Check, Please?

Chapter 2

There are a lot of terrible noises in the world, but I’m almost positive that one of the worst is the sound of an alarm in the morning. Some people hear their alarm and dive straight into the day with energy and excitement – and I just don’t understand those people. I will never be excited to wake up for anything.  Never.  The alarm could be the sound of angels singing and I would still struggle to open my eyes and seize the day.

Coldplay blew through the speakers of my phone as 8:30 flashed on the screen.  I slapped my hand down on my phone and rolled back over for 5 minutes before the alarm started to play again. I groaned loudly and flopped around on my bed completely aggravated, kicking the covers off of the bed and rolling around to wake myself up.  When I eventually slinked out of the bed and into the hallway, I knocked on Harry’s door.

“Get up loser, it’s 8:45.”

I waited a moment to see if I could hear him rolling around.  Nothing.

“Harry.  Harry.  HARry.  HAHAHAHAHAHARRY.” I beat on the door like it was a drum, creating stupid beats with my fists while I sang his name.  “WAKE UP HAHAHAHAHARRY-“

“SCOTLAN,” Harry groaned from the other side of the door.  He hated mornings just as much as I did.

After I heard him rolling around in bed, I trudged along to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower.  I unhooked my bra and slipped out of my underwear before hurrying out of the air conditioning of the apartment and into the steamy shower. I let the water sprinkle and flow over my body for a few minutes before massaging some shampoo and conditioner into my hair and lathering up my skin with soap.  After yanking my towel off of the wobbly towel bar and drying myself off, I swiped the steam from the mirror.  Like I always do, I finished off by flipping my towel over my head and twisting my wet locks up into the towel. 

The apartment wasn’t as cold on my bare body as I stepped out through the living room and behind the island.  I opened the refrigerator and grabbed a wine bottle from the fridge, uncorked the top, and took a swig. I let the cool liquid flow down my insides before opening my eyes again.

“Ahem.”

I jumped and clutched the bottle to my naked body. The blonde from the night before was sitting across the island from me looking rough.  Her blonde curls were stuck to the side of her head and her makeup was smeared down the side of her face.  She was wearing the dress from the night before but didn’t have her shoes or purse with her. 

“Can I get some water?” She squeaked.

I hesitated but grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured out some of the liquid from the wine bottle. The blonde frowned as she watched me.  “I said, water…”

I slid the glass to her. “It is water.  We don’t drink.”

“Ever?”

I shook my head.

“Well why not?”

I shrugged. There was a reason, I just didn’t feel like explaining it to her.

She picked the glass up from the island and smelled it before taking a sip. “Well thanks…”

I turned back to the fridge and stuck the bottle in the door before turning back to the blonde.

“Does Barry usually have his maid naked?”

I contorted my face as I tried to understand what she was asking.  Was this a test? Or a puzzle?

“Who? Wait, what?”

The blonde looked around the apartment. “You’re Barry’s maid.”

“Harry?” I corrected, crossing my arms across my bare chest and tilting my head at her.  She looked puzzled as she tried to remember last night.  Maybe she was more drunk than she looked when Harry and I got to Wet Seal. “I’m not his maid, I’m his roommate.”