Black Monster

Christine had known Rob would follow her so had dived into the disabled loo just outside the bar in the stair well. It was still mercifully clean though the air was cold and damp in the cubical. It smelt of disinfected and she tried not to gag. She heard him calling her name and sat down on the loo seat and cried as quietly as she could. She tore some loo paper off to catch the enevitable nose drip that would come.

It seemed an age of racking sobs and she rocked and rocked and thought how nuts that would look and even though no one could see her she stopped instantly. Everytime she thought the crying had stopped she would start again, she kept getting up and splashing her face with water from the wash basin, she looked a fright with her fine hair matted to her head at the front with water, and red rimmed eyes, her pale skin was blotchy. Great just great. Taking deep breaths she finially pulled herself together. She had her wallet but not her phone – that she realised with a pain of worry was sitting in the bar with her flute.

She didn’t dare go back though as Rob may have come back or worse Edwines kind eyes would ask questions he would never speak. Plus the nose level and number of people trying for the loo had gone up meaning that there was probably a crowd now and this close to the start of term ment a press of Freshers all off their heads which had never been pleasant even when she had been one of them.

She had her keys and wallet but she lived with Rob and she really just couldn’t face him right now, she shouldn’t have blown up like that, now it was going to be even worse. What was she going to do? She could go to the library they’d made it 24 hr but he would probably look for her there eventually and she was exhorsted from the crying.

Sighing she got out her ipad clone and hoped Rob was not online somewhere. She hooked into the college WiFi via the stupid security website that made everything uber slow and waited. Eventually she found the menu of friends avalible via Skype and chose the best of the bunch that was not going to be an obvious place for Rob to check.

The stupid thing made a false phone trill which made her heart pound in her throught, she kept waiting for a knock at the door, if it was late enough for a crowd it was late enough for Stewards and they would notice if the toliet was always ingaged.

‘Hi!’ came a staticy voice. Christine rolled her eyes in a silent pray of thanks.

‘Megan!’ she trilled falsly happy, she was going to be honest but then Megan was a new friend from the Scifi Library in the Quad basement, she wasn’t a musician and geeks always tended to be more stable than flaky musicians – she was sure of it and so she couldn’t say she’d had a row with Rob or that she was upset.

‘Do you want to meet up tonight?’ she asked before the other girl could get a word in.

‘Yeah could do’ she replied with annoying slowness caused by the slow connection. ‘Want to come over here first?’ Christian thanked the heavens and agreed, explaining she’d lost her phone and so getting the girls address a new.

‘I’ll be over in a bit’ she said and clicked off the connection and packed the tablet PC away. Then she got up and unlocked the door, cracking it open carefully to see if Rob was anywhere about. Tammi from Chemistry was chatting to someone on the stairs, some Dram Soc dude with pony tail down to his waist. She waved at them and scuttled past. The air was chill and the evening was drawing on, she hugged herself and tried not to look around to much, the quad was filling up even in the drizzle.

She said ‘night’ perfunctionally to the steward on the gate and the noticed the security guards had turned up – she must have been crying for ages! MUPPET she silently scolded herself. She hurried along relieved to find the tunnel to the tube still open. She hurried down the steps, she liked the tunnels even though they had slime moulds growing over the instatution salmon of the flaky victorian walls. South Ken Station loomed at her and she hurtled through the barriers and hurried onto the plateform just in time to slip onto a train. She scrambeled for a seat and sat trying not to feel too squished, the peak traffic had already been and gone but the train carriage still sported no free seats.

Christine turned inwards on herself, bloking out the press of people around her and hummed ariars to herself. Three years allowed her to run on instinct on the Underground meaning that she clicked back into awareness just in time to alight at the correct stop. Megan’s place was a bit of a trek but it took her out of the usual huaghnts.

The drizzel had stopped by the time she reached the open air ones more and the street lights and shop signs luminesed off of the wet pavement in a bueatiful way. Her sneakers where however soaked through, gold glitter to match the cream of her floaty blouse. Megan’s flate was by a tree with a white strip around it. There was supposed to be an elephant burried undernieth it, Rob had told her the story one night when they had gone on an explore. His family lived in Ealing one of the many parts of the expanse called London.

The station as always was brimming, she smelt the tantalising smell of the Chip n dips place, her stomach grumbled but she ignored it. She headed out into the night, humming, she was starting to look forward to the outing, they would probably end up in some late night cheese club, her sneakers would be accepted anywhere as they were glittery, she smiled at the thought of maybe even ending up back in South Kensington in the basement of one of the hotels drinking until dawn.

She reached the tree lined avenue, a wide ally really with a the gateways of houses with actual gardens leading off of it, the warm glow of the street lights gave it a cozy feel and the trees looks fuzzy with new growth on the trunks. Christine was barely aware of the hands that clasped her, a moment before she smelt a strange acrid tange that seemed to mug her of her senses. Her knees buckeled.

Posted: Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 @ 6:46 pm
Categories: Uncategorized.
Subscribe to the comments feed if you like. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.