A Compelling Life

5. The morning after

July 1st, 1987 -The Model Mansion, L.A.

When I wake up on the morning after what turned out to be a rather outrageous welcome-to-L.A.-party , I freak out for a moment, not realizing where I am at first; then it dawns on me that I'm in my own room in what we jokingly call the Model Mansion. Thank god. Can't for the life of me remember how and when I made home though. My head is killing me, it's like there's a little demon in my head that's constantly stabbing my dehydrated brain with tiny daggers, and my mouth tastes like something crawled up and died in there. Excessive drinking and partying do not mix well with a neglected jetlag, that's for sure.

Before I know it, an awful, queasy feeling in my stomach causes me to rush to the bathroom, and I make it in just in time. I'm sitting on the cold tiles, having a close encounter with the toilet bowl, when I hear a knock on the bathroom door. 

"Karen, you alright hun? Can I come in?" 

My roommate Vicky doesn't await my answer and barges in -puking my brains out isn't really helping me in telling her not to anyhow. 

"Ah, you poor girl," she sighs as she sits down behind me and gently pulls my hair back for me. I'd thank her for this really sweet gesture if it wasn't for last night's vodka finding it's way out of my intestines.

Vicky is a pretty English rose with wavy auburn hair, big hazel doe-eyes and porcelain complexion. She appears to be a real innocent and timid girl at first sight, but looks can sure be deceiving. After hitting the Sunset Strip with her, Paulina and Corey yesterday night, I know for a fact that she can curse like a sailor, wrap just about any man around her little finger, and hold down her liquor like a pro while she's at it.

After a while, there are no more bodily fluids to dispose of, and my foggy mind seems to clear just a little bit. "Fuck, Vicky, I have this introductory meeting at Elite's at 2 this afternoon" I whimper. Shit, if I show up in this poor condition, I wouldn't be surprised if they send me on the first plane home.

"Don't worry love, you'll be alright. It's only 10 right now, you've got plenty of time. Tell you what, why don't you take a nice hot shower, and then Paulina and I will fix us some breakfast."

"Sounds like a plan" I mutter, even though the thought of food is making my stomach turn all over again.

Showering does seem to help me regain my consciousness for a bit. Letting the hot water spray wash all over me, I contemplate last night's events, or so I try to at least. My memory is still a hazy mist, filled with black voids. I remember a place called the Rainbow.... Axl's bandmates were there.... We did shots with them... They all had this really weird names, like Fluff or Dash or something...and then Axl was there too, but I was mad at him for some reason...Wait, I kissed someone, didn't I? Who the hell did I kiss?....God, all this thinking is exhausting. The others will have to fill in the blanks for me over breakfast.

After finishing my shower, I follow the smell of bacon, eggs and coffee and head to our small kitchen. Paulina embraces me in a warm hug. "Are you feeling better?" she asks with that soft, sweet voice of hers. 

Paulina is from Poland, she's a tall brunette with stunning icy blue eyes. When we first met yesterday, I thought she was gonna be a total bitch because of her inapproachable, almost regal appearance. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I mistook her shyness for arrogance and that she actually seems to be a really sweet and caring person.

"Well, the shower did help, but my head's still killing me".

"Eat something, that'll make you feel better. I think you barely ate something yesterday".

Corey leans in to give me a hug too as I sit down next to him at the small dining table. "So, last night was crazy, huh?" he grins while he digs into the food that Paulina prepared.

"I guess so...I actually can't remember half of what went down last night," I admit reluctantly.

It's the cue for all three of them to all start speaking at once.

"Om my god, it was so much fun!"

"We were getting free drinks from these frat guys from Stanford University...."

"Kappa Gamma Delta baby!"

"And the Guns 'n Roses guys were all there except for Axl and we went and had shots with them"

"That Slash guy is one hot piece of ass"

"But then Axl dropped by and forced them all to go home like he was some kind of overbearing father because they had to work on their album"

"And you called him out for it because it pissed you off"

"I believe your exact words were: "You fucking FUCKface!"

We all start to laugh hysterically at that last mention, and with that, last night's events slowly start to come back to me......