relax. She stepped forward, hurrying her pace to get to her apartment. When she had bought the place all those months ago, she should have gotten an apartment closer to the stairs. Instead, she had the studio at the far end.
Donna stumbled slightly, her legs giving a little to the exhaustion they felt. She darted out her hand to the railing and stopped herself. She reached her other hand to her head, bringing the bags of snacks up to her face. She rested her hand on her forehead a moment. It didn’t feel like she had a fever.
A door opened nearby. Then a “Donna?”
She simultaneously groaned and blushed. She knew that voice very well. It haunted her dreams and caused her to have one too many cold showers in the past few months. She looked up and found herself face to face with her very handsome, very single neighbor.
“Sup Paul.” She tried to laugh it off. “What’re you doing leaving so late?”
“'Bout to go for a quickie,” he jerked a thumb off in the general direction of the nearby park. “You trying to hide from me?”
“No, no, no.” She stammered quickly, bringing her hand down from her forehead. “I thought I was coming down with something, so I was just checking real quick.”
Paul glanced up and down at her. She blushed harder despite every cell in her screaming at her to play it cool. She had to look like a mess like she had run a marathon then decided to drown out the sweat with cheap liqueur. Which, in actuality, wasn’t too far from the truth. It was scorching earlier and the a/c in the office didn’t quite reach her desk; and it was Cheryl who had drowned her sorrows away that evening, not her.
He brought a hand to her head. “Can’t have you being sick. Let me check for ya.” There was a pause. He brought his other hand to his own forehead. He frowned.
“You do feel a little hot. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Donna stepped back quickly. “I’m fine. I’m sure I’m just hungry.”
“I can see.” He chuckled, gesturing to the bags in her hand. “All that for tonight?”
She pouted, “I’m not that much like a pig.”
Paul held his hands up in defense. “I never said anything of the sort.”
She stepped around him. “I’ll see you later. I really should be going.”
“Want me to check up on you tomorrow morning before I leave for work?”
“No, no, no, no, that’s not necessary. I’m in to work early anyway, you don’t have to go out of your way for me.”
“Please, Donna, it’s nothing.”
“It’s fine, really.” She hurried to her door and grabbed the key that was around her neck. “You have a great run now, good night!”
Donna hurried inside into the blessed air conditioning and shut the door behind her. There was a long pause before she sunk down to the ground. Her heart was beating so quickly it felt like it would run off and join Paul on his run. She breathed in deep to try and steady her nerves. It didn’t work so well.
“God why did I say that,” she grumbled and stamped her foot. “I look like an idiot.”
She wearily reached down and began to untie her laces. “Like, if I was smart I would've have played it cool, right? ‘Want me to check up on you tomorrow morning before I leave for work?’ Hell yeah! Please do! And make me breakfast in bed and then we can do…” her voice trailed off as the images came to mind.
“Nope! Nope! Not going to happen!” She scrambled to her feet. “That is definitely not going to happen.”
She entered her small kitchenette and dropped the bags of snacks on the counter. There were five bags, all of them pretty chock full of chips, pretzels, chocolates, and soda.
“I really shouldn’t have this all now, not after saying that to him.” She sighed. “Fiiine, I’ll eat some actual food before I have snacks.” She grumbled, depositing her keys and phone and her fanny pack onto the counter as well. “I don’t wanna be an adult. Why can’t I just have some nice man come and make me a nice dinner? Though, at this rate, I’ll take just about anyone. Woman, servant, live-in chef, kid, monkey…” the list went on under her breath as she went to the bathroom.
She started up the shower, took out her contacts, (swearing from hell to high water as she did,) and stripped herself from her sweat-stained clothes. She dropped them off in the hamper before entering in her shower. The hot water hit hard against her skin, and she purred in delight. She lathered up and washed away the day’s sweat. When she was sufficiently cleaned she switched the faucet and settled down into the tub. As the warm water slowly filled the tub, she reached over and grabbed one of her bath bombs that she had saved for special occasions such as this.
“Alexa, play Comfort Mood Playlist on Spotify.”
The machine repeated her command and started playing lo-fi music. Donna sighed in relaxation and submerged all but her head in the water. Now, this was what she needed. Of course, she had used the last of her bath bombs, so she’d have to splurge on more soon. But that was a later problem. Now all she needed was someone to massage out all those kinks in her back.
Paul came to her mind again and she sat upright in anger. “What the hell, Donna!? He’s off-limits, and you know it.” She sunk back down into the bubbles. “Why’d he have to be gay?” She absently twirled the water in front of her in slow spirals. “I’m happy he gets to live his life but damn, that man is a catch. At least I get to be his friend.”
She closed her eyes and leaned against the side of the tub. If only she had thought ahead of time to turn off the lights and light a few candles. Then it would be perfect, then she wouldn’t have to look up at the cheap fluorescent bulbs up above her.
When she started to nod off she reluctantly pulled the plug and got out. She wrapped herself in two of the largest, fluffiest towels money could buy. She placed her old frames on her nose, peering at herself in the foggy mirror. Faint freckles peaked out at her around her face like tiny hide-and-go-seekers. She pushed her glasses up and rubbed at her eyes as if they would go away if she scrubbed enough. There were still there. Honestly, she hated it when they came out during the summer months. She would be fine with it if they were there all the time or not at all. But it was the flip-floppiness of it all that irritated her to no end.
Maybe that was why her ex had left her.
Thoughts of Darren came to her mind and she grimaced at her reflection. If that bastard could stay out of her thoughts that would be nice. It has been over a year and he still haunted her when she least expected it.
“Nope, nope, no,” Donna stood up straight and pointed to herself in the mirror. “I’ve been counseling Cheryl all night about this. Move on. Don’t dwell on the past like that. No one likes a Donna Downer.”
She left her bathroom. “First things first, eat something. Put away the food. I’ll watch something relaxing and pass out. And I’ll be up to work on time and surprise Paul instead.” Her mouth curled into a smile. “Yes, I think that will go nicely.”
She pointed her finger at the bags of snacks on the counter. “And I won’t eat all of you tonight!” She frowned, “though that does sound like a really good idea.”
She shook her head and started rummaging through her cupboards. “Instant noods, instant noods, cheese whiz, soup, a can of beans? Since when did I buy that? Instant noods, more instant noods, tomato sauce, and a bag of stale Pringles. Why are there old Pringles in a bag?” She shook her head at her very bare cupboards. “I should really go shopping. Tomorrow. I’ll swing by the market after work. Thank god I don’t have to do another twelve hours, that would be a nightmare.”
She grabbed the singular can of soup and turned it around to see what it was. “Chunky Beef?” She checked the expiration date. “This is like two years outta date.” She held the can in her hand. “Eh, whatever. Should be fine.”
Donna plopped the soup into a small pot and started up her stovetop. As the soup heated up she got dressed, slipping into an old hoodie that she had stolen from a previous boyfriend (not Darren, fuck that guy,) and a pair of shorts that she had gotten back when she was in middle school. That was one of the perks of having a very early growth spurt, most of the stuff she had worn as a child she could still wear. Of course, she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing Hello Kitty shorts outside of the protective walls of her apartment. But inside? No one was going to see them other than her, so who cared?
She put away the snacks into the cupboards and the soda into her tiny fridge. She sat down and relaxed into her bed. She should have sprung for a larger place or maybe a bigger kitchen. Not that she would cook, of course. That was someone else’s problem. Not that anyone would cook for her either. Not that finding a place with a big enough kitchen had been a worry of hers when she had gotten the place over a year ago.
Pretty soon Donna sat at the edge of her bed, soup in front of her on a small collapsible table, watching as two cats playing with each other on the screen. She was itching for a pet so bad. She had almost bought a dog on more than one occasion and tried to smuggle in a stray cat at least twice. Every time she had thought about getting herself a friend her landlord would bump into her and the fear of the man would make her forget any plan of having a pet of her own. After all, he was supposedly a mob boss. Not that there was a mob in the area, and not that she had any proof that he was a mob boss; but the thought alone was scary enough.
Thank god for nature documentaries, at least she could satisfy her craving for a pet by vicariously living through nature documentaries. She had watched every single documentary there was on dogs and cats at least twice each and was working her way through reptiles. Of course, some days you just needed to sit down and watch a few cats play together on the television.
Just as she was finishing her soup there was a crash. She jumped, spoon in her mouth, her hands wildly flailing in response. The small table went flying to hit the desk where her tv sat. That made another crash and she scrambled to her feet. She glanced around the room. Donna’s eyes spotted it almost immediately. The cupboard door was half-open, and it looked like something had fallen. She took the spoon out of her mouth and sighed in relief.
“Holy hell I’ve been hanging out with Cheryl too much. She’s always muttering about something or another like how someone… is… stalking-” she trailed off as she went to the fallen item. It was a bag of chips. She ticked things off her fingers and cocked her head as she thought. There was no way a bag of chips could make a crash that sounded like a plate.
She bent and grabbed the bag. As she lifted she could tell immediately that something was wrong. “What the hell?” She struggled to pull up the bag. She put the spoon back in her mouth and used both hands to haul the bag up to the counter. “Why is it so heavy?” She cocked her head again. “No, it wasn’t at all heavy when I grabbed it at the gas station.” She touched her head. “Doesn’t feel like I have a fever. Am I trippin'?”
The bag moved, the unmistakable sound of chips crumbling under something heavy came from it. She jumped, the spoon dropped from her mouth. She reached over and grabbed the pot holding it high over her head. If something was going to come out of there she was going to smack it so hard it won’t know what happened to it. Soup dripped down out of the pot and onto her arm and her floor. It was still hot. It didn’t hurt but it certainly was annoying. Her heart raced. Her breathing quickened.
The bag moved again, and before she could think too hard about it she smacked the pot as hard as she could. The bag of chips exploded. Soup flew across the apartment to cover her bed and television and her walls. Soup dripped from the ceiling. Bits and pieces of overcooked beef and barbeque chips flecked her hoodie and her legs.
Inside the bag was an egg the size of a small puppy. It looked like it would have taken space over most of the bag itself. Cracks sprouted out around the egg. It shifted this way and that. It was hatching. Her breath quickened. She raised her pot with her head spinning.
Donna went over in her head what exactly would come out of an egg that size. How had the egg gotten in there? How had it not been heavy before? Had the bag been heavy and she was just stupid? Was she really tripping? Was there something in those bar nuts that shouldn’t have been there? Had she stayed in the bath for too long and she was hallucinating?
The eggshell fractured further before exploding out. She winced and squinted her eyes as she prepared to attack once more. Soup rained down on her head. A pair of small, amber eyes shown out at her in the darkness of the egg. The eyes moved back and forth. Then more of the eggshell separated itself, piece by piece being pushed away. The sides of the egg blew out backward as a pair of wings unfurled themselves from the creatures back.
She blinked. That was… a dragon? In her shock, she let go of the pot and it fell onto her head. She blinked rapidly as the dragon in the middle of the barbeque chips began to multiply before her eyes. The room began to spin. Before she could think about grabbing onto something to catch herself she fell flat on her back. She closed her eyes and knew no more.
No comments:
Post a Comment