Into the closet
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Hi. So, Nana's been kicked into touch by a furious Jennie, and the girls are heading back to Lisa's place. Now let's catch episode one of The Jennie and Lisa Show...
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"So, here it is," Lisa said, kicking open the door. "Welcome to The Closet."
"The what?"
"That's what I call it. The Closet."
"You call your apartment 'The Closet'?"
"Yeah," the blonde said, slightly disconcerted. "Why?"
"No reason."
"It's because it's small, you see?" She explained. "And kind of cramped."
"Right."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you smirking?"
"I'm not," Jennie shrugged. "It's just... Boy, this box is heavy." She shouldered her way past Lisa and into the apartment.
It was, as Lisa had meant to imply, not big, but that wasn't what struck the brunette. She'd assumed that Lisa would be either recklessly untidy, or obsessively neat, but this place was neither. It was rather like standing on the deck of the Mary Celeste - The Thai girl hadn't been expecting her to come here, and everything was just as it had been when she'd picked up her bag and headed out of the door.
The unwashed coffee cup on the table, lipstick still on the rim, an open notebook, the calendar recording the minutiae of her life. A single sock that had begun its journey to cleanliness with its partner, but had somehow fallen by the wayside like a wounded soldier.
It had a kind of ordinariness to it, a melancholy, the ticking of the clock in the silence, the grocery list made out for one, that startled her. All their friendship had been by necessity on the Korean girl's terms - when she could get away, where they could go - and it had never occurred to her to think about Lisa's solitary existence. Lisa had said she had no friends, but she'd never really appreciated what that might mean.
And Lisa mistook her silence for disappointment. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, kicking the errant sock under the table. "I'll clean up a little."
"No." Jennie turned to her. "It's lovely."
Lisa looked around the tiny apartment, skeptically. "Is it?"
"Yes." Jennie took her hands. "Thank you for this," she said. "It means a lot."
"Yeah, well," Lisa shrugged uncomfortably. "It's the least I could do. Well," she frowned. "Not the least, obviously, but-"
"It's fine."
"Right."
They stood, awkwardly holding hands for a moment. "Anyway," the blonde said briskly, breaking away. "Bring your clothes through. I'll find you some space."
Jennie followed her into the bedroom, and again felt a small thrill of intrusiveness at seeing the clothes strewn on the bed, evidence of Lisa's packing, deciding what to wear to come and visit her.
Lisa crossed to the wardrobe in the corner, opened it up, and after a moment's deliberation, grabbed half the clothes and flung them into a corner. "There you go," she said. "Space."
"Thanks." Jennie looked around. "What's this?" she asked. She was stood by a desk, on which lay Lisa's 'Jennie timetable'.
"It's nothing," the blonde said, making a grab for it, but Jennie was too quick for her, and she stood, squirming, while smaller girl held it up to the light. "It's just a... thing."
Jennie stared in wonder at her life laid out as a diagram, the color-coded days, the average gas calculations, the credit card balances underlined in red. Sticky labels representing Nana's movements, movie theaters marked with a cross.
It slowly dawned on her how much effort Lisa had put into her visits, and she had a sudden vision of her, sat alone at this desk, a scowl of concentration on her face as she carefully plotted her next move. "Wow."
"It's not what you think."
"Hmm?" Jennie noticed something in the corner, a little pencil scribble, a face. "No, I like it."
"I mean, I know it looks kind of weird..."
"No it's good." The brunette ran her finger over the tiny likeness, and it smudged. "Damn it."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"A girl just has to be prepared, that's all. I'm not some kind of-"
"I get it, Li." She put the paper down and turned. "I really do."
"Good," Lisa said, relieved.
"And if you ever do decide to become a stalker, you've had practice."
"Hey!"
"I'm kidding."
"You'd better be. So," Lisa said. "What do you want to do tonight? You want to go and see your folks?"
"What?" Jennie looked alarmed. The Thai girl sighed.
"You can't put it off forever."
"I know. It's just I... need to unpack first."
"Okay."
"For a couple of days."
"Kim..."
"Okay, I'll go. Just not tonight."
"You know, if they find out you're in town and you don't go to see them, they're going to get pretty pissed. You know what parents are like with the guilt trip thing."
"And I will. Tomorrow. I promise."
"You'd better. You want a drink?"
"Yeah, I'd... oooooh."
"What is it?" Jennie was staring into a cardboard box, eyes wide. "Did you break something?"
"I accidentally brought something of Nana's."
"Oh, man," the blonde groaned. "Do we have to take it back?"
Jennie held it up. "No," she said, with a grin. "We don't."
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"And that," Lisa said, blowing a smoke ring towards the ceiling, "ㅡis why I don't like ducks."
"Wow," Jennie said, hazily.
They lay side by side on the bed in jeans and T-shirts, the remains of Nana's stash, rolled and lit, passing between them. An empty wine bottle adorned the bedside cabinet. "That's just... wow."
"Yep."
"And they really do that?"
"Damn right they do. Quacky little bastards."
"Why doesn't everyone know about this?"
"I dunno," Lisa said. "I think the government covers it up. Bad for morale. But I know. Lisa Manoban knows."
"Wow," Jennie said again. She took the joint from Lisa's fingers and drew on it. "You are one smart..." She exhaled. "...banana."
"Damn right I am. Say, did I ever tell you about this time I was at a party, and... Wait, where's the ashtray?"
"Here you go."
"Thanks. Well, I was at this party..." She craned her neck to look down at the object resting on her stomach, and frowned. "This isn't an ashtray," she said. "This is a shoe."
"Uh-uh," the Korean girl corrected her. "It's a... shoe-tray."
"A what?"
"A shoe-tray," she slurred, proudly. "I invented it."
"When?"
"Just now. While you were talking."
"Oh. Okay. Well, I was..." She squinted closer. "You know," she said, "This looks awfully like one of my shoes."
"Um..."
"Is it one of my shoes?"
"No."
"Is it?"
"No."
"Is it?"
"No."
"Is it?"
"Yes," Jennie conceded. "But it's okay," she said, "Because I'll give you half the money."
"That's only going to buy me a quarter of a pair of shoes."
"I mean half the money when I get rich."
"Rich?"
"From my invention."
"Oh." Lisa rested her head back down on the pillow. "Okay. That's pretty nice of you. Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure. What are friends for?"
"I dunno. What are friends for?"
"Don't be such a gank. Anyway, you're more than a friend. You're like the sister I never had."
"You've got a sister."
"Like the other sister I never had. You know. The good one."
"Ah."
"So what are you going to buy with your half?"
Lisa screwed her face up in concentration. "A catamaran."
"Oooh, I'll get one of those, too. I love dogs."
"It's a boat."
"I love boats."
"Cool."
"And dogs. Can I get a dog and a boat?"
"It's your money."
"Yay!" Jennie twirled her finger happily, then frowned. "I thought you hated the ocean."
"I hate being in it," Lisa said. "I don't mind being on it." The blonde inspected the state of the joint.
"There's not much left," she said, propping herself up on one elbow. "You want to shotgun it?"
"What?"
"You put one end in your mouth, I put the other in mine, and you suck while I blow."
"Sounds great," Jennie said. "One end of what?"
"Of this, you numbskull. Do you want to?"
"Um... Okay."
"Lie back."
Jennie did, hands behind her head, eyes wide with an anticipation that did weird things to Lisa's stomach. Lisa shuffled closer. "Are you ready?"
Jennie nodded, and Lisa placed the joint between her lips. "Hold still." She took the brunette's face in her hands and leaned forward, carefully taking the lit end into her mouth, and closed her lips around it.
The shortness of the stub meant that they were pressed against Jennie's, a kiss by any other name, and she wondered if the other girl would flinch away. But she didn't, and so she began to blow gently, watching Jennie's face for a reaction, trying to judge when she'd had enough.
She saw her eyes widen suddenly and pulled back, to give her chance to breath, but to her surprise, Jennie pulled her back, taking the joint from her mouth, pressing her face close, her lips parting, Lisa's parting in response, and then...
She began to breath out, slowly, focusing the smoke in a stream back into Lisa's mouth. Lisa quickly understood and closed the gap, inhaling as she exhaled, drawing the warm breath mingled with the sweet tang of the smoke deep inside her. She'd never done this before, and she wondered if this was what Jennie did with Nana, if this had been their thing, and felt a pang of jealousy, tinged with triumph, at the thought that this might now be their thing.
Eventually, when there was no more smoke to give, Jennie released her, and she sat up, her head spinning more with the intimacy of the moment than the effects of the weed. There was a curious look on the Korean girl's face as she lay there breathless, her eyes dark, something she couldn't identify, almost as if...
There was a sharp knocking sound, and the moment was lost. She groaned and rolled off Jennie, plucking the joint back from her fingers.
"Don't answer it."
"Okay."
"It's probably... Where are you going?"
"To answer it."
"I just said-"
"It's the door, Lisa. I get the door. It's what I do."
"But-"
But Jennie was already gone, out of the bedroom heading for the door. "At least check who it is, first," Lisa called after her. "It might be the cops."
"How do I do that?" The brunette's voice came back.
The Thai girl tried to move, but her head was still spinning. "Use the peephole."
"Right."
It went very quiet. "Who is it?"
"I dunno," Jennie said, doubtfully. "It looks like a very tiny man. At the end of a long tunnel."
"I don't know any very tiny men," Lisa answered. She shrugged. "Although I've been disappointed a few times."
"What should I tell him?"
"Tell him to go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut. We're busy."
"Manoban!"
"What?"
"I can't do that," Jennie giggled. "He's too small. He'll fall through the hole. Anyway," she said. "He looks a bit like your dad."
"He looks like... Oh, crap!" Lisa sat bolt upright, crushing out the joint into the shoe.
"Shitshitshitshitshit." She flung the shoe into the waste basket and wafted hopelessly at the smoke, before crashing through into the room to join the latter. "Because it is my dad!"
"Can't be," Jennie scoffed. "Your dad was at least this big." She held up an unsteady hand to head height, but Lisa was in no mood for frivolity.
"Shut up!" She said. "Oh, God, what am I going to do?"
"Why don't you... not let him in?"
"I have to let him in!"
"Why?"
"Because if I don't answer it, he'll know I'm here!"
"Wait, what?"
"If I don't answer the door, he'll know I'm in, because I never answer it. That's what I do. So he'll just keep knocking, and knocking, and-"
"That makes no sense. What happens when you're not in?"
"I don't know!" Lisa said, exasperated. "I'm not here to find out, am I? Right, pull yourself together, and try to look... casual."
"I'm on it," Jennie said. "Casual. Nini is going to act very very casual."
"Good. Right." She brushed herself down and pulled her hair out of her eyes, and took a swig of the coffee dregs that she realized, belatedly, had been sat there for three days. "Ack. Okay," she said, "Here we go." She flung open the door.
"Dad. Hey," she greeted. "Hi. How are you?" The phrase conspicuous by its absence, was 'Come in'.
Her dad paused, just long enough to let her know he knew she was up to something. "Lisa," he said. "I'm glad I-"
"Hi!" Jennie greeted brightly, appearing at the door, spreading herself out against the frame in a manner that she clearly thought of as 'casual', but which to Lisa's mind made her look like a drunken hooker. She groaned inwardly.
Jennie didn't know her dad, but Lisa could see the microscopic hitch of the eyebrow as he took in their crumpled clothing and disheveled hair, could see the tiniest flare of his nostril as he inhaled fractionally more air than necessary to identify the smell.
"Dad," she said, quickly. "You remember Kim? Helped me out with the play and... things."
Her dad's eyebrow raised an eighth of an inch further, as he tried to mentally equate the blonde's rather romantic description of Jennie as a tragic victim of circumstance with the picture of glassy-eyed cheeriness in front of him. But her father wasn't one to let the impression that his daughter had just leapt straight out of bed after a stoned sex session with her best friend faze him.
"Jennie," he said, smoothly. "Of course. Nice to see you again." He offered his hand, which Jennie took enthusiastically and shook for quite some time.
"Nice to see you too, Mr. Manoban," she cooed, with a flirtatious sincerity that made Lisa cringe.
"Kim's staying with me for a couple of days," she informed.
"Well, that's nice," her dad said. He turned to Lisa. "So, Lisa tells me you two are-"
"Dad!"
"What?"
"Did you want something? It's just we only got back a half hour ago, and Kim needs to unpack, and..."
It sounded abrupt, but just as Lisa had had a lifetime to learn how to read her dad, so Mr. Manoban had had just as much practice at seeing through his daughter, and behind the sharpness of her question he could sense the pleading in her voice.
"I was just passing," he said, unruffled. "And I wondered if you might want to come to lunch tomorrow. Both of you, of course," he nodded to the Korean girl.
Jennie gasped as though she'd been personally invited to a ball at the palace. "We'd love to," she gushed. "Wouldn't we?"
"Not tomorrow," Lisa said.
"But why?"
"Because you have something to do tomorrow, don't you?"
"Do I?"
"Your mom, remember?"
Jennie's face fell with a distinct humph.
"How about Thursday?" her dad suggested.
"We can do Thursday!" Jennie said. "Can't we?"
The blonde hesitated. It wasn't that she had any objection to lunch per se, but her dad knew way more about her than she was prepared to share with the brunette, and a few glasses of wine were likely to put serious cracks in the dam of politeness that held back the river of embarrassment. "Well..."
"Thursday it is," her dad said, before she could object. "Is there anything you particularly like?"
"Food," Lisa muttered, annoyed at being railroaded.
"She likes food. And lots of it."
"Lisa!" Jennie scolded. "Pay no attention to her, Mr. Manoban," she said, coyly. "I eat like a bird."
"Yeah. A pelican."
"Hey!"
"Don't you have some unpacking to do?"
"Oh, hush." Jennie turned back to Lisa's dad. "It's been a pleasure to meet you," she beamed. "We'll see you on Thursday." And she disappeared with a wink.
Now that they were alone, Lisa's dad felt free to hoist his eyebrow as high as he damn well liked. The blonde sighed.
"Look, Dad," she said. "It's not what you think."
"Really? Which part?" Her dad questioned. "The part where you're having a pot party, or the part where you're-"
"Don't even finish that," Lisa warned. "We were not... whatever it is you think. We were just hanging out."
"You know, if this is how Nana came home to find you, I can kind of see her point."
"Don't," Lisa interrupted. "Anyway, we weren't smoking, there was a fire in the-"
"I did go to college you know, Lisa."
"Yeah but..." Lisa stopped. "Wait, you..?"
Her father waved her away dismissively. "Ask me no questions," he said, "and I'll tell you no lies."
"But-"
"Thursday, kid."
And with that he was gone. Lisa closed the door, thoughtfully, trying not to picture her dad having more fun at college than she'd ever had. After a moment she headed back towards the bedroom.
"Nini?" she called. "Hey, Kim. If I ever catch you flirting with my dad again, I'm going to..."
But Jennie was gone. True, her corporeal body remained, face down and snoring softly on the bed, but her mind was elsewhere, dreaming. Lisa sighed, and leaned back against the wall. She glanced down at where her timetable lay, and noticed that her little sketch of Jennie was smudged.
Had she smudged it before she'd seen it? Or smudged it because she'd seen it? It didn't really matter. Maybe she never noticed it at all. What concerned her more was the look on the latter's face just before the knock on the door. It had held something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Defiance? Expectation? Desire? Invitation? There had been a fraction of a second when it had seemed as though anything was possible, that it would have been the most natural thing in the world to simply lean down, capture her lips in a kiss, that she would have welcomed it.
She shook her head. Probably just her imagination. She shrugged, and eased herself into the space left by Jennie on the bed. She wouldn't mind, she told herself. Not just for tonight.
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Well, they've had their first kiss. Kind of.
So, who's going to make the first move, do you think?
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