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Elijah & Charlotte, September 2021. eighteen years old. uni freshers party.
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Charlotte sat in the dimly lit bedroom of her flat in Dublin, staring down at the three-year-old polaroid that lay on her bed. She was home alone on a Friday night after a long day of lectures and seminars while Elijah, her best friend and flatmate, was out. Probably getting as drunk as he can until he stumbles in with a new girl from the club. It happens every weekend. He never knows their names, he doesn't care to learn them and never will.
It seemed like routine for Charlotte at this point. She'd stay home, try to write something and fail miserably. Then around three or four in the morning, the front door will open and she will lay silently in her bed as she hears each and every word and movement from the other room.
It was aggravating.
The blue guitar that hung up on Charlotte's wall was just collecting dust at this point. She hadn't had the motivation to play or write any songs in almost three months. Everything felt mundane at the moment. Elijah had been distant, or at least she thought so, and she had been isolating herself from her other friends. Everything was quiet, usually just how she'd liked it, but this time it felt lonely.
The front door opening snapped her out of her melancholic daze. It was 10, there was no way Eli was back yet.
"Lottie! You home?" Katie's voice rang out from the living room, along with her heels clicking on the hardwood floors.
Charlotte swiftly got up and opened her bedroom door, "Jesus, Kit. You scared the crap out of me! Why didn't you knock?"
Katie wore a silver sequin dress that caught every speck of light in the flat and reflected it onto the walls as though she was a human disco ball.
"Thats what the key you gave me is for? I hate knocking." Katie moved past Charlotte and quickly made her way into her wardrobe, pulling out different dresses and putting them back until she found one that she liked.
"The key is for emergencies, not... What are you doing here exactly?" Charlotte leaned on the doorframe, watching as Katie laid out a few dresses she hadn't worn in years on the bed, looking over them carefully.
"We.. are going out tonight. You have been so boring recently and we really miss you, so we are gonna get drunk and dance and.."
"We?"
"Oh yeah. Archie and Aisling are coming soon. It's a whole.. group chat reunion." Katie smiled, holding a pink satin dress against Charlotte's body. "Now, get ready fast. Free entry ends at 11!"
Dress in hand, Charlotte was left by herself in her room, a deep sigh leaving her lips.
After about 45 minutes, Charlotte was ready to leave. She opened her bedroom door and revealed herself to her three friends who sat on the couch.
"I knew the pink was the right choice." Katie squealed as she walked over and grabbed her hand. "Perfect timing actually Lottie, taxi's here." Archie got up from the couch, looking between his phone and the others. "Come on ladies!"
