by Alyssa Lynn
Ava was never a morning person and she didn’t plan to start now. She grabbed her robe and slipped on her tiger slippers as she staggered out to the kitchen where her roommate, Kaycie, was brewing coffee.
“Good morning, Ava!” Kaycie said, turning away from the counter.
Pouring herself a cup of coffee, Ava glared at her. “Seriously, why are you so damn chipper in the mornings?”
“What is there not to be chipper about? It’s beautiful outside! Today is your birthday! Even Icarus is happy to see you.”
Ava shuffled across the room and reached into Icarus’ cage, putting the chameleon on her shoulder. “He’s the only good thing I have to wake up to anymore,” she said, making her way back into the kitchen and sipping her coffee.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Ava smirked and threw a piece of bread at her. “It means he’s not obnoxiously loud when others are trying to wake up. You know it takes me a bit to come out of my coma.”
“Blah. Blah. Blah. Go get yourself dressed! It’s Saturday funday!”
“Saturday funday will have to wait until tonight. You know I have to meet with that research assistant before putting in a few hours at the lab. Don’t you have to work?”
“I worked a double yesterday while you had your nose buried in your work at the lab. You wouldn’t know because you’re never here. Maybe you should reconsider your profession? Getting something a little more lax?”
“Why did you work a double? Can’t they get any of the other nurses to actually put in a full shift over there?”
“It’s not like that, Miss Sour Pants. I switched today’s shift for a shift last night so that I could be off today. I don’t go back to work until Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are both double-shift days, which means I’ll have all morning Saturday to sleep. It all works out in the end.”
“If you say so,” Ava said, now gulping from her bowl-size coffee mug. “And I didn’t have my nose buried. I’m trying to finish a project at work and it’s going to be my ass if I don’t get it done on time. I put in the hours required for my job. That’s all.”
“All work and no play makes Ava a dull, dull girl,” Kaycie taunted as she rolled her eyes and went dancing out of the kitchen.
Ava looked at Icarus and said, “Dude, we need a new best friend.”
“I heard that!” Kaycie yelled from the other room.
“I said it loud!” Ava hollered back, and headed to the bedroom to get ready for the day.
By the time she was done meeting with the research assistant at the coffee shop, it was early afternoon. Thankful that parking was close to the lab, she whipped her little blue Mazda into its spot. Ava headed into the double doors and waved at their perky attendant sitting at the welcome desk.
“No coffee this morning, Miss Ava?” she asked, smiling.
“Already had my share. I’ll probably have the pot in the lab brewing if the girls don’t already. Enjoy your day, DiAnne,” she said, as she made her way back to the lab to finalize some of the things on her to-do list.
As a kid, she wanted to be a surgeon, but when she grew older she was disgusted at how many years of schooling it took to get into medical school. Taking a step back and reevaluating her aspirations, she decided she wanted to become a research geneticist. Little did she know, it took quite a few years of schooling to get her feet planted in that field as well.
She walked into the lab and looked around at the HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner that her lab partners had hung across the window. Then, she noticed the decorations they had strategically placed throughout the room. She waved to them and they sheepishly followed her into her office.
Jaime, her closest friend at the lab, had worked with Ava throughout the duration of her schooling and helped her get her foot in the door. Taylor and Brittney were hired within the last year and both were quick learners, which made Ava happy to work with them. Between the four of them, they had a pretty solid team. Plus, it was nice that they had all formed a close friendship over their time working together.
The three of them followed Ava and watched her plop onto her desk chair. Pulling her safety glasses from her eyes, Taylor leaned over Ava’s desk. “I put in the order for the list of chemicals you left on the white board so we can finish developing those proposed methods to modify those traits you...” she paused and stared at the glazed-over expression on Ava’s face. “Girl, what’s going on? I mean, I know you’re not a morning person, but it’s two in the afternoon.”
“Do you want my smoothie?” Brittney offered, holding out the overly healthy shredded fruit drink that she consumed at the start of each shift.
Ava took one look at the cup in Brittney’s hands, shook her head, ran her hands down her face. “Thank you for ordering the chemicals, we really need to get these tests underway so I can report back by the end of this month.”
Jaime plopped down on one of the cushioned chairs in front of her desk, “They’re really jumping down your throat about this project, aren’t they?”
“When you request funding to purchase chemicals and equipment, they tend to want to know where their money is going.” Ava said, putting her elbows on the edge of her desk and rubbing her temples.
“How did your meeting go this morning,” asked Brittney.
“Oh ya know, the usual; discussing things that don’t mean squat to me while sipping at a crappy cup of coffee. I’m glad I downed a full cup before I left or I would have fallen asleep at the table. I’m sure that’s frowned upon.” She leaned down to her bag and pulled out her laptop, placing it square on her desk. “I don’t understand why I need to keep speaking with these people.”
Taylor pointed around Ava’s office, “Well, lady, when you get this many certificates and awards, people are bound to want to know your secrets.”
Jaime sat in the chair across from Ava’s desk, balancing a pencil on her nose. “Ya know what I think?” she asked, dropping the pencil onto her lap. “I think you need to take a vacation. I was glad to see that you didn’t come in right away this morning. You’re on, what, day nineteen?”
“Eighteen,” Ava corrected.
“Much better,” Taylor said, sarcastically. “And you put in how many hours each day?”
Ava ignored the second part of her comment. “I can’t take a vacation; I need to help get this project completed. It’s my rump that will be roasted if anything goes wrong. They’re saying that the outcome of this research is going to be used as training material at some of the top universities in the country. MY name will be attached to that. I can’t be giving them half-assed work or I’ll ruin the reputation I’ve built for myself.”
Jaime stretched her feet out and placed them on the corner of Ava’s desk. “You do realize that we all have a degree, and even though that doesn’t always mean anything, you’ve worked with the two of them for about a year and you’ve worked with me for almost nine.” She stood and walked toward Taylor and Brittney, “You’ve taught your technique to all three of us and you know we all have a solid work ethic. How about you let us take the slack on some of this and you go prop your feet up for a few days.”
Ava looked at the three of them who were now standing with their arms crossed, waiting for her to accept the invitation for some time off. They looked like they should be on the album cover of a geeky medical music group, with their white lab coats and safety glasses.
She groaned and threw her hands up, giving in to the vultures. “Alright. Alright.” Lifting her finger, she pointed at all three of them, “But if anything happens around here, I want to be the first to know, AND I will be doing a daily check-in.” The girls rolled their eyes at Ava, but gave a nod to accept her terms.
Two hours later, Ava was writing on her office board “Will return in a week” and putting her out-of-office message on her email and desk phone. “You know you can call me if you need ANYTHING,” she said to the girls, feeling uneasy.
Brittney rolled her eyes, “For the hundredth time, we kno
w! Now get your ass outta here! We will see you in a week, as per your board. The board don’t lie,” she said, with a sly smile. “And feel free to knock those daily check-ins back. Ya know. To like, never.”
Ava narrowed her eyes at Brittney and gave her an annoyed smirk. Picking up her bag, she walked through the lab and grabbed the banner from the window, yelling at the girls over her shoulder, “You know I hate my birthday!”
~
Walking downtown that evening, the freshly primped Kaycie and Ava were looking for a good time. It had taken Kaycie everything she had to pry Ava away from her research; even after reminding her that she was supposed to be on vacation.
Linked arm-in-arm, the two girls made their presence known as they strutted their stuff down the city streets. Ava’s long legs were on display under a short, flowing mini-skirt that was topped with a glitter tank top to show off some cleavage. Her wavy brown hair was let down to cascade over her shoulders and her eye shadow was just the right touch to emphasize her bright green eyes.
Though not very tall, Kaycie was done up in a black dress with silver pumps that brought her closer to Ava’s height. Her red hair was pulled up into a dancer-style bun on the top of her head, and her loose ringlets framed her round face. She always said that an outfit wasn’t complete without pumps and red lipstick.
The two strolled the streets of Chicago and popped in and out of a few clubs before they found the one that had, what Kaycie called, the “right vibe”. When they made their way past the bouncer and walked into the bar, Ava fell in love with the aesthetic. “I love this place!” Ava yelled to Kaycie.
“Really? Because you hated it last time we were here,” Kaycie yelled back.
With a confused expression, Ava chuckled and corrected Kaycie. “I was never here. I would have remembered these padded walls. Almost like I belong in an insane asylum.”
“That’s what you said last time we were here. That’s why you hated this place”
Ava stood silent and contemplated Kaycie’s response. “Was I really too drunk to remember even coming here?”
“Yes,” Kaycie replied, scooting passed Ava. “It was the night you tried to convince the one ugly guy that you were really a dude.”
“Oh shit,” Ava said, laughing hysterically. “Why do you even bring me out in public?”
“I ask myself that same question every day!”
Ava punched her in the arm playfully and Kaycie pretended to pout before she started laughing. “Let’s head to the bar and prop ourselves up on a stool,” she told Ava.
Ava looked down at her mini and over at Kaycie’s pumps. “You really think I want my downstairs being shown off to all of Chicago from a barstool? Hell no. If I’m gonna show it off, I best be making some money off of it.” She started laughing as she grabbed Kaycie’s hand and led her to a table in the corner.
College students normally flooded the clubs in the city, but since it was summer, there was actually room to move around. The servers and bartenders all dressed in tight, revealing clothing and the drinks were poured on the strong side, according to the faces of those sipping from their straws.
The snobby waitress walked over and took their drink orders of two cranberry and vodka’s, and the girls settled into their chairs. “You’re allowed to enjoy your birthday,” Kaycie said, reaching across the table and holding Ava’s hands.
“I know,” Ava responded, looking down at the table. “I just dread this day every year.”
At that moment, one of the guys from the bar stumbled over to their table and used the corner of Kaycie’s chair to hold himself up. Slurring his words, he stared at the girls’ intertwined fingers, “You’re a hot couple of wo-… couple of gir-… you two are hot. Do you, like, makeout and stuff?”
Kaycie stood up and brushed against the wobbling man as she walked around to Ava’s side of the table. Giving him her best sexy voice, she sat down on Ava’s now-exposed lap, and let her eyes scan him from head to toe. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The man continued to hold himself steady with the help of Kaycie’s chair. Nodding his head eagerly, he couldn’t help but reach toward Kaycie while she sat on top of Ava with her arm around her shoulder. “You should come back to my place tonight. I have more beer,” he said with a smile.
Ava grinned at Kaycie, knowing what was about to happen. Kaycie slowly lifted herself from Ava’s lap and moved toward the guy, licking her lips and running her hand across her collar bone. Getting close to his ear, she leaned in and whispered, “Not if you were the last man on earth.”
He stood there, smiling at first, and then appearing confused before the look of disgust consumed his face. Without attempting to say another word, he stumbled his way back over to the bar.
“You sure do have a way with guys,” Ava said to Kaycie as she sat back down in her seat.
“He deserved it. Now, let’s have a good time tonight, okay?”
“I mean, I’ll try. It’s just not always easy to get these awful thoughts out of my mind,” she said.
“Well, then I guess we need to make this night good enough to outweigh the bad!” Standing up on top of her chair, Kaycie put her arms up in the air and started hollering. “It’s this girl’s twenty-fifth birthday and she has never had a REAL party! LET’S SHOW HER HOW WE DO IT IN CHICAGOOOO!”
The whole room started cheering and chanting. Two guys walked over to their table and bought them a round of drinks, while two girls from the bachelorette party nearby, brought over tiaras and oversized glitter sunglasses. “Now it’s a party!” Kaycie yelled over the crowd, placing one of the tiaras on Ava’s head.
Ava started laughing and chugged her drink as quickly as she could, hoping that if she puked on her own dress, Kaycie would let her go home.
Forty minutes later, Ava had downed three cranberry drinks along with two shots of straight tequila and was now dancing on the bar with two girls she had never met before. The bartender was squirting them with the water gun while they danced and sang to Lenny Kravitz’s cover of American Woman. Kaycie was at the other end of the bar getting drink refills with a side of the other bartender’s phone number.
“Who are you here with?” Kaycie heard from behind her.
When she turned around, she was looking into a pair of deep brown eyes that belonged to an extremely attractive guy who was dressed to be anywhere but in this club. His high-end suit stood out against the relaxed club attire, and his perfectly slicked-back hair showed no signs of having danced at all throughout the night.
Pointing at Ava up on the bar, she yelled back to him, “I’m with the birthday girl!” She put two drinks in his hands and pick up the other two, still sitting on the bar. “Carry these and follow me,” she yelled to him over the loud music. Making their way through the crowd and back toward Ava, Kaycie put both of the drinks in the hands of her drunken roommate. “Shake it, girl!” she yelled.
Ava smiled back at Kaycie and squatted down to shake her butt, which resulted in Kaycie smacking her as they both howled.
“Why aren’t you up there dancing?” the cute guy asked her.
“I’m here to make sure she has a good time!” As he tried to hand her the other two drinks, she took one of them and declined the second. “That’s for you. I hope you can keep up!”
“My name is Ethan!” he yelled to Kaycie.
“I don’t care!” she yelled back, and took his empty hand to lead him onto the dance floor.
While Ava was on the bar dancing, she looked down and saw Kaycie in the middle of the dance floor, singing and having a good time. Then she noticed there was a guy grinding on her. Who is that? She thought to herself. Tall, dark, and handsome, but dressed like he should be at a cocktail party. After standing still for a moment, her brain had a chance to catch up and she began to feel dizzy. She got herself down from the bar and sat on a barstool. Sipping at her drink, she turned herself around in time to see Kaycie throwing her head back in laughter. Watching them together and seeing them laugh re
minded her of the happy times she had with Jett. Has it really been ten years? Ten years of constant questions and wondering what actually happened? Ten years of hating birthdays and burying my face in my job to keep my mind occupied?
The tears started to form in her eyes and she got up from her barstool. Pushing through the crowd, she made her way to the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. With her face buried in her hands, she let the tears tumble down her cheeks and onto the tiles of the club’s nasty bathroom floor. She could feel reality starting to come back to her and realized that while she was up on the bar having a good time, she had forgotten about the incident at the unknown building in Kansas. Feeling guilty for forgetting about Jett, she walked out of the stall and over to the bathroom sink. Ava grabbed a paper towel and wet it under the motion-activated water faucet. Carefully, she dabbed her face with water to try and calm herself.
The bathroom door was pushed open by two other girls who came walking in all dressed up in glittery tops. Noticing Ava at the bathroom sink, the taller of the two walked over and placed a hand on her arm.
“Girl, don’t cry! You’re way too pretty to cry,” she said, slurring her words as she brushed Ava’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Is it guy troubles?”
Ava looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair had begun to frizz, her makeup had formed dark clouds under her eyes, and her tank top strap was hanging off of her shoulder. Seeing herself made her want to laugh at how ridiculous she looked.
Shifting her eyes over to the girls, she replied, “Guy troubles. I guess you could say that.”
“Well, whoever he is, don’t let it eat at you. Try and live your life to the fullest!” The shorter girl chimed in with her squeaky, high-pitched voice.
“Yeah! If you’re not happy, change it! Or just do what I do and get a new tattoo.”