Roxie Bing | she's the one

(1.4) The One With George Stephanopoulos

I walked into Monica's apartment to find her loudly using the blender and Phoebe setting glasses out on the table.
"Hey. Where've you been?" Monica asked.
I rolled my eyes as I slammed my bag on the table. "An interview."
"Ooh, how did it go?" Phoebe asked excitedly, clearly not excellent at reading signals.
"Not good." I clarified.
"What? You didn't get it?" Monica questioned with an empathetic look on her face.
"No, I didn't get it. Ugh. Four years doing photography degrees for what? Just for firms to reject me?" I whined.
"Oh, sweetie." Monica comfortingly put her hand on my shoulder. "Listen, Phoebe and I are having a sleepover tonight."
"That's a bit cheesy, isn't it?"
Monica rolled her eyes at my comment and dismissed it entirely. "Well, Rachel is coming. We're going to make cocktails and we're going to gossip. It'll be fun."
"Fine, okay. Where is Rachel?"
"With the squealing girls." Phoebe nodded as if this made any sense to me. I stared confused for a moment before Monica spoke.
"And the boys are out at a game trying to cheer Ross up."
"Carol misery again?" I guessed.
"Yeah. So, are you in for the sleepover?" Monica asked.
"Yeah. Count me in."
"Pyjamas then. Off you go." Phoebe instructed and I grinned.

I wandered off across the hall and into my bedroom where my pyjamas were scattered on my bed already.
I curiously picked up the little scrap piece of paper lying on my pillow to see some scrawled writing.

Have you changed your mind yet?

I chuckled slightly at Joey's perseverance and put the note aside as I put my pyjamas on.

I was back at Monica's apartment and Phoebe and I were hovering by the table awaiting one of these 'mouth-watering' cocktails and Monica was attempting to perfect it.
"There. Amazing." She smiled in pride at herself as she took the lid off the blender.

Rachel walked through the door at that minute.
"Hey Rach. How was it with your friends?" Monica asked and then her and Phoebe imitated a high-pitched squeal.
Rachel responded with a glare and Monica rapidly moved on.
"Okay, how would you like some Tiki death punch?" Monica offered as she began pouring it out slowly into the glasses on the table.
"What's that?" Rachel asked.
"Well, it's rum and -"
"Okay." Rachel quickly grabbed the entire blender from Monica's hands, put a straw in and started drinking.
"Jesus, what's wrong with you?" I asked but Rachel didn't even make contact.

The phone rang and Monica answered.
"Rach, it's the Visa card people." Monica told Rachel, offering her the phone.
"Ask them what they want." Rachel insisted, clearly not in the mood for a phone call.
"They say there's been some unusual activity on your account."
Rachel sighed. "But I haven't used my card in weeks!"
"That is the unusual activity." Monica clarified. "They just want to see if you're okay."

Rachel stood up immediately and very obviously ready to rant.
"Oh, they want to see if I'm okay? Let's see, well... the FICA guys took all my money! Everyone I know is either getting married or getting pregnancy or getting promoted and I'm getting coffee, and it's not even for me! So if that sounds like I'm okay then you can tell them I'm okay, okay?" Rachel paced frantically back and forth.
Monica looked awkwardly for a second before placing the phone back to her ear. "Uh, Rachel has left the building... can you call back?"
Rachel pulled out the twister mat from the box and started frantically shaking it.
"All right, come on. Let's play Twister." She half-heartedly said as her voice broke.

We all ended up huddled on the couch in attempt to console Rachel.
"Oh, come on. You're doing this amazing independent thing. You should be proud." I insisted, but Rachel wasn't having it.
"Oh, Roxie. What is so amazing? I gave up everything and for what?"
Phoebe interrupted and attempted to give a reassuring analogy about how Rachel was just like Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk.
"Okay Pheebs, but Jack gave up a cow. I gave up an orthodontist. I know I didn't love him, but it was a plan. It was clear. Everything was figured out. And now everything is kind of like -"
"Floopy?" Phoebe offered.
"Yeah."
"Well, you're not the only one." Monica assures her. "I mean, half the time we don't know where we're going. You've just got to have faith that at some point it'll all come together and be... un-floopy."
"But what if it doesn't all come together? What if we don't get magic beans?" Rachel pressed.
Monica, Phoebe and I all exchanged worried glances. I definitely didn't feel ready for this conversation after being laughed out of an interview a few hours prior.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to bring you down." Rachel apologised.
All four of us were lay lazily on the floor or the sofas. Monica's sleepover activity plans had been pushed aside. I was drinking my third glass of Monica's homemade cocktail.
"You're right. I don't have a plan." Monica whined from her spot draped over the chair.
"Me neither. I don't even have a 'pl'." Phoebe added.
"Well, what about you Rox? Do you have a plan? You're further ahead than the rest of us, you're starting off with a degree." Rachel questioned.
I immediately laughed. "Yeah, right. I got laughed out of an interview today, Rach. A degree means nothing apparently."
"I'm so sorry."

Just then, the door knocked and Rachel jumped out enthusiastically for the pizza we'd ordered, only for us to hear her whines at the door when it wasn't our pizza.
"Wait, so you're not G. Stephanopoulos?" The scrawny pizza guy asked.
Monica jumped up at the sound of this name and clarified with the pizza guy that this 'G. Stephanopoulos' was in fact who she thought it was.
Monica grabbed the pizza and ran to the window grabbing a pair of binoculars. Phoebe and Rachel both smiled.
"Who are we spying in?" I was completely confused.
Monica proceeded to tell me who it was and I nodded slightly, only half knowing who she was talking about, but the other three were excitable about this incident.

The girls forced me out on the balcony with them. They'd gathered chairs and blankets and brought the pizza out along with the binoculars to spy on this guy.

We spent a while gossiping. The girls revealed all of their petty secrets about betraying each other throughout their friendships as we got more and more tipsy on alcohol and I laughed hysterically.
"What are you laughing at?" Rachel questioned me defensively when I laughed at some at her expense. "When I first met you in high school when you tagged along with Chandler to some party, I thought you were a complete bitch."
We all laughed again.

"How's it going living with the boys, Roxie?" Rachel asked.
"It's good actually. It's fun." I smiled.
"Joey isn't shy about flirting with you, is he?" Phoebe scoffed.
"Is he ever shy about flirting with anyone?" Monica asked her and Phoebe shook her head.
"So, what? Is it completely off the cards? Or are you up for having a bit of fun?" Rachel pried.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not up for anything. Joey doesn't know how to treat girls. I can tell we're going to be friends, but that'll be it."
The girls groaned in disappointment.

"Okay Monica, right foot red." Ross instructed.
Joey, Monica, Rachel and I were playing Twister at the end of the night and Ross was spinning and calling the instructions with his broken nose after a unfortunate incident at the game where the puck had smacked him.

"Roxie, right hand blue." Ross instructed and I put my arm down so I was in an awkward downward dog yoga position.
I saw Ross roll his eyes at Joey and I immediately turned to see him very much admiring the view.
"Joey, I swear to God, I will cut your balls off when you're asleep." I warned and his expression changed.

It was only a few seconds before we'd all collapsed on the mat in hysterical laughter.
I was so happy this was my new life.