glow - trixya

chapter 3: glimmer

2021

Katya was hoping that the reception would be a little less, um, Trixie , than the ceremony, but judging by the number of pictures of the newlywed couple and the thrones with "bride" and "groom" carved perfectly on them, she should have known better. She won't mention the ice sculpture.

Since Priyanka is her plus one, they sit side by side on a table for six. Trixie's friends, whose plus-ones have been at the bar since the reception started, sit across from them, eyes mostly fixed on their phones. Priyanka's efforts to make small talk, though brave, go mostly unnoticed by the women on the other side of the table. Katya does her best not to leave her friend hanging, but she could do with some cooperation. The girl who goes by Violet, with pale skin and the blackest hair Katya has ever seen, lifts her head up from her phone at some point. Her smile is a little too convincing. She has big Sophie Ellis-Bextor energy. Murder on the dancefloor, murder at the dinner table, just the whole concept of murder fits her like a glove, apparently like any kind of garment she chooses to put on her body.

"How do you know Trixie again?" She asks. Dinner has already been served, so the girl makes sure to avoid the dirty plate sitting in front of her. Her cat eyes almost seduce Katya, but the fact that her voice is as dark as her lipstick is what makes her aware that this girl is trouble. Lovely, beautiful trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

She could laugh. Almost like a certain blonde she used to know.

"I work with her at the station, but I stay mostly behind the cameras. Trixie's the star reporter in our channel, so I make sure she always has whatever she needs," Priyanka smiles back, unthreatening and genuine, toning down her usual chaotic energy. "I'm the Bridget Jones to her Miranda." Violet doesn't seem touched by her joke, turning to Katya.

"Oh, me? We used to be friends when we were young, then we went to high school together, you know how it goes... I-I actually wasn't invited, though, it's just a coincidence. I'm Priyanka's plus-one."

"Oh, are you two...?" Violet points at them.

"No," Katya explains, "not at all, no. We're just friends. Priyanka has a boyfriend and all, but he couldn't come tonight."

"We met in yoga class a few months ago," Priyanka adds. "By the end of the first class, I had already seen all of her unflattering angles and a closeup of her bony ass."

"Yoga," Violet nods, eyebrows high. Huh. Maybe that's just where her eyebrows are on her face. "Refreshing." Katya wonders how much Violet has already spent on cosmetic procedures, and how much more money will she waste before realizing that there are no lip injections that can fix a rotten personality.

"So, how do you know her, sis?" Priyanka asks.

"We were from the same sorority. I was her big sister and Pearl was her roommate."

Pearl looks up from her phone at the mention of her name, looking dazzled and confused.

"Oh, so Pearl is the one who had to deal with all the snoring, huh?" Priyanka asks. Pearl smiles, her big green eyes roll in a friendly way. "Did you study journalism as well?"

"Oh, no. I majored in Political Science." Katya nods, impressed and intrigued. She would never have seen that one coming. Then, Pearl shrugs. "But you know, it wasn't really my thing. DJing is my true passion." Oh, there we go. Nevermind.

"I spent a lot of time with Trixie, being her big sister and all. I don't think she's ever mentioned a Katya she went to high school with," Violet comments, furrowing her brow. "Or maybe I just have enough in my head already."

"We weren't that close," Katya purses her lips. The thick skin Trixie had grown in high school is probably what got her through college, considering she spent so much time with a snake without getting poisoned. Good old Trixie , Katya thinks. Too lovely for her own good .

She snickers. Or maybe just as deadly .

"Oh, here she comes!" Pearl raises her arms and waves. Katya turns on her chair and sees the smiling bride strutting towards them like she's on a runway, her breasts nearly bouncing off her cleavage. Katya bets her hips are swinging a little harder than normal. Something inside of her doesn't respond well to the motion she tries to capture from under the bride's dress and she's presented with a sudden flashback of the view between Trixie's thighs and boy, oh boy, she can't do this right now.

"I'm going over to the bar, I'll be right back," she struggles to stand up on top of those stupid painful fucking heels and almost tumbles over the table. Katya rushes off to the bar fixing the hem of the blazer that covers her jumpsuit and nearly spraining her ankle on the way. She doesn't even want to imagine the faces of the girls she left behind, especially Priyanka's. If she could see them, though, she might be surprised by the small spark of sadness growing in Trixie's eyes before she yells her first hello.

Katya flops down on the barstool like it has a magnet for her butt and slams her wrists and purse on the counter. The waiter looks at her unimpressed. Must have had a lot of unhappy guests around here.

"Three tequila shots, please," she orders. The circumstances made her do it.

"We don't serve tequila, ma'am. May I offer you some sparkling wine?" He suggests.

"How much of that will get me drunk?" Katya asks, sighing away her will to live.

"I, uh, perhaps a bottle?"

"This is an open bar, right?" She's suddenly breathless from the awkward run she's done across the room. He nods. "I'll have two."