Glam and the ghetto (updated weekly)

A ride into paradise - Bella

I woke up to ringing ears and the smell of a floral musk and spices. If only but a moment, I thought I had woken up in a private villa in the Caribbean until I opened my eyes.

I had awoken to the visual of a tiny reception room filled with random items of decor that didn't match and of which made up no obvious theme. I sat up and rubbed a knot out of my neck. It had formed while I slept on an outdated three seater sofa that was made of plastic leather and was sunken in the middle. My mouth was dry and had a sour taste of vomit residue. I saw that there was a cup of cold tea and two slices of buttered toast left out on the glass coffee table directly ahead of me. Gradually my memory of the morning returned to me like a lost thought. I remembered meeting a girl on the train. A black girl. This was her home. Or her fathers home. And my phone! That's right we had come here to charge my phone since it ran out of battery at the club where Molly had ditched me yet again. But where was it now. I unravelled myself from the warmth that the tiger print throw was offering me and stood up. My vision glistened with starry lights and went dark as night before returning to normal. I was clearly bloody dehydrated and standing up too fast had almost knocked me back down. I grabbed the tea cup on the table and took a couple of gulps of the cold tea. Two sugars with a sprinkling of milk. Just how I liked it, only...it was cold. I figured that the toast would be stale by now and didn't fancy the taste of a large dry croton after the night I had just had. I scanned the tiny room as if by doing so I would discover a deli amongst the random ornaments.  I couldn't help but notice the lack of ventilation and enclosed feeling I got standing alone in the room. I thought to myself, how would one escape such a place if there was ever a fire? A porcelain Rottweiler peered at me as if to remind me that I was out of place. I started to itch with discomfort and could feel a burning sensation etching itself into my neck. I turned towards the doorway of where it was coming from and jumped so hard my skeleton almost removed itself from my skin. A short and stout mocha latte coloured women stood at the entrance with a look more stern than the Rottweiler. Most of her presence was occupied by the two large boulder breasts she carried under a XXL white t-shirt that had an old women's face printed on it. She wore a bright pink bandana over her hair, which made me wondered if she perhaps was undergoing chemotherapy. Her demeanour was quite the opposite that of the friendly young lady I had met on the tube earlier that morning which made me question their relatedness. She continued to peer at me with barb wired eyes until I could barely take the tension anymore.

"Hi, I'm Elisabella. I'm a friend of....A friend of Gucci's?" I uttered nervously.

Her eyes widened quickly and I found myself being pulled into them like a black whole.

"Gucci? Ah who fi name Gucci. Chuh. Mi wake up to find stranger deh inna mi yard and you come tell me about Gucci. Ah whaa dis. Armani! Armani, you betta run yuh rass in here right now young girl."

I didn't really understand what she was saying but I knew it couldn't be good. The whole apartment appeared to vibrate with her narrative and if there were any sleeping souls present, they were certainly not anymore. She continued to peer deep into my existence as if she was trying to analyse my DNA. She didn't even take her eyes of me to blink. What felt like severals hours, although in reality was probably only a few seconds, the girl from last night appeared. She looked startled and dazed like a jack rabbit on a country road caught in headlights. She looked at me in a blushing way and mouthed 'sorry' before quickly returning to glancing awkwardly at the steaming women.

"Armani, I know there is not a stranger stood in my house unannounced on Sunday mannin. If it wasn't the lords day you know I would beat the two ah you."

"I know mummy, I'm sorry mummy she is my friend, she needed help last night and I was trying to be like the good samaritan."

" Oh Armani don't budda try tek mi fi idiat. The girl did sey fi yuh name Gucci."