The final art exposition for my school was great.
Lots of guests, fancy wine, lots of artwork, and important people from important companies.
I was really nervous. I was wearing a simple, black sophisticated dress. My hair was up in a messy but somehow elegant bun, and my lips were a bright red, contrasting well with the tan color of my skin.
Sophie was around here somewhere, but I couldn’t find her. I was feeling lonely, and in this moment I really ached for Mike’s presence.
He’d left ten days ago, and it was killing me.
That last night we’d spent together, where we’d almost……….done it, he’d told me he loved me. I didn’t even have a chance to respond, because before I could, Tony had burst in, in his boxers, saying Sophie was puking insanely in the bathroom, which sucked, because it seemed like they were really enjoying their last night together in a month. If you know what I mean.
I’d held her hair back from her face as she spilled her guts out in the toilet, while Tony and Mike spoke quietly in the kitchen, waiting for the tea I was brewing Sophie to be ready.
Now, Sophie seemed fine. She actually looked great.
Mike and I had texted back and forth almost every day, not always though, since he had some really busy days. I understood that, and I didn’t mind. My favorite days were when we could Face Time at night. He hadn’t mentioned the whole “I Love You” thing since he’d actually said it, and I was relieved. It wasn’t something to talk about on the phone.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality, and spun around.
“Hey! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Sophie said, her bright smile flashing on her face. She looked gorgeous tonight, long blonde hair down in waves, bright green eyes brought out to the best, light lip gloss, bright, electric blue dress, with an open back, and high heels that made her legs look beyond incredible.
I smiled back at my best friend. “I could say the same.”
She took my arm, and pulled me back to the corner of the room. “I have to tell you something.” She whispered, excitedly.
“What is it?” I whispered back, mocking her excited tone.
She flicked me in the forehead, and I exclaimed in pain. “Sh! Listen, you see that cute guy over there in the grey suit?” she pointed her finger at the crowd of people, and I located an attractive guy around his late thirties, wearing a suit and observing the artwork.
“Yeah?” I asked, curious. What about him?
“Well, he’s the chief editor of the ArtN’More magazine and he’s offered me a job as a permanent article writer!” she squealed in delight and covered her mouth with her hands.
My mouth gaped open. “Oh my God Soph’s that’s great!!” I hugged her tightly, and she kept squealing.
“But wait, there’s more!” She went on, taking a deep breath. “The hours are great, and the pay is unbelievable! I get my own column on every monthly magazine!” I swear, no woman could be happier than she was right now.
“That’s amazing! Is that the magazine Rob sent your paper to?” I asked.
Sophie nodded dramatically. “Rob is a total lifesaver! Sam do you know what this means? I have a job! I’ll have good money income!”
I was happy for her, I really was. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and she seemed so thrilled about it. Still, I worried. What would the fact that she had a secure salary in her life affect us working together as a team after college?
The exhibition went on for a couple of more hours, in which I met various famous artists, received a lot of praises for my work, and got a phone number from two guys, which I didn’t even ask for.
I stood now, staring at my piece. I was really in love with it.
“Did you do all the designs by yourself?” Someone asked from behind me. I turned around, and there was a guy, around thirty probably, with big arms and tattoos all over them.
“Yeah, I did.” I responded, smiling politely. Any person who showed interest in my art was a friend of mine.
He nodded, thoughtfully. “I really like the concept of this, it reminds me of myself.” He said, smiling.
My piece was a large, human scale clay sculpture of a woman. The sculpture was taller than me, and it had been a pain in the ass to do, but the important thing about the piece was the design.
All over the body’s surface, were different patterns, images, landscapes, scenarios, figures, words and symbols painted. There wasn’t even a little crack where there wasn’t paint on, and that was really the beauty of it.
It was a human canvas. My idea was based on the fact that people generally viewed tattoos as gangster signs, or satanic tributes, instead of what they really were: art. Body art.
Now, my sculpture wasn’t exactly a body with tattoos, but it was a mash-up of various different paintings on the surface of the woman’s body. I was really happy with it, and I’d received great critiques about it throughout the whole night.
Tattoo guy nodded a couple of times, staring at the piece intently. “You know, you’d make an amazing tattoo artist.”
I glanced back at him, surprised. “Me? Oh no, I don’t think so. I’m terrible with pointy things.” It was true. I had accidents with anything. Even little kids scissors.
He shrugged. “Well, a tattoo designer then.”
I looked back at the sculpture, thinking. “Seriously?”
He smiled. “Without a doubt.” He reached into his pocket, and took out a business card. He handed it to me, and I read it. ´Jensen Brothers Tattoo Parlor’. “If you’re interested, just give me a call.”
I nodded, dumbfounded, and he winked. He glanced at the piece once more, nodding, and left me standing there with a business card that felt heavy in my hands.
I shoved it down numbly into my small, elegant bag, and swallowed. Working as a tattoo artist. Having people get my designs marked on their skin forever. That was like, a dream come true. I’d never thought about it, but the idea seemed amazingly appealing to me now.
Not long after, the exposition closed, and we were asked politely to leave. I talked to a few other people about my sculpture, and got another handful of compliments.
This is what I loved about being an artist, hearing people say they understood my piece, listening as someone tells me how my art makes them feel………..there was just no better feeling.
“Hey so, Jess says she’ll pick us up in about ten minutes okay?” Sophie came up beside me, on the sidewalk outside the now closed gallery.
“Sure.” Today was Lena’s birthday, and we were all going out to this club Lena’s friend had recommended.
I wasn’t really in a party mood today, since 1st: I was on my period. 2nd: I didn’t enjoy parties that much. 3rd: I missed Mike. 4th: Sophie would surely get wasted and I’d have to take care of her. 5th: Party. People. Dancing.
Just……..no.
But this was for Lena’s birthday, and she was my friend, so I agreed to go.
As Sophie said, in ten minutes, Jess arrived driving down the curb and stopped in front of us, smiling big.
“Hey girls. Ready to go?” Sophie clapped excitedly and called shotgun. I climbed into the back.
We drove for around fifteen minutes, the stereos blasting with loud music that Sophie and Jess sang along to.
Eventually, a song that I actually knew started playing and I sang along with them. I got pretty into it, and soon enough we were all laughing our asses off.
It felt pretty good, I had to admit, goofing around with friends. It was a new feeling for me, and I think I liked it.
I liked having friends.
We arrived to this tightly packed, loud club. There were people dancing—no, grinding—on the dancefloor. There were private booths for the sexuals, and there were passed out people on the floor. It looked terrible.
“THIS IS SO AWESOME” Sophie exclaimed with a big smile on her face.
I rolled my eyes, allowing a smirk play on my face as Sophie dragged me and Jess to where Lena and her friend, Macy sat on stools next to the bar.
“You made it.” Lena said, her brilliant eyes lighting up even more.
“We said we would.” I replied, giving her a big hug, and watching as Sophie and Jess did the same.
The night went on pretty wildly. Guys came up to us and paid for some rounds of shots. Macy made out with almost every one of those men, and the other four of us laughed our asses off as she did this. Some of them were cute, some weren’t even close. I don’t think she even noticed in her alcohol blinded state.
At one point in the night, some drunk guy had come at me and started grinding me against a wall insanely.
I slapped the crap out of him.
And I regretted nothing.
The girls though, couldn’t get over it.
“I just can’t believe it Sam YOU SLAPPED HIM COLD.” Jess laughed hysterically.
“Seriously Sammy I didn’t think you had it in you!” Sophie would hug me and fake worship me.
Even Lena commented. “That was pretty cool, actually.” With a big smile.
The rest of the evening, wasn’t that fun or pleasant though.
Not even close.
One of the rounds of drinks we had, turned out to be the end of our fun night.
Lena started feeling sick. She turned green right after we finished the round, and she immediately took a seat.
“Guys, I don’t feel well.” She spoke through gritted teeth.
I sat down next to her. She was sweating insanely, and her beautiful eyes were unfocused. “Lena, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head, barely. “I—I can’t focus on anything. Everything is swimming and I feel like I’m going to—“throw up, apparently, because not a second later the floor was covered in her waste.
“Shit, what happened?” Sophie came up to us, crouching down in her high heels and taking Lena’s face in her hands.
“Oh fuck.” She whispered. Lena was practically passed out, her head bobbing weakly, her eyes wild.
Jess called a waiter over. “Hey! Someone put something in her drink!” She exclaimed, arguing with the man. I tuned out of her argument with him, and focused on brushing Lena’s sweat plastered hair from her face.
Macy was nowhere to be seen, probably making out with some random guy.
“Sam, you need to call Vic.” Sophie demanded, her eyes panicked.
“What? No! We need to call an ambulance.” I countered back.
“WELL THEN CALL THE FREAKING AMBULANCE THEN.” Sophie yelled over the music, placing Lena’s head on her lap, stroking her hair.
I fished my phone from my bag and dialed 911.
An hour later, we were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. Sophie had been crying and Jess was biting her nails insanely. Macy was still gone.
The doctors had said Lena would be fine, but that she was severely dehydrated and that they needed to take some more tests to determine the substance that they gave her.
“You should call Vic.” Jess said, serenely.
“Why me?” I asked, puzzled.
Sophie answered this time. “Because you’re the one who’s most composed. And you’re better with words.” She squeezed my hand nervously.
“Okay then.” I took my cellphone out, and dialed Vic’s number.
He picked up at the fourth ring. His laughter echoed through the speakers back at me. “Hey Sam, what’s up?” He said, the smile in his voice.
“Is that Sam?!” Mike yelled from the distance, his voice high and pitched. He was probably high.
“Yes, it’s Sam! Jealous? Now shut it and let me listen!” Vic hushed Mike and I heard other people’s laughter.
“Vic, we’re here in the hospital. It’s Lena.” I said, not even bothering to sugar coat it.
His laughter stopped dead. “WHAT?” The end of his word was cracked and rough.
I took a deep breath. “We were at a club. Someone put something in her drink.”
He was silent for a long time. “Is she okay?” His voice sounded strained, harsh.
“The doctors say she’ll be fine, but they’re not sure about the substance.” I rubbed my eyes with my hands, feeling tired and sleepy. It was 3:00 a.m.
I heard Vic curse. “Oh God. Thanks for telling me Sam. Is she there with you?” He asked.
“No. We’re not allowed to come in yet, she’s probably sleeping.” I answered.
“Is everything okay?” I heard Tony’s voice on the other end of the line, and I sighed.
“Not really Tone, just wait a bit. Sam, could you please call me when Lena wakes up? I really want to talk to her.”
“Sure Vic, I’ll keep you updated. Say hi to the guys for me.” I say, quietly.
His voice comes out low and cracked. “Of course Sammy. Thank you.” And we hang up.
This was definitely not a good birthday for our girl Lena.
I missed Mike like crazy, and all I wanted to do was sleep now.
27 more days and he’d be here.
27.

Notes

MWAHAHAHAHA.

Why did I laugh? I don't really know.

FEEEEEEEEEEEEEDBACK

I love you my sexual unicorns <3