andromeda // matty healy au

Girls Like You

I awoke the next morning with a text message from Claudette.  As I read the message, her Parisian accent lilted through my head.

Bon matin, Celeste! I do not know if you are awake yet, but I have made too many crepes. Oups! Would you care to come down and have breakfast with me? :)

I responded immediately.  I couldn't wait to eat. My head was still a bit hazy from the lack of sleep and I still smelled of Rae's cigarette.  Quickly, I threw on a pair of sweatpants and a clean t-shirt, then hurled myself down the to the first floor.  Ringing Claudette's doorbell, I could already smell the food she had prepared.  Her door opened and she stood before me in a sweatshirt, shorts and two braids.

She welcomed me into her home and pointed me in the way of her kitchen.  On her table were two place settings, orange juice and a humongous pile of crepes.  My mouth watered as I walked into her flat.

"How are you?"  She asked me when we sat down.  "How is work?"

"It's not bad, it can be slow sometimes."  I admitted. Claudette looked at me with concerned eyes, like she was desperately looking for a way to help.  "How is school going?"  I responded.

"It is not bad, I am surviving." She said, starting in on a big bite of breakfast.  She piled her crepe with fresh fruit.  I followed suit and loaded my plate with blueberries, apples and pears.  It looked delectable.  With her mouth still full of crepe, she said "I feel like am so close to being done, and then I look at my classes for the fall and I am not. It is very frustrating, like I am chasing a goal but it keeps running away from me."

"I see what you mean, I have the same issue with my savings account."  I sighed,  "Every time I feel like I have a lot saved up, something happens and I have no money anymore.  I'm trying to get myself through school eventually, but it might be difficult since I've moved out."

"Oh you are trying to pay for your own schooling?"  She raised her eyebrows at me.  "I am lucky enough that my parents had set aside a sum of money, and sometimes they help me out if I am - uh, je sais pas- stuck."  She took another bite of food but held my gaze.  It was clear to her now that we lived very different lives.  She was well-put together, more mature, and had a loving family to support her.  I, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

"It's not so bad, I like working at the café and the-"  I halted my sentence before realizing I almost spilled the beans on the club.  I grabbed my cup of juice in an attempt to fill the awkward, dead air.

"And?"  She looked at me quizzically, still chewing her food.

"Oh yeah, and it pays my bills, you know."  I felt a bead of sweat drip down my back, as I shovelled another forkful of crepes into my mouth.  I laughed and said,  "I get the best of both worlds - getting paid and working at a place I like - you know."

Claudette watched me and then shifted uneasily in her chair.  I did the same; I was now too hot and uncomfortable to stay in these sweatpants.  I toyed with my curls a bit, throwing them over my shoulder in an attempt to get her to take the hint and please, for the love of God, change the subject.

"Celeste, you are covered in glitter," she said.  I looked down at my arms and indeed I was.  There must have been some sparkles on my costume that had fallen onto me.  When I met Claudette's eyes again, she wore a confused expression.  I could tell she was trying to piece things together, but she couldn't quite tell what I was hiding.

"I'm, uh, making a craft."  I blurted out.  "It's a secret, though. It's very hush-hush.  So don't tell anyone yet."  I could tell I was going red in the face but I couldn't stop because I was too focused on slowing my breathing.  I had to keep Andy a secret from my neighbours, otherwise everyone in the building would know that they live in a 'slutty, dirty, dancer' type, which is not the case at all.