The Love Abroad

Chapter Two

Twiddling my thumbs, breathing heavily and acting paranoid. I'm just a little anxious. 

I met Tom about a week ago at one of Kris' mutual friend's party. A casual party but in a crowded, fancy setting. Her friend is loaded, completely rich out of her mind. 

A half hour left & I'm free for the weekend. I had a very uneventful weekend with Kris working at an Art Gallery all day. Well, at least I'll get the opportunity to do some touristy stuff; I have yet to go on the London Eye.

My first class went fantastic and way too fast but the last one is dragging on, kind of like the whole Twilight series. 

It's about half past 3pm on a Friday, the one-day of the week where my schedule isn't completely out-of-whack, which means by the time Kris & I get back it'll be about 4:30pm.

Leaving me not much time to get ready for tonight.

"I expect your papers on my desk at the first of class on Monday. Have a great weekend everybody," my very Scottish professor says.

Looks like I'll be writing my paper all weekend. It's good times over here in the land of Uni.

I grab my bag & rush down the stairs to find Kris staring at me with this evil expression. "Guess what! Marie! You're not going to believe this! I got an audition.... at RADA!"

She grabs my arms, both of us jumping for joy. She's been waiting for this call for about a month & she finally landed her first audition with one of the best performing arts school in Europe.

"That's fantastic Kris!! Shall we head home to celebrate?" She nods, grabbing my arm. 

As usual, we barely made it to the station on time, collecting our seats in the back, gossiping about our day.

"So what are you going to wear tonight? You need to make an impression; I mean have you seen him? He surely could have ANY woman he wants. You want to make sure that YOU'RE the woman he wants."

I'm not exactly sure how or why Kris talks like he's some kind of god or someone out of the ordinary but this is just a first date. Not our wedding day.

"I was planning on wearing what I have on now. I'm comfortable." 

It was a long ride back to London which looked liked the weather was going to take a turn for the worse. After about 20 minutes of trying to hail a taxi back to our flat, it was already 5:45pm. I still had to shower & find something new to wear since my current outfit was soaking wet. Got to love London, yeah?

Kris opens the front door, "Hurry up Maria! Shower, now! I'll ravage through your closet!" Without any arguing I run towards the bathroom, throwing clothes everywhere I can.

The hot steam from the shower gave the room a sauna effect, soothing my every muscle. It reminds me of the days when I played competitive soccer at school back home. Just without the other dozen half-naked chicks there.

Knocking and yelling comes from the other side of the door - Kris is probably freaking out more than I am. Without haste, I turn off the showerhead and wrap myself in my extra comfy green & yellow towel.

"Is everything okay in here? Kris?" Nothing, not a sound, "Hello! Where are you?" I slowly walk into my room to find her kneeling before my closet with tears streaming down her face. "Kris, is everything alright?" 

I walk in her direction when she darts around staring blankly at me. "I'm freaking out Maria. Like, I'm having a nervous breakdown. I just...can't do this." At this point she's sitting Indian style with her legs crossed and one of my blouses doubling as her tissue. 

Gross.

"Is it the nerves? Your audition?" She nods her head. "I'll cancel my date with Tom, okay? You're more important, friends don't abandon one another when in need." 

The words "cancel," and "date" go off in my head like bombs. I grab my phone and dial Tom.

"Marie, so good of you to call! I was just thinking about you." His voice echoes through my body, it's so soft and sincere. "Thinking about me? Oh, umm...I have some bad news..." silence comes from the other end, "No date tonight, huh?"

Just hearing him say those words crushed me. I didn't even know the guy but I knew that there was something about him that drove me crazy. "Unfortunately. Kris, my flat mate, isn't doing to well. I'm so sorry."

The emotion I was feeling is unexplainable. Here I am a girl, normal girl, going on a date with a guy who seems normal but is far from it. He was a real life Prince Charming. Falling out of my grasp.

"That's too bad. I'm right by the market, what if I brought soup for all three of us? I could come over to you, that way we still have our date and you won't be breaking the code of friendship." Pause. Silence.

"You want.... to come.... over here?" Speechless, I am totally speechless. "If that would be okay with Kris, yes. I would love to come over. I don't mind doing absolutely nothing."

I glance over at Kris, who can hear everything as she nods to head in agreement. "Okay. Come over when you can." I give him our address and the details on how to get there from the pub.

"I'll be there in 20 minutes. I'll see you soon, dear." The line gets disconnected and I too, still wet & in my bath towel, join Kris on the floor sitting Indian style.

The date is now taking place at my flat. I have only 20 minutes to find something suitable to wear.

Help.