Life Imitates Art

Part 31 - This "Club"

Max_

It must make her feel more excited when I'm following her plans with a blindfold metaphorically nullifying my sight.

I rely on the usual hoodie and jeans combination. It worked out well for me last time I met a girl dressed like this. OK, most guys would qualify that as receiving some kind of lust-filled gesture. I'm actually a lot happier with what happened instead. I'll take a skirt over a kiss any day.

Once I have my trainers on, Mum inspects my bag as Tessa waits in the car.

"Phone. Keys. Wal-"

She pauses to inspect the manliness of the wallet.

"-let, and... yep, you don't want to be taking that. I'll give this back to your sister." She puts the small red lipstick on the table. Tess suggested it might show commitment to put a little on before I left, but I won't get that chance now. Is this how prisoners feel when they get frisked? Is this how people feel when they are robbed?

Another few seconds of rummaging, and Mum then repacks the bag. She commends me for picking a rucksack and 'being such a brave, strong, manly boy', then she sends me out to the car to meet Tessa. She's so desperate to fix me. I wish she could. I wish anyone could.

I open the door to the little Micra with a roll of the eyes. Thankfully, Mum leaves us to it once we leave the house. She wouldn't take too kindly to such a sassy gesture.

"She searched you again, huh?"

"Yeah. She found the lipstick." I sit back with the rucksack between my legs as Tessa powers the car out of the street and towards a mystery destination.

"That's a shame. Here, open the glove box for me."

I do so. There's a small, round, black container about the size of my index finger. I know what this is by now!

"Oh. So she doesn't search your car then?"

"I don't give her the keys! Go ahead, get your girl on a little! The red would have worked better with your black hoodie, but it's always a nude one I keep in the car. It goes with everything well enough."

"One step ahead! Love it!"

Tess winks at me.

"Girly guile goes a long way."

I should really write all of these sayings she gives me down so I can reuse them one day. I still remember 'on fleek', but I'm unsure when I will ever use that one. At least the others sound mysterious and charming. 'On fleek' is said by the sort of people I don't like, from my recent exposure to the term. I apply a couple of "laps" of lipstick around my lips. Tessa lets out a giggle.

"Come on, sis! You know by now you only need to do the bottom lips. Then you... you know," she can't find the words for what she means for me to do with my lips, so she just does it while I watch in the mirror. I know completely what she means. Sisterly instinct.

"Sorry. I think it's because this is all I have today."

"I wouldn't think that'll be the case for the whole day. My friend will want to see your full potential." Again, she ensures she doesn't give me the name. I don't know why.

"Who is this friend?" Maybe she just hasn't told me and thinks she has? "I sort of knew it wasn't really a club. Mum's too gullible these days!"

"You'll see. It's going to be fun. And what's even better is that I'm going to leave you to it. I'll be back to pick you up, but I don't want a repeat of last time, and neither do you. I won't get in the way."

I try to tell Tessa that she isn't in the way of anything, but I know that conversation will be fruitless. Instead, I just watch the road as we reach a different area of Edinburgh.