Roman Holiday

Normani

Tatianna comes over to my house at 6:00 pm for a sleepover that she thought of at 5:30 pm. I thought she was being a good friend, but it turns out she got really high and didn't want to go home to her parents.

"Normani. I feel amazing," she declares while laying on the ground trying to make s'mores in her mouth. 

"You look great," she's wearing sweats and a button-down shirt and her hair's in a bun. 

She scooches next to me and puts a hand on my boob. I shove it off and she cracks up because, you know, she's high. "I love you. Seriously. But it's like super sad because you are taken."

"That's news to me. Am I?"

"Yeah. By Lauren."

My face flushes and I feel hot. I can feel myself shaking a little, "Tati. Shut up," I swear she almost starts crying. Why is she so annoyingly high? "God, I'm sorry. You want pizza?"

I've never seen anybody's eyes light up so fast. She looks like a puppy. "Please," I grab her some leftovers from the fridge downstairs and put on some random comedy movie from Netflix. I make sure she's snuggled up under a blanket, with headphones on, so she can't hear me calling Lauren.

"Uh, Normani? Is this you?" Her voice sounds all crackly over the speaker.

"Yeah. How are you?"

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"Good. So, uh..." I'm really the most boring person alive, "what are you up to?"

"Just sitting on my couch waiting for death to take me, because school starts soon."

"I'm babysitting my high friend."

"Hah. High friend sounds like a name for your significant other. Like boyfriend or girlfriend."

"'Mom, dad, Jake, there's someone I want you to meet. This is Riley Stoner, my high friend."

"Who the hell is Jake?"

"I don't know. My brother?"

"Also, Stoner's the best you could do? The best druggie name you could come up with?"

"McGanja?"

"Better."

"Weedsack the Third."

She snorts. "That wasn't good."

"Jauregui."

She loses it. "Shut UP!"

"Do you?"

"No! Not ever."

"Me neither."

"Look at us, being Pure Christian Children."

We go on talking about stupid things for a good half an hour. Tatianna enjoys her randomly selected comedy movie. All is well. Until Tatianna decides she's bored and snatches the phone. She ends the call and texts Lauren that I'm sorry I ended the call and I love her. She throws it back at me and puts in her headphones. "Tati...what the hell?" I throw a pillow at her and it knocks her right over. I have to tell Lauren it was my high friend. She'll believe me? Right? 

Once it gets cleared up, we start texting each other. And I can't help but wonder what her initial reaction was. It couldn't have just been 'lol nbd.' What's going on on the other side of this screen?