Viral

Chapter 6

Unsurprisingly, I was late for something yet again. On my way out of the door, I grabbed a bag of cereal, and an umbrella, before locking it behind me and starting to conquer the staircase.

Both Molly and I were habitually late for appointments, so it had become routine that on Sunday evenings, we spent about ten minutes pouring a mixture of cereals and dried fruit into plastic bags, one for each day of the week that we had to be somewhere. Our kitchen even held a cupboard that contained nothing but ready meals and these bags so we would always have something to eat, regardless of how late we woke up in the morning and how much we had to stuff our faces on the way to work.

By the time I had trotted to the bottom of the stairs, my bag of cereal was about half empty, and I continued to stuff my face as I walked briskly to the park, wondering if I'd still recognise Lorena, even after just two years.

She had an annoying habit of dying and restyling her hair every couple of weeks, so this time she might turn up with a blue, straightened bob instead of the bright red curls she had hanging halfway down her back the last time I saw her. Knowing what she was like, it would probably even more dramatic.

As I'd predicted, the hair had changed again. She was easy to spot- as I walked past the park fence, I saw two women chatting and laughing, one with green, waterfall-like straightened hair that bounced every time she threw her head back to laugh.

"Oh, Trini.." I heard one of them say, confirming my suspicions. Soon, I was inside the gate, and I found them under an old oak tree. Lorena noticed me first, and bounded towards me with her arms open wide and a massive grin on her face.

"Oh, Elise! Cariño!" she shrieked, enveloping me in a hug. "Come, come," she said, tugging at my arm, "You must meet Trini. Isn't she fantastic?" she asked, clearly pleased to see me.

Trini nodded, and smiled at me. "Trini," she said, extending a hand, "but you probably guessed that."

I shook her hand. "Elise. Pleased to meet you at last!"

Lorena patted the blanket beside her. "Sit down! I need to know all about everything, Elise, and we have brought lunch, so let's eat!"

Trini opened the basket, an old and fragile-looking wicker contraption. It creaked as Lorena enthusiastically dug around inside, and began handing out plates and napkins.

She winked conspiratorially. "It's our little secret, but those bottles? That's not water. We have beer!"

Trini laughed. "Yes, you know Lorena, can't survive without her daily booze!"

I gladly accepted some cold pizza and crisps, as well as the bottled beer.
Across the blanket, I couldn't help but notice their hands intertwine behind the basket.

"So, why are you two over here?" I asked, but Lorena brushed me away.

"No, no, Elise, we'll talk about us later. For now? It's all yours. Go on, tell me what I've been missing in this lovely country!"

"Well," I began, fidgeting under the pressure, "Not much, really. After sixth form, I left school and decided to take a gap year before uni. So, I continued with the YouTube channel I started in Year 10, and I've been working in the local Next and a small bookshop near where I live. Molly and I are sharing a flat, but that's about it."

"Oh, yes, YouTube!" said Trini. She'd been quiet so far, so I listened intently to what she had to say. "I saw your parody. It's fantastic, isn't it, Lorena?"

Lorena nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes. I laughed a lot when I saw that." She mimed wiping a tear from her eye.

"How about you two?" I asked, "I really want to know this mysterious reason as to why you're back here."

Trini's face went a light shade of pink, and Lorena nudged her side.

"Tell her, then!" she whispered, smiling proudly like a mother whose son has just won first place in the spelling bee.

"Well," she started, then stopped nervously.

She began again. "Well, I've landed a job as a director for a show that's going on in the West End. Mamma Mia, actually."

"Congratulations!" I smiled, happy to know that it was a good reason why they were here. "So are you moving?"

Here, Lorena took over the conversation. "Yes, yes, in fact, we just got our shipment of things yesterday!"

My smile morphed into a frown as something struck me. "Wait-" I said, pausing. "Trini, you're only one year older than Lorena, right?"

She nodded affirmation.

"So how have you finished uni?" I asked, puzzled.

Her face turned an even darker shade of embarrassed tomato. "I started school a little early, so I left a little early too."

I grinned. "That's no reason to be embarrassed! That's brilliant!"

"Thank you," she said, running a hand through her hair, "I'm just a bit nervous meeting new people."

Lorena had been a little skittish and overexcited throughout the entire conversation, but now she was literally jumping up and down with excitement, her cheeks wobbling as she bounced. I couldn't stand it any longer, and turned to her.

"Spit it out, Lorena! Why are you so hyper?"

The smile plastered on her face grew to twice the size, and she delivered a mangled heap of words that sounded like 'Trinigattajewb, annowyousin, butthewanya!"

"Come again?"

She repeated the sentence, slower this time. "Trini got her job, and with your singing on YouTube, they want you!"

My mouth gaped open. "Is she serious?" I asked Trini, knowing how much of a prankster Lorena could be.

"Completely," she said, nodding, "That's part of the reason we came down here. I told Lorena about work one day, and she got all excited when I mentioned your name, so we volunteered to give you the offer."

She squeezed her girlfriend's hand.

"Of course, you'll still have to apply and all, but it's pretty likely that you'll make it, seeing as they already know what a good makeup artist and costume designer you are from YouTube. The official letter should be coming in a couple of days. So what do you think?" she said.

For a second, I let my mouth open and close like a fish, starting monosyllabic words but not finishing them.

"Muh... buh whuh?" I said, sounding like an idiot. "I mean, really, I'd love to! But I'd have to talk to Molly and all."

Lorena bobbed her head up and down. "You should at least try. If you make it, you can still turn it down, but if you don't the option will never be there."

We chatted late into the evening, when the gates of the park closed and we went to a restaurant for curry. I went to bed that night feeling weightless, and resolved to tell Molly about it all in the morning.