Birdcage

Chapter 1 Lila...

My name is Delila, but everyone who knows me just calls me Lila - even my parents. I'm a very ordinary girl, living a painfully ordinary life. I live in London, England's capital, well known for fashion, culture, theatre and great career opportunities. I had such high hopes for living here when I was a young girl; it was my dream. I used to watch the film 'Love Actually' every year at Christmas and imagine myself in the quirky and romantic scenarios they all find themselves in, earning tons of money. So, I made it my goal to move here from my family home in Norfolk after University. But I soon realised the film is a far cry from reality. Instead, I live in a two-bed terrace in Notting Hill, with a girl named Maisie. I work my arse off as a PA for a high maintenance and arrogant advertising company Director – earning just enough, to get by in the big City. In all honesty, the house I live in is sweet and in a nice area, so I could have done a lot worse in that department. However, I hate my job - despise it even. I studied at University to be a journalist, but it turns out it's a lot harder than I thought to get a job in that area - one worthwhile anyway. So, I took the best paid thing I could get and here I am running around like a crazed woman on a daily basis, getting my boss coffee, taking all of his calls, organising his meetings and even picking up his Armani suits from the dry cleaners.

I don't even get out much to compensate; I occasionally meet some people from work for a drink in Soho, but they don't particularly interest me. All they are bothered about is business, getting drunk and the occasional line of coke. Me? I'd much rather spend my nights getting lost in a novel or hooked on the plot of a film. I've always been so envious of the characters I watch and read about. They lead lives of excitement, adventure, danger and spur of the moment romance. At least this way I can pretend I'm seeing the world, meeting mysterious strangers and making love in forbidden places. But hey, that's life, right? The things I read about in novels are just make believe, and I've learnt it's virtually a rite of passage into adulthood to figure out this soul-crushing realisation.

So, with that in mind I drag myself out of bed like I do every morning at six am; I know now that my roommate isn't an early riser so I can freely use the bathroom before work. I make my bed, open my curtains and grab a towel and my wash bag. I probably don't need to be up this early for work but I've always been a morning person - I love to see the day rather than sleep it away. I head into the bathroom and lock the door, setting the shower to as hot as I can handle and strip off. As I step into the steaming water, I hear my mobile 'ping' from my room through the thin walls of the bathroom. Ugh, that will be Max, my boss. He will already be sending me his demands for the day. Although, I must say, six am is a new record I'm sure. He really is an arsehole; I think to myself. He is fairly young - early forties - I think and I suppose most women would find him fairly attractive with his thick, brown hair and a clean-shaven face. He's small though - which I believe contributes to his foul temper and large ego. That's what money gets you in this life. He was born into a rich family and has never had to work for anything he has - not even his company that was handed to him on a silver platter by dear Daddy.

Most of the people I have met here are from money, including Maisie. Her Dad owns his own company – a successful one – but I have to be honest when I say I have never taken enough notice to tell you what the company deals in. He pays her way in life still to this day, while she tells herself and the world, she's an artist. She is very talented, and I have grown to like her but I can see her for what she is; a spoilt Daddy's girl, who has never worked a real day in her life and barely earns a single penny from her paintings but can somehow afford a house in Notting Hill. We came to meet through an ad in the newspaper; she was looking for a roommate to pay half the rent so she could pocket some money her father gives her for bills – not that the ad mentioned that. He still doesn't even know I live here, just thinks I'm a good friend that stays over from time to time. Which just shows how often he visits her here; that suits me though. I joke with her sometimes and tell her that he probably thinks she's a secret lesbian and that I'm her lover. When I met Maisie for the first time, I couldn't help but feel completely nervous. Meeting someone for the first time from an advertisement is always a risk, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her. She is medium height and has a fantastic body, with dark brown hair and hazelnut eyes. She has a pretty, round face and when I met her, she was wearing a short sleeved, tie-dye maxi dress and had her hair up in a powder blue head scarf. Surely, she couldn't be a serial killer, right? So, I accepted her offer and moved in straight away. I liked the house; it was fairly plain with a large kitchen and her colourful art pieces on every wall. My room was a good size for central London and I soon personalised it to make it my own little sanctuary. I was still cautious of Maisie though, I had watched 'Single White Female' enough times to know that appearances don't always matter, and other than moving to London this was probably the wildest thing I'd ever done - sad, I know.