XXIII

XXIII
LISA'S POV
The excitement I felt as soon as my shift ended was more than words could explain. Weekends were like gold to me. Mondays through Friday I work day and night shifts, so weekends are the most valuable time I had.
My purse landed on the far end of the cramped room, I spun around for bit before landing on the bed. The sigh that escaped my lips was of pure joy.
"I got it!! I got it!!! I got it!!!!" Mariana rushed into my room screaming. I bolted straight up.
Her excitement was contagious.
"Omg!! Oh my gosh!!! You did not!" I exclaimed. She had applied for a promotion, but somehow it always got turned down, even after she worked there for years.
"I did! I did it!! I got promoted!!" My brown haired best friend hopped in happiness.
We locked hands and jumped together as we screamed.
"How did this even happen?"
"I don't know, I already lost hope, but today, I sat down at my desk right, the manager calls me in and gives me my promotion letter!"
We screamed in excitement again, our palms hit each other as if we were high fiv-ing each other with both hands.
"ON MY WORD, I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T KEEP IT DOWN!" Our neighbor from above us shouted. We stilled for a bit, everyone in this shitty apartment building was terrified of our neighbor, his name is Terry, he was huge and had a resting mean face so everyone was scared.
Turns out excitement beats fear, because after a few seconds, we started to scream again. This time everyone shouted at us. The walls of our apartment was paper thin, so we could hear each other except we whispered.
Our giggles filled the air, nothing could dampen our mood.
"Anna, congratulations, but if I hear one more out of the both of you, I set this building on fire." Leah promised. She is our friend, her room was on the right of ours.
"Thank you Lee." There was laughter in Mariana's voice as she told her.
"We have to celebrate this." I tell Mariana as we collapse on the bed. I don't even know how we managed to jump up and down in such a small cramped area.
"We definitely have to." She breathed hard as she laughed.
The creaky door to our room flung open, my heart stopped for a moment, I thought it was Terry, and he came to fulfill his promise. Turns out it was our trip neighbors, Sara, Quinn and James.
"You totally have to invite us." James told us while placing her hand on her waist.
"It's totally obvious, they were literally going to invite us, duh." Sara pitched in.
Mariana and I giggled, everyone that lived in this apartment were close, very close. So the drag queens barging into our room to ask for an invite was totally understandable, we were so close, our boundaries with each other was practically non existent.
"Of course, there can't be any celebration without our three favorite girls." Mariana tell them.
"I'm invited too!" Leah shouted from her room.
We laughed, at this rate we might as well invite the whole building.
"I say we go to The Club!" Sara offered as she squeezed herself in between us.
"That's rich people place." James snorted.
They had a pact, unwritten and unspoken pact to hate rich people like they were the cause of their misfortunes. I never understood it, but it wasn't my place to ask.
"And? We have a rich person too, Mariana!" I exclaimed.
As if they were robots controlled by someone, they all cheered.
"Okay it's settled, we are all going to the rich people club for Mariana, everyone meet here by ten." James snapped her fingers as her trio matched out of the room.
Mariana looked so content, we have known each other for more than half our lives, we went to the same high school, then she got into our community college, I cheered her on, because I hated school. And now even with the numerous debts her father left for her, she was living her dream, her dream job. A civil servant. I never asked why she choose that.
I didn't know I had dozed off till I felt myself being shaken awake.
"Lisa.. Lisa.. "
My eyes cleared almost immediately, working multiple shifts a day does that to you.
"I'm up."
"Good, in fifteen minutes everyone will be here.." she started.
My eyes soaked in her make up caked face, the slutty gown she wore on special occasions and her leopard print heels. The one I saved up to buy on her 22nd birthday. You'd think it was cute, until you find out she's 27 years old.
"You didn't forget, did you?" Her pretty face looked betrayed.
"Of course not, I just needed to rest a bit so I can be as wild as possible later."
She beamed,
"Well you have less than fifteen minutes, use it wisely."
And I did, when everyone showed up, even Leah said I looked hot, and she's totally asexual.
Immediately we got to the club we ordered our usual, made a toast, took pictures and everyone disappeared to find their way.
I did too. Usually I'd let the guys come to me, instead today, I decided to do the browsing myself, find me my own good man. I spotted this man and his obviously fake tattoo, but he was cute so I decided to talk to him.
"I'd pretend I don't know it's fake if you try and convince me it's not." I tell him as I pointed cooly to his fake tattoo, as I stand by his side.
His head whipped to face me, as if stung by a bee, his eyes bulged, and funny story. He ran away. Like high tailed it away from me.
My mouth fell open as I watched his back in disbelief.
"I bet I can fit something in your mouth." Someone said from beside me. From experience I knew it was a cocky married man that was drunk as fuck and hadn't heard of the word 'hygiene'.
I turned slowly, throw in my polite smile.
"Please excuse me."
He blocked me, I tried to go around him, he still blocked me. And in the swarm of people, it was impossible to duck and run.
"Excuse me." I pressed.
He struck his hand out in attempt to touch me, I swerved, ran under his arm and by some miracle, I ran into the washroom without any obstacle. I bolted the door without thinking about it.
When I turned around, the beauty that stood behind me was more than I could comprehend. I was dumb struck.