Since You - A WWC Spin Off

6; Queen of Pool

Eli

"Nah, no way. I'm not drinking that." I look at the bright green liquid in the shot glass Riley is holding out to me. "No way."

"Oh, come on," she says, waving it around trying to taunt me. "It's good for you."

"Bullshit. Just looking at that makes me want to throw up."

"It's got all the vitamins and minerals. Vitamin G-et over the break up."

I roll my eyes. "You're not going to quit at this are you?"

"Just drink it!"

I look at her, then the glass, then her, then back at the glass before finally grabbing it and taking the shot. It honestly tastes like poison and I gag, trying to keep it in. I then slam the glass on the bench and show Riley my tongue.

She cheers. "You are now one step closer to moving on. Next step-"

"Oh, no, no." I grab the bottle of absinthe and fill up the shot glass. "It's your turn now."

She looks horrified. "I am not drinking that." 

I wave it in front of her just like she did to me. "Oh yes you are." I smirk.

Her eyes find mine and they turn a shade darker. I can tell she's trying to appear tough. "Fine." She takes the glass and throws it back before bending over and coughing. I laugh before helping her up.

"Mmm. Taste those minerals."

"Oh god," she says, wiping her mouth. "Bleach would taste better."

"I'm sure I can find you some," I say, looking around.

She laughs. The alcohol is starting to kick in, for both of us. She studies me for a bit. Her eyes are shaped like a cat's. "I remember you," she says.

I open up another bottle of beer and hand it to her. "Oh yeah?" 

She takes it and leans against the kitchen counter. "Yeah. We've had the same school journey."

"The what?" I sip at my own bottle.

"We went to the same primary, secondary, and high school," she says. 

"Well isn't that magical."

"Do you remember me?"

I look at her. How could I not? "Yeah."

"What do you remember?" She asks.

I shrug. "I don't know, bits here and there."

"Me too. It's weird, I wonder why we've never been friends?"

Riley Malik had always been untouchable. She was always three levels higher than everyone else. She was smarter, funnier, prettier. I couldn't be on her level even if I tried.

"You any good at pool?" I ask.

------

The answer was yes, Riley was very good at pool. 

"I grew up in my dad's bar," she explains after she successfully sinks her shot. She leans against her cue like a cane. "There wasn't a lot to do apart from playing pool and filling my drink bottle with lemonade. Oh, and darts. I'm pretty good at darts too."

My mind goes back to the part about Mr Malik owning a bar. "Your dad owned a bar?" I take my shot and sink two balls. I wasn't bad at this game either.

"Nice shot," she says. She walks around the table and lines her next shot up. "Yeah, when he was younger. He sold it when I started growing older though. He wanted me to be in a successful environment and all that jazz, so he went back to college when I was ten and got his teaching degree."