Not Money The Money
~T-Plus 35 Days~
“It’s a good thing that you’re finally deciding to leave your shell,” Beth spoke, her lips stretched into a smile as she offered Elaine a blue dress. Elaine stared at the skimpy dress and frowned.
“You’re giving me this? Didn’t you say that we’re going somewhere fun? How will I be able to have fun in such a dress.”
“Right.” Beth searched through her closet and fished out a gray sweatpants and shirt. She handed it to her friend who took it and wore it in satisfaction.
“This is great and lord comfy,” Elaine commented.
“I know that’s what you’re going to say. After all, this has become your new style for the past few weeks.”
Elaine shook her head and grabbed a handbag from the dressing table. Like Beth had said the other day, she’d taken her to her home and forced her to live with her. She’s been staying in Beth’s apartment for the past week and somehow, it was a bit relieving to have someone around her.
Beth had been a perfect distraction from the things that messed up her mind so easily. She was grateful to her friend for taking her in.
She began making her way toward the door of the room but before she could get there, Beth grabbed her arm and brought her backward. “The fuck you’re going looking like that?” She asked.
“Like how?”
“Like this.” She held her shoulders and pushed her to stand in front of the mirror, watching her reflection before her. Her eyes were swollen and the circles under her eyes were as black as her messy hair. Her hair was in a messy bun on her head and the breakouts on her face were even more pronounced.
“You see what’s wrong with you now?”
Her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. She was truly in no mood. She’s decided to go out with Beth only after so much persuading that and taken minutes if not hours.
“Can we just go? It’s not bad.”
“Not bad. No one knows you to be this miserable. We have to fix that obvious depressed look of yours.”
“It’s not that obvious.”
“It is. She forced Elaine to sit on the chair and applied makeup to her face, lightly dabbing pancake powder and then moisturizing her lips with pink lipstick before finally letting her hair down and brushing it with her hair brush. When she was done, she angled Elaine’s head so that she was able to stare at herself in the mirror.
“I told you, right? Now you look like a ten over ten.”
“Thank you. Let’s just go before I change my mind.”
“You’re playing.”
Finally, they both made their way out of Beth’s apartment and into her car. Beth began driving, the car overtaking the other cars on the road and she turned on the music to full blast, singing along with the hip-hop that filled the air. Elaine had a bored expression fixed on her face as she stared outside the window, her eyes counting the cars that they passed to keep herself busy.
After a long while of driving nonstop, the car stopped in front of an amusement park and Beth came out, walked around, and opened the car’s door for the confused Elaine.
“Beth, what are we doing in an amusement park? Don’t tell me this was the fun you talked about.” She’d expected something better. The Beth that she knew knew how much she didn’t enjoy amusement parks.
“There are a lot of games here, but we’ll be participating in the most fun one. Ready to play?”
“This better be worth the time.”
“Trust me, it is.” She grabbed Elaine’s hands and led her forward, heading toward the amusement building until they got to the other side of the building. They finally stood in front of a large room, their eyes on the two people who stood before the door.
“You want to go in?” The first bully man asked.
“Yes. We already paid for tickets and all. Please give us protection.”
The man looked at his colleague who walked to the side and returned with two helmets, glasses, gloves, and protection suits.
“What are we using this for, Beth?” Elaine whispered into her friend’s ears. “Are we going to fight someone?” It was weird. Fighting was never a part of their friendship. What was Beth trying to do?
“You’re right. We’re fighting but not with humans. Just throw the protection suit over your head and let’s go in.”
Elaine curiously did as she asked and let Beth help her with the helmet, glove, and glass. Once they were fully dressed, they looked over at the bulky men again. Seeing them fully dressed, the men handed them both a mallet and opened the door wide for them to go in.
The moment Elaine stepped foot into the room, a gasp escaped her lips and she found herself staring around in uttermost surprise. She looked at her friend, passing her a questioning look. “Th…this is..”
“You’re right. A rage room.”
Her mouth fell open and she began looking around the room, clutching the mallet in her hand. There were plates, televisions, wooden chairs, glass tables, boards, bottles, and even more breakable things at their disposal.
“In this rage room, think of just yourself and your anger,” Beth began. “This will help you get out of your thoughts for a while and at least vent it on something. Beat whatever you can until you’re calm and make sure to think of the thing or person that has hurt you most. Hit these things like that’s what you’re hitting.”
“This is a good idea, Beth. Thank you so much.”
She stepped forward and in no time, she began smashing whatever her hand came across. She smashed the plates, the televisions, and even the frames. With every anger in her, she smashed them, thinking of the time when she was deceived by her father, of the time when she got kidnapped, and when she lost her baby after rolling down the stairs. Now that she thought about it, she was more angry with her father.
And so, she kept on smashing, imagining that whatever she was smashing was the head of her father. She smashed and smashed until there was nothing else to smash. Finally, she stopped and stared at her handwork, and for the first time since she lost her baby, Elaine let out a genuine smile.
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