An Arrow To The Chest

Chapter 9: Dishwasher Tea

The ratio of milk to tea is a very important skill to get right, especially with first impressions. As I hand Khad his mug he takes a look down before giving me a nod, letting me know I have the seal of approval.

I watch him take the first sip, then turn back to make one for Arrow, who had decided to follow us after all. I'm not as careful with the splash of milk and instead pour far too much, watching the colour turn into a dirty grey. It looks like dirty dishwater, which is perfect.

I walk over to where he's sitting at the table and place the cup in front of him. He looks down, scrunches his nose, then looks back at me as if to say 'what the fuck is this'. After looking into Khad's perfect cup, he looks back down at his, connecting the dots that his shit tea was made on purpose, as a very personal and petty attack on his shit personality. I was the queen of petty today.

"Sorry, Arrow, my hand slipped a little and I overdid it with the milk. Hope it's still okay?"

We both knew that my hand did not simply slip, yet he bit his tongue and took a sip.

"Delicious." His facial expression said the exact opposite.

Khad went on to talk about himself, revealing he was from the Midlands, was here to study economics, and had spent the previous year travelling around Thailand and Cambodia. It was the typical gap year story, a private school boy not knowing what subject to take, so taking a year out to 'discover' himself.

He spoke whilst placing his pots and pans in an empty cupboard, occasionally taking a sip of tea and asking a question to either me or Arrow.

The noise of retching and gagging came from next door, meaning Tia must of woken up.

"Did I miss out on a heavy one?" Khad remarked, placing cutlery randomly into the drawer instead of separating the knives and forks like I had done. Everything in me wanted to rearrange, or at least tell him to do it properly, but I kept it in.

"I'm going to check if she's okay," I said, filling up a glass of water then making my way to her room.

She was exactly where I left her, hunched over the toilet seat, with some sick dried around her mouth. Had she slept there all night?

She lifted her eyelids in a sleepy haze then let out a groan. The eyeliner flicks she had spent so long on last night were smudged around her face, and an imprint of the toilet seat was apparent on her cheek.

"Tia, do you want me to help move you to the bed?" she shook her head and let out another gag.

If I had known her better I would have laughed and taken pictures, then sat next to her and stroked her hair until she was ready to be carried to bed. I had no idea what the protocol was for a roommate you've only known for 2 days.

"Hey, come on now, let's get you to bed so you can feel better by tonight. You don't want to meet a new housemate in this state do you?"

"Another one moved in?" her words were slurred and muffled.

"Yeah, a guy called Khad. He's nice, you're going to like him."

"Is he fit?"

"A lot fitter than you look right now, come on," I slid my arms around her body and half carried half dragged her across her room. Thank God she was only small.

"I'm sorry for being such a mess last night," she said, but before I could tell her it was no problem she continued speaking.

"But you really shouldn't have let me drink so much. Was irresponsible."

My mouth fell open, speechless as to what to respond. Was she kidding? Was she really blaming her inability to drink responsibly on me?

The look of pain plastered on her face stopped me from saying something, and instead I made my way back to the kitchen in the hopes that Arrow and Khad were still there.

They had left, the bags full of pots and pans now empty on the counter top. A single mug had been left, the mug I used for Arrows tea. I peered inside and saw it was still full, the cold grey liquid reflecting my eyes, looking as unappetising as ever. Fuck you Arrow.