Call Me (HIATUS)

Chapter One: Prank Caller

Ring ring!

"I'll get it!" I yawned, blinking my eyes open. The overhead light was already flicked on, blinding me momentarily with its light and revealing that it was my alarm clock that woke me, not the phone. "Ugh..." I really wanted to stay asleep but... I suppose the alarm had other plans! I stretched, kicking off the covers and yawning once more.

As I heavily and wordlessly plodded down the russet-carpeted stairs, I heard a friend greet me. "Oh, hi Virginia! Glad to see you're finally up," Phyl exclaimed, greeting me warmly and with a grin.

I smiled tiredly and gave her a sloppy wave in response. "Yeah, I'm awake." I sighed, collapsing into a chair.

"Hey, who left the goddamn door open!"

I flinched a little at the abruptness of the exclamation, and Jess, the girl who shouted the complaint, turned to me apologetically. "I'm sorry about that Virginia," she said.

I waved it off. "Nah, it's okay. I'm just jumpy is all," I explained. I set my attention to the atmosphere. There were wreaths on every door, some with bottles of booze between their leaves, and the tree was strung with popcorn and tinsel. It all looked-

"Yule-ish, very Yule-ish." I chuckled a little at Barb's lack of creativity, a response that the brunette noticed. "Well, I'd like to see you come up with a word to describe all..." she waved her cigarette in the air, gesturing to the decorations. "...this."

"Well," I began, more awake, "I could think of plenty," I smirked at Barb's flustered face. "Festive, warm, welcoming, cheery-"

"All right, that's enough," Phyl interrupted, smirking and doing a poor job at holding back a laugh.

"I think I'm gonna booze up," I announced, standing up to get to the kitchen.

"Really? This early?" Jess questioned, sounding a bit concerned.

I turned to face her. "Yes, this early." I spun back around, trotting over to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of beer to pour into a cup.

Ring, ring!

Clare, another sister, was the one to pick up the phone. "Pardon? Who?" She looked up at Barb, now on her fifth cup of beer already. "It's for you," she explained. "Long-distance."

Barb took the phone from her, strutting over to a far corner in the kitchen, and began her conversation with the person on the other end.

I turned my attention to Patrick, who was in the middle of a joke. "So, I start walking down the street, and I hear, 'Patrick! Oh, Patrick!' and at this point, I was sick and tired of her calling me, so I turned around and I said, 'What?' and in the sweetest little voice, she says, 'Can I have a dollar?'" This earned hearty laughs from everyone and a snicker from me.

"Could you keep it down? I can't hear a damn thing!" Barb sighed and turned back to her call as I took the nearest living room chair, eager to listen in to some gossip. In true, Barb fashion, it began with her complaining about the sound. After only a few seconds of struggling with the phone, she ordered all the boys out.

"Come on, Barb!" I exclaimed. "We're just having fun!"

"Well you can have fun tomorrow," she snapped, ushering Chris, Clare's boyfriend, out the door. "Right now, I'm talking to my Mom."

I huffed, angrily slouching back in my seat. "No fair..." I whined childishly, to which Phyl laughed.

"Lighten up, Virginia!" she whispered. "I'll bet Barb has something interesting to say!"

"No, we're just having a little party," Barb said into the phone, pouring her now sixth cup of booze. "I've only had a couple." I chuckled. "No Mom, I'm not drunk!" Barb exclaimed into the phone. This untrue claim sent Phyl and Clare into a laughing fit, earning a deadly glare from Barb. I turned to Jess, who rolled her eyes in disbelief. I, too, found it a bit hard to accept Barb's claim as true, especially not when she was sipping booze in between sentences. "No, no... um, I have some stuff to do in the afternoon..."