Red Hair Spells Danger

Chapter 5: Breakdown

"All the action adventure girls have red hair," he said. "Whenever it is an independent girl, not a sidekick person, when she has her own mind or does as good as the guys, she has red hair."  

― Marion Roach

In a flurry of feathers and expensive perfume, the woman I could only presume to be Scarlett had arrived, clutching a huge bouquet of red roses which she pressed into my hands with a, "You must be Ariel! HI!" I took a moment to step back and look at her, because she was beautiful. Dressed in a striking green dress which matched her eyes, Scarlett had a flawless complexion, pursed red lips and red hair in a curly bob which just added to the glamour of her outfit. Her appearance was as dramatic as her instant messages had been.

"Hi, are you Scarlett?" I asked, just to verify, although I was pretty sure it was her.

"Yep! So nice to meet you!" Scarlett beamed, before pulling me into a hug. I thought it was a bit much for the first meeting, but accepted the hug warily, thinking, if she's like this all the time I'm not sure I could deal with her. Scarlett was a bit like the Andrex puppy: over-eager, exuberant, and a bit of an adorable mess. She swanned into my apartment, handing out cheek kisses like they were sweets, and trilling, "Hiya, everyone!" or "I love that dress! It's FABULOUS!" (that dreaded word), before pouring herself a glass of wine (um, manners?) and collapsing onto my sofa, pulling out an expensive box of chocolates (okay, she was forgiven) and offering them around. I popped one into my mouth, making an approving "Mmm" as the chocolatey goodness hit my taste-buds (and most probably my hips).

"You bought chocolates? I immediately like you, Scarlett," said Bianca cheerfully, taking out a handful. She giggled. "Oops, I accidentally took... five. Looks like I'm going to have to eat them ALL!" She mock-sighed.

"Oi, greedy-chops! Save some for us starving women," said Melissa, swatting her hand away.

"Starving women? Melissa, you just ate a whole bag of Doritos," Lola reminded her.

"A WHOLE bag?" Scarlett was shocked.

Melissa swallowed the chocolates, and grinned evilly. "Yep."

"Okay, okay, guys," I interrupted. "Why don't we all get to know each other a bit before this gets really awkward? Melissa, you start."

"Okay," Melissa said. "I'm Melissa, mother of three, wife of one, I used to have a life but then I had kids. I'm an ultimate chatterbox, always up for a good time, and I'm spontaneous, hence the decision to come here tonight to meet a bunch of strangers." She looked up at me,

"Felicity?"

"Hi," Felicity said shyly. "I'm Felicity, twenty-seven, single, no kids. I'm not good at making friends, and I thought this... Might help. I'm not much of a risk-taker, so I decided to try something new. And I'm really shy." She blushed.

"My turn!" Lola interjected. "I'm Lola, stage name Lola Lollipop." We looked at her. Lola sighed. "Don't judge, okay? I'm a stripper."

There were a few moments of shocked silence.

"Yep. That's the reaction I tend to get," Lola said matter-of-factly. "I'm a tough bitch, and I speak my mind, so don't be offended by my brute honesty."

"Ooh, is it my go?" Scarlett asked. "I'm Scarlett, you can call me Scar, Scarry, Lett, um... I'm an actress! I'm very outgoing, loud, fun!" She beamed. "And I've only just met all of you, but you seem really nice!"

"I guess I should go," said Bianca, holding up her hand in a slight wave. "Hey, guys. Bianca. I'm an accountant, but that DOESN'T make me boring, okay? I like baking, and I've got a really immature sense of humour. Seriously, mental age of a five-year-old."