My Gorgeous Nightmare

Someone please remind me why I’m friends with these people. Well, at least one of these people, since Dianna is the only one I’m actually friends with. But still, we were at a club where they played nothing but pop and hip hop. I can stand a little pop music, but not what they’re playing here. And to make it all so much better, I had to listen to Chloe go on and on about how “horrible it is that he did that,” and “I thought he loved me.” Don’t get me wrong, I did feel bad, but I can understand how her boyfriend was driven to it.

Slipping away from my group, I made my way to the other side of the club before finding someone willing to give me a cigarette. Everyone I was here with hated people who smoked, so I had to get away from them. They wouldn’t notice the smell when I rejoined them, since half the people here were smoking. I leaned my back against the wall as I felt myself relaxing. But it didn’t last long.

“E.B., what do you think you’re doing!?” Looking up, I saw Dianna glaring at what was left of the cigarette in my hand.

“Relaxing,” I replied. “I listened to Chloe the entire time we were eating and the entire time we’ve been here. If I didn’t get away, I was going to go off on her, and you know you don’t want that.”

“I know she’s annoying and being overly dramatic right now, but you seriously have to smoke to relax? You couldn’t just go dance with some random guy until you felt better? You know I hate smokers.” I tried speaking several times, but Dianna cut me off every time. “I had come looking for you to tell you we were leaving to go somewhere else, but since you obviously don’t care about me and how I feel, I’m leaving you here. You can find your own way home.”

I watched Dianna walk away from me, back to the others. I didn’t care what she told the others; I never saw or talked to them any other time anyway. However, I did care about the fact that I was now abandoned here. Normally I would just walk home from wherever I was, but I wasn’t about to walk more than 30 miles home at 11pm in Las Vegas. Finishing my cigarette, I texted Ronnie, asking him if he could come pick me up, but not say anything to our parents.

While I waited for him to reply, I left the club and slowly wandered the almost deserted halls of Mandalay Bay. I felt my phone vibrate in pocket as I found a bench against the wall. Ronnie said he was sending Max, since he’d never gotten his license, and that I should know better than to think he’d say anything to our parents. I sent a quick reply before leaning my head back against the wall, losing myself in my thoughts.

Ten minutes later, I got another text, this time from an unknown number. “Hey, it’s Max. Ronnie gave me your number so I could find you. So where am I going?” I told him to meet me at Mandalay Bay, in the hallways that led to the shark exhibit. I waited a while longer, watching couples stumble out of the club and down the halls. The guys were obviously enjoying their drunk girlfriends and the mini dresses they were wearing.

It was a while before Max arrived. “Are you ok?” he asked, sitting down next to me.

I nodded. “Shit happened, and I was left without a way home.”

“You can’t drive?”

“I can, just not legally,” I said. “And I don’t feel like stealing someone’s car tonight. I’d rather not have to deal with the police if I get caught, which with my luck would happen.”

Max laughed. “C’mon. Let’s go get something to eat before I take you home.” He led me to the parking garage, where after walking around three floors, we finally found his car. In the car, we didn’t talk, but listened to music. When we got to McDonald’s though, we did.

We talked about our families, how we hated school and were glad we graduated, and other things to get to know one another.

“Working at Burger King, you must get a lot of guys giving you their number and asking you out,” Max said randomly.

I shook my head. “Have you seen the uniforms? They’re not very flattering. And no, I don’t have a lot of guys hitting on me. But when I do, it’s always the old men or the really creepy guys. All the guys I like ignore me.”

“Creepy guys? They can’t be that bad.”

“They are. Or they’re all high. I had a guy yesterday in the drive-thru who had to have been on something. He was way too happy,” I explained. “As soon as he pulled up to my window, he started saying ‘You’re amazing, you’re beautiful, you’re too great to be working here breaking hearts’ and shit like that.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as Max choked on his food when I told him what the guy had said. “That would be kind of scary. But seriously, how can you stand working there?”

“I need a job, and they hired me when I turned in my application, so there you go,” I said simply. We continued talking about anything and everything as we finished our food.

Max drove me home close to 2am. “Coming in?” I asked as Max got out of the car when I did.

He shook his head. “No, I just want a hug from my new best friend,” he said. I reached my arms out to hug him. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist before lifting me up and spinning me around. I shut my eyes tightly and buried my face in his shoulder, telling him to put me down and laughing alternatively. I didn’t look up again until I felt myself being put back down. “I’m sorry. Are you afraid of heights?” he asked. Max was almost a head taller than me, but heights didn’t bother me at all.

“No, but I get dizzy easily and I don’t like being dizzy,” I said. Max apologized again before letting me walk towards the front door.

“Wait, can I call you Psycho?” I heard Max ask. I nodded. I liked getting new nicknames. I heard the front door opening and before I knew it, Ronnie was standing on the lawn with us.

“What did you do to my amazing little sister that took you more than three hours to get home?” he asked Max.

“We decided to eat at McDonald’s and just started talking,” Max said.

Ronnie’s face fell as he looked between us. “And you didn’t bring me anything?” We shook our heads. “Fine. Both of you owe me a meal at the place of my choice. You can split the bill.”