Crooked Smile

Chapter 1: Different, Not Better

~This empty end was never something of your choosing

You could have won but you were much too busy losing~

Holly's flight docked at the Toronto Pearson International Airport gate at exactly 23:37. She grabbed her bag and her carry on and followed the rest of the passengers off of the plane. Holly trudged her way to baggage claim to meet her friends and collect her luggage. Most of her belongings were being shipped from San Fransisco this week, so all she had brought with her were enough clothes to get through the week and several of her favorite books. Turning the corner, she saw her friends Lisa and Rachel waiting for her at the baggage claim. Immediately, she picked up her pace and when she was within a reasonable distance, she dropped her belongings and jogged the rest of the way, enveloping her two friends in a tight hug.

"You are not allowed to leave. Ever again," Rachel said, squeezing Holly back.

Holly released her friends and walked back to retrieve her abandoned belongings, and the three of them sauntered over to the baggage claim area to wait for Holly's other bag.

"I still don't know why you came back. I would have stayed in San Francisco," Lisa said as she pulled her jacket tighter around herself. "It's too goddamn cold here."

"It was great, but this is home. I missed you guys too much," Holly replied just as she spotted her bag. Shouldering her way through bystanders, she hoisted her bag off the conveyer belt and hauled it back towards the other two women.

As the three friends began the walk to the car, Holly continued, "Don't get me wrong, I loved every moment of my job and the opportunity it provided. But San Franciscans are weird and I missed the cold."

"Well that's great and all, but two years is just way too long. We need a good old fashioned girls' night," Rachel said.

"Yes!" Lisa exclaimed. "Ooo, there's a new club I've been dying to check out!"

"We can absolutely have a girls' night, but not tonight," Holly said. Rachel pouted while Lisa began to whine something about how Holly 'doesn't really love us'.

"I'm tired," Holly continued, "I just spent the last five hours on a plane. I'm jet-lagged. I'm going home, and I'm going right to bed."

Rachel helped Holly load her luggage in the trunk before climbing into the driver's seat. Holly joined her in the front passenger seat, while Lisa flopped into the back seat, still sulking and mumbling 'Holly the buzzkill' under her breath.

The 20 minute car ride was spent mostly in silence. Holly was trying too hard to keep her eyes open to deal with Lisa's broodiness, and Rachel was content to let them be. Rachel pulled into the driveway of Holly's townhouse and popped the trunk. She helped Holly bring her bags into the foyer. Setting her suitcase down, Holly sleepily turned to her friend.

"Get some rest, girl," Rachel said, smiling at Holly, who was too exhausted to stand straight. "We'll figure out a time to get together."

"Thank you for picking me up," Holly mumbled, stumbling forward to pull her friend into a brief hug.

"Any time. We're glad you're back." With that, Rachel turned and left, closing the door softly behind her.

Holly threw the lock and dragged herself upstairs to her bedroom, not even bothering with her bags. She fell on top of her bed fully clothed, asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

A week after Holly's return, Lisa had finally gotten her wish: the three friends were on their way to a new club. Holly couldn't remember the name of it at the moment, and she wasn't overly thrilled about going out. She had wanted to stay home and read in a hot a bath, but Lisa had called her a recluse and reminded her that she had abandoned them for two whole years. So Holly had conceded and gotten dressed up. As the three of them approached the club, she remembered the other reason she wasn't thrilled: the club was obnoxiously named Lush, which was obviously meant to convey that this was an upper class establishment. In Holly's opinion, it was quite ironic. And judging by the group of scantily clad sorority girls in front of them, she knew exactly the kind of people who frequented this establishment, so it was no surprise Lisa had dragged them here.