Abby –
With my cheap dollar store flip flops on and green shower caddy in hand, I shuffle down the beef smelling hallway to the showers. After spending way too long on my English power point and falling asleep half way through, it was around ten when I woke up. Sniffing myself when I rolled out of bed, I knew shouldn't have skipped that morning shower.
It was a Friday, so usually everyone was still out and about right now, or they went home for the weekend. I, like always, stayed here and worked on homework. I’m not super smart like I come across, I’m average. But average enough to not flunk out.
Cracking open the doors to the showers, the lights were dimly lit. Which was meant nobody was in here. The girls side, at least. Closing the door behind myself, I hugged my faded yellow robe close to my body. Since nobody else was here, I let myself wander over to the middle shower.
Twisting the knob to mid-heat, I let the water run as I shrugged out of my robe, careful to keep my flip flops safely on. There was no way in hell I was touching these floors. I grabbed a bottle of coconut scented shampoo with one hand and my IPod shuffle with the other. Turning on Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child, I laid my phone on the ledge of the shower as I squirted the soap into my hands and hair.
Once my body was finally used to the heat and my slight headache began to start evaporating thanks to the head message I was giving myself with the shampoo, I began to relax more. With closed eyes and my head bobbing back and forth to the intro, I allowed myself to sing.
“Kelly, can you handle this? Michelle can you handle this? Beyoncé, can you handle this? I don’t think you can handle this!” I sang, feeling my confidence level rise as I sang to my invisible crowd. Scrubbing the coconut out of my hair, I let the water run over my face and through my hair as I let all my guards down.
As the water beat my back with each pulse, I moved my hips back and forth to the beat. “I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly, I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly, I don’t think you’re ready for this, my body too booty-,” I stopped singing and stood still as I heard the sound of the shower doors lock.
“Hello?” And that’s when the light went out, leaving me alone in the dark with only the music to accompany me.
Mitch –
Undressing, I threw my beer soaked sweatshirt next to my faded Levi jeans in the corner with the rest of my stuff. The party I was at was all fun and games (and by games I mean beer pong) until my roommate Griffin spilled both his beers down my shirt. Yeah, he was having a lot of fun when I left him.
Poking at my chest, I felt my sticky skin and promptly turned on the shower, hoping the smell wouldn't stay. Getting under the water, I cringed at the still-chilly temperature and rested my head in my dry hands. Looking down, I realized that I really ought to shave my chest.
While leaning against the wall, I heard the main door to the showers open up, signaling that I wasn't alone anymore. Shrugging my shoulders, I didn't mind the person, thinking it was some kind of late-night janitor cleaning up the girl’s side of the showers. They knew better to not come over here and bother me, right?
So after a while of just standing there, I finally pump the generic, free, college supplied soap into my hand and slop it into my greasy hair. Scrubbing it in, I felt my eyebrows lift as I started to hear the janitor sing some pop song that I couldn't even understand. It seriously sounded like someone was being choked and experiencing a voice crack. All at the same time.
The more I listened to the voice, the younger and younger it sounded. What young, probably hot despite her singing voice, girl takes a job as a janitor? Quickly rinsing the smell-less shampoo out of my hair, I stepped away from the shower head and grabbed my towel. Wrapping it around my hips, I tip toed my way over to the separator of the showers and peaked over.
I was right. Young, blonde, tiny build, cute butt I guess. Six out of ten, and that’s just looking at her from afar. So yeah, need to keep my cool.
Suddenly, the main doors click, locking us in and switching the lights off. The girl stopped singing and dancing, stepping out of the way of the water. Looking around she called out, “Hello?”
Before I could even respond to her, our eyes locked. Moving my mouth to smile at her and greet her, her face twisted into an ugly scowl and her tiny, boney arms flung to her chest, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!”
Truthfully, it took me by surprise. Then I remembered we were in the showers. And she was naked. And so was I. Oh no…
Looking down, I scramble to explain to her what I was doing exactly and that I wasn’t staring at her butt just a few seconds ago. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think anybody else was in here! You called out and I was coming to see who it was. I thought you were a janitor?”
All while I was stuttering on to her, she was hiding her whole body behind a yellow robe, tying the knot so tight I thought it might break her. “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN HERE? HOW LONG WERE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!”
“I wasn’t at all! I just got here before you did! I honestly just back from a party, can’t you smell the booze from my clothes?”
“You’re not wearing any clothes?!”
“Yeah! Well, I have a towel on, but I guess that’s the same thing. But not really,” I stammered as she gathered all of her soaps and washes together.
“Stay right where you are, get dressed before I call the cops on your perverted ass,” she spat with anger and fear in her shaking voice.
“But I didn’t even do anything yet!!”
“Yet?!?’
As we were still fighting, the girl and I didn’t even notice the sound of clicking heels coming down the hallway. We didn’t even notice the door when it opened up again and closed soon after. And we didn’t even notice when another voice began to lace in with ours.
Phoebe –
Since Rebecca left her pore strips in the shower and she desperately needed them (this very second) and I was the only one sober enough to drive back to campus and get them for her, I had to haul my butt all the way over here. I wasn’t having a lot of fun at the party anyway, so many high school kids came and crashed just when it was starting to get fun, I lost all interest. So now all I wanted to do was get these stupid strips and go to bed.
Clicking my heels down the long hall, I try to ignore the pain in the soles of my feet and the ramen noodle smell emitting from the dorm rooms next to me. I’ll never understand why Becca didn't want to move in with me, the showers are nasty and germ filled. And the rooms? Basically the size of my closet.
Finally, I approach the main doors leading into the showers. Pulling out a napkin from my clutch, I wrap it around the sticky metal and push down, letting myself in.
Automatically, I was greeted by a list of unapealing things; an extreme scent of body odor, wet towels scattered all along the grime covered tiles and two other college kids fighting in front of me.
My hands fly to my face, letting go of the door to cover my nose. Finding the nose strips was my mission, but that was the last thing I was concerned about now.
“Uhm, hello? Have either of you two seen any pore strips?” I asked in a nasally voice, since I still had my nose plugged up.
The couple were still going at it. Something about being naked and calling the cops. A part of me wanted to know the whole story, but the other part of me wanted to get the hell out of there.
“HEY!”
They both stopped yelling and turned toward me. The girl had a robe on, her hair soaked and bubbles still rested on the stop of her head. The guy only had a towel on, but started giving me a creepy smile once we made eye contact. “Yeah, uhm...have you guys seen my pore strips? I, uh, left them here the other day.”
The girls’ face softened, hugging herself, “Sorry, no I haven’t. Would you like some help looking for it while I wait for the cops?”
The guy rolled his eyes, “I didn’t do anything!”
Before they could jump into another fight, I let my hands fall from my nose and held them up, silencing them. “It’s fine, I don’t need any help. I’ll just buy new ones. Thanks for nothing,” I grumbled as I spun on my heels back toward the door.
Forgetting about the napkin, I slapped my hand onto the handle and pushed down. But, the handle didn’t move at all. I tried again, nothing. Shaking it up and down repeatedly, I started to feel frantic, “Why isn’t the door opening?!”
“What time is it?”
Thinking back to when I got out of my car, I answered, “Around 11:30, I think.”
The girl sighed and her head fell into her hands, clearly exhausted with this whole situation. “The showers are open from 5 am. till 11pm. It locks from the inside. There was a sign taped up about that earlier this week, I should have known,” she moaned into her skin.
The male spoke up, obviously excited by this news, “So we’re stuck in here till then?”
Rolling my eyes, I shot him daggers, “Shut up.” Checking my phone, I sighed violently, “And no signal either.”
The girl in the robe laughed to herself, but it wasn’t a this is such a crazy situation! I can’t wait to tell my friends about this! but more of a this is possibly the worst thing that could have happened me tonight kind of laugh.
It was silent for awhile, all up until the guy spoke up again, “Well, at least we can get to know each other now, right?”
Now in unison, we both shouted, “Shut up!”
This was going to be a long, long night.
-
I'm back! Even though this isn't a poem book, I figured since I was writing things like this for my creative writing class, I thought it would't hurt to show them to you guys too. This book will be frequently updated with new short stories, so I hope everyone likes this side of my writing!
-TaylorMarie