Part II: The War
“You have no right to be mad at me, Dorika,” Gloria told her colleague and friend. The two of them had sat down alone, Gloria by the window and Dorika next to her, to calmly discuss the newly-arisen problem.
Dorika was silent, staring at the back of the seat in front of her.
“You called me while I was waiting for you at the club and said that you weren’t feeling well, that you had a migraine and that you had to go to bed immediately. Isn’t that right?”
Dorika didn’t answer.
“Isn’t that right, I asked you!”
“Yes.”
“There, you see.”
“But that’s not an excuse,” Dorika softened up and looked at Gloria. “This thing with Svetlana was so important that you should have woken me up. I would have taken another pill for my head and…”
“I know…”
“Well if you know, why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Because… but not a word to anyone!”
“You saw Pascal too?!”
“No… it has nothing to do with them…”
“So?”
“Promise me that you won’t tell a soul.”
“I promise. Tell me already!”
“Last night, when you said that you wouldn’t be coming to the club, I paid for my drink and started for the exit. What was I going to do there by myself, right?”
“And?”
“So I’m already nearing the door when I hear… it was noisy, loud music… you know how it gets there…”
“What did you hear?”
“Well… I wasn’t at all sure in that noise. I thought that I had imagined it. I didn’t even turn around…”
“OK, so?”
“And then, a second time, much louder. I heard someone shout ‘Gloria! Gloria!’, and I turned around…”
“Who was it?”
“A young man.”
“A young man! Really? Was he handsome?”
“Very handsome”
“Wow, tell me more! How did he approach you? How did you get introduced?”
“Well… we didn’t get introduced.”
“I don’t get it. How didn’t you get introduced? Why then did he call out to you?”
“You don’t get it, Dorika. He called me by my name. There was no need for us to get introduced.”
“You know him?”
“You know him too.”
“I know him too. Where do we know him from? What are you trying to tell me, Gloria? He isn’t one of our guys, is he?”
“You promised that you wouldn’t…”
“Yes, I did! Who?”
“Guess!”
“Guess?... alright. You say he’s handsome?”
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’? You said…”
YOU ARE READING
The Grasshopper
Science FictionImagine living in a world where Consumerism is the constitutional order, and where the Inspectorate is in charge of destroying goods whose season has passed, so as to maintain the Balance. In this world you can survive only if you work and buy goods...
