Status: Coming soon.
A Christmas Story: Winter Winds
Chapter Three
Things that drive me crazy:
When people say I told you so
When people know what I am thinking
Christmas
Dirty tables
Alcohol (that’s in a good way though)
When my neighbours listen to loud music
When my neighbours’ televisions are too loud
Living in between two stupid neighbours
Recipes (nothing ever looks like the recipe)
Films without closures (I didn’t watch Harry Potter until all of them where out)
‘That went well,’ Julie’s voice was just like her movements. Slightly dangerous, but not in a good way. In a way that said I’m going to wish someone would just kill me before I wake up with a massive hangover and just want to hang myself. It was dangerous in a way that it was only about time when she would fall head first into the pavement and make a fool of herself in front of all the bar-goers who were standing outside puffing away on their cigarettes. We walked past the bars in Covent Garden and you could smell the sour smell of drinks coming out on to the streets from the bars mixed with the smoke from the cigarettes.
‘Are you sure I shouldn’t call Marco?’ I asked her and laughed as she stumbled over her own feet.
‘I’m fiiiiiiine,’ She slurred out. I laughed it off and just continued walking. I wasn’t sober myself but today had been one of the days where I had actually been able to contain myself. Normally I would be walking side by side with Julie laughing at stupid things and stumbling over my own feet as I would try to flirt with every guy who would care to look at me. Not really one of my attractive moments but it didn’t really matter much because most of the guys I would talk to would be drunk too and they wouldn’t even realise if I hiccupped/burped in the middle of a conversation.
‘Can’t we just take a taxi?’ Julie complained.
‘No, I’m not loaded and neither are you,’
‘That’s because you still owe me £50,’
‘Oh, so I never gave them back to you?’ I asked her wishing I had actually given them back to her. Now I would be 50 quid down this month. I hated Christmas. No, I loathed Christmas. Not only was it the time where I had to humiliate myself in front of my entire family, it was also the time where I would have no money for myself. It was the time with crazy zombie-like people that would do anything to get the last piece of something, because they knew someone who wanted that exact thing for Christmas. It was the time for the monster mothers who would go all the way to buy presents for their children. It was the time where it was impossible to just go out for a bit of shopping without having to wait in a line for a hundred years just to buy a silly little £5-ring. Most of all it was the time where my 75-year-old neighbour on the right side would put her favourite Christmas music on and play it all day so loud that the whole complex could hear it. It was the time of the year where my neighbour on the left, a thirty-something Polish woman, would sit and cry into the night while watching Christmas films and during the day she would have her Polish friends over, though there was nothing unusual about that they were over every day all year and they were always speaking very loudly in Polish. And there was something about the Polish language. No matter how hard they tried not to sound like they were killing each other it always sounded like they were killing each other.
‘Come on,’ I said as I pushed Julie on the bus that would take us to Victoria station; where we would be able to walk home from.
‘So when are you meeting Kit again?’ She asked me as we sat down in the front of the bus.
‘I don’t know if I am meeting him again. He got my number, so hopefully he’ll text me,’ I said and got kind of excited. I had liked him. He seemed to be the careful kind of guy, but I didn’t mind that. I always dated impulsive, ignorant arseholes so for once it felt nice to talk to someone who didn’t seem to fit my normal description of the guys I normally dated. But the truth was that right now my first priority was to just find someone I could fool into going with me to the Christmas party. I didn’t have to time to be looking for my one true love. All I could really hope for was that Kit to be somewhat normal and bearable. That is if he ever contacts me. I had no guarantee that he would contact me. We were just people who had met at a bar and had a few drinks together.
‘Are you coming back to my place?’ I asked Julie when were got off the bus. Too tired to respond she just threw her arm around my shoulder and mumbled something that sounded like yes. I dragged her all the way to my glorious flat.
‘What is that sound?’ Julie asked as we were standing outside my door. I was searching for my key in my purse. It was amazing how everything always seemed to get lost in a purse, no matter the size of the purse or the thing getting lost. It always managed to find a way to get lost.
‘That’s Beatrycze crying,’ I said as I finally manage to find the keys and unlock the door. ‘Your tooth brush is the green one,’ I yelled at Julie as I walked into my bedroom.
‘Fuck that, I just want to sleep,’ She said as she came into my bedroom too and threw herself on the bed.
‘Hey, that’s my side,’ I told her and rolled her to the other side of the bed. I collected my pyjamas from the floor and went to the toilet to brush my teeth and remove my makeup. And even though I was non-religious I praised the lord for not getting my completely smashed like Julie. I hated waking up after a night out in my clothes or with no clothes at all, with a horrible breath and makeup smeared all over my face and pillow. Tomorrow that would be Julie and not me.
* * * * *
‘What are you watching?’ Julie asked me as she finally showed her face in the living room. I had been up for a good while and even had time to take a shower and make scramble eggs for myself. It was about what I could make. I was never good at cooking and most of the things I tried failed and I tried a lot of times. I would always look at recipes and think that it looked good, but every time I tried making something it turned out to look like a pile of shit. I hated recipes for that very reason. Nothing would ever look like the pictures they put in them. It was so misleading.
‘Game of thrones,’ I answered looking away from the screen. ‘Oh gosh, you look like shit,’ I chuckled as I studied Julie’s face. She looked just like I used to look after night out. ‘I made scramble eggs. It’s in the fridge, just turn on the oven and put it in there for a while. There’s bacon too,’ I told her and looked back at the screen.
‘Thanks,’ she mumbled as she walked in a zombie-like walk to the kitchen.
‘You know what, that guy from yesterday really looks like Jon Snow,’ I yelled at her.
‘He is Jon Snow.’ She yelled back.
‘No he’s not!’
‘Google it and stop yelling I have a headache,’ Julie yelled back. I did as she told me curious now to know who actually played Jon Snow. Once I had typed everything in I almost lost my head.
‘He is Jon Snow, I think,’ I said as I entered the kitchen where Julie was sitting on the counter drinking a glass of water.
‘I told you so!’ She said as if she had known it all the time. ‘And his friend from yesterday plays Rob Stark. Richard told me when you guys were out smoking. You just kept denying it and I have no idea why, because it was kind of obvious.’
‘Oh fuck off,’ I told her just as my phone began to ring. ’Oh my God it’s him. I can’t answer it, not now!’ I panicked in my little shabby kitchen. I hated shabby kitchens and dirty tables but it still didn’t make me clean my own kitchen that often.
‘Pull yourself together and answer, the ringing is not helping with my headache,’ Julie said as she took my phone out of my hands and pressed answer before placing it back in my hands. I just stared at it like it was a bomb and if I tried to move it it would explode. I looked at Julie whose hand gestures said everything. SAY SOMETIHING DAMNIT!
‘Ehm, hello.’ I finally said as I manage to pull the phone up to my ear.
When people say I told you so
When people know what I am thinking
Christmas
Dirty tables
Alcohol (that’s in a good way though)
When my neighbours listen to loud music
When my neighbours’ televisions are too loud
Living in between two stupid neighbours
Recipes (nothing ever looks like the recipe)
Films without closures (I didn’t watch Harry Potter until all of them where out)
‘That went well,’ Julie’s voice was just like her movements. Slightly dangerous, but not in a good way. In a way that said I’m going to wish someone would just kill me before I wake up with a massive hangover and just want to hang myself. It was dangerous in a way that it was only about time when she would fall head first into the pavement and make a fool of herself in front of all the bar-goers who were standing outside puffing away on their cigarettes. We walked past the bars in Covent Garden and you could smell the sour smell of drinks coming out on to the streets from the bars mixed with the smoke from the cigarettes.
‘Are you sure I shouldn’t call Marco?’ I asked her and laughed as she stumbled over her own feet.
‘I’m fiiiiiiine,’ She slurred out. I laughed it off and just continued walking. I wasn’t sober myself but today had been one of the days where I had actually been able to contain myself. Normally I would be walking side by side with Julie laughing at stupid things and stumbling over my own feet as I would try to flirt with every guy who would care to look at me. Not really one of my attractive moments but it didn’t really matter much because most of the guys I would talk to would be drunk too and they wouldn’t even realise if I hiccupped/burped in the middle of a conversation.
‘Can’t we just take a taxi?’ Julie complained.
‘No, I’m not loaded and neither are you,’
‘That’s because you still owe me £50,’
‘Oh, so I never gave them back to you?’ I asked her wishing I had actually given them back to her. Now I would be 50 quid down this month. I hated Christmas. No, I loathed Christmas. Not only was it the time where I had to humiliate myself in front of my entire family, it was also the time where I would have no money for myself. It was the time with crazy zombie-like people that would do anything to get the last piece of something, because they knew someone who wanted that exact thing for Christmas. It was the time for the monster mothers who would go all the way to buy presents for their children. It was the time where it was impossible to just go out for a bit of shopping without having to wait in a line for a hundred years just to buy a silly little £5-ring. Most of all it was the time where my 75-year-old neighbour on the right side would put her favourite Christmas music on and play it all day so loud that the whole complex could hear it. It was the time of the year where my neighbour on the left, a thirty-something Polish woman, would sit and cry into the night while watching Christmas films and during the day she would have her Polish friends over, though there was nothing unusual about that they were over every day all year and they were always speaking very loudly in Polish. And there was something about the Polish language. No matter how hard they tried not to sound like they were killing each other it always sounded like they were killing each other.
‘Come on,’ I said as I pushed Julie on the bus that would take us to Victoria station; where we would be able to walk home from.
‘So when are you meeting Kit again?’ She asked me as we sat down in the front of the bus.
‘I don’t know if I am meeting him again. He got my number, so hopefully he’ll text me,’ I said and got kind of excited. I had liked him. He seemed to be the careful kind of guy, but I didn’t mind that. I always dated impulsive, ignorant arseholes so for once it felt nice to talk to someone who didn’t seem to fit my normal description of the guys I normally dated. But the truth was that right now my first priority was to just find someone I could fool into going with me to the Christmas party. I didn’t have to time to be looking for my one true love. All I could really hope for was that Kit to be somewhat normal and bearable. That is if he ever contacts me. I had no guarantee that he would contact me. We were just people who had met at a bar and had a few drinks together.
‘Are you coming back to my place?’ I asked Julie when were got off the bus. Too tired to respond she just threw her arm around my shoulder and mumbled something that sounded like yes. I dragged her all the way to my glorious flat.
‘What is that sound?’ Julie asked as we were standing outside my door. I was searching for my key in my purse. It was amazing how everything always seemed to get lost in a purse, no matter the size of the purse or the thing getting lost. It always managed to find a way to get lost.
‘That’s Beatrycze crying,’ I said as I finally manage to find the keys and unlock the door. ‘Your tooth brush is the green one,’ I yelled at Julie as I walked into my bedroom.
‘Fuck that, I just want to sleep,’ She said as she came into my bedroom too and threw herself on the bed.
‘Hey, that’s my side,’ I told her and rolled her to the other side of the bed. I collected my pyjamas from the floor and went to the toilet to brush my teeth and remove my makeup. And even though I was non-religious I praised the lord for not getting my completely smashed like Julie. I hated waking up after a night out in my clothes or with no clothes at all, with a horrible breath and makeup smeared all over my face and pillow. Tomorrow that would be Julie and not me.
* * * * *
‘What are you watching?’ Julie asked me as she finally showed her face in the living room. I had been up for a good while and even had time to take a shower and make scramble eggs for myself. It was about what I could make. I was never good at cooking and most of the things I tried failed and I tried a lot of times. I would always look at recipes and think that it looked good, but every time I tried making something it turned out to look like a pile of shit. I hated recipes for that very reason. Nothing would ever look like the pictures they put in them. It was so misleading.
‘Game of thrones,’ I answered looking away from the screen. ‘Oh gosh, you look like shit,’ I chuckled as I studied Julie’s face. She looked just like I used to look after night out. ‘I made scramble eggs. It’s in the fridge, just turn on the oven and put it in there for a while. There’s bacon too,’ I told her and looked back at the screen.
‘Thanks,’ she mumbled as she walked in a zombie-like walk to the kitchen.
‘You know what, that guy from yesterday really looks like Jon Snow,’ I yelled at her.
‘He is Jon Snow.’ She yelled back.
‘No he’s not!’
‘Google it and stop yelling I have a headache,’ Julie yelled back. I did as she told me curious now to know who actually played Jon Snow. Once I had typed everything in I almost lost my head.
‘He is Jon Snow, I think,’ I said as I entered the kitchen where Julie was sitting on the counter drinking a glass of water.
‘I told you so!’ She said as if she had known it all the time. ‘And his friend from yesterday plays Rob Stark. Richard told me when you guys were out smoking. You just kept denying it and I have no idea why, because it was kind of obvious.’
‘Oh fuck off,’ I told her just as my phone began to ring. ’Oh my God it’s him. I can’t answer it, not now!’ I panicked in my little shabby kitchen. I hated shabby kitchens and dirty tables but it still didn’t make me clean my own kitchen that often.
‘Pull yourself together and answer, the ringing is not helping with my headache,’ Julie said as she took my phone out of my hands and pressed answer before placing it back in my hands. I just stared at it like it was a bomb and if I tried to move it it would explode. I looked at Julie whose hand gestures said everything. SAY SOMETIHING DAMNIT!
‘Ehm, hello.’ I finally said as I manage to pull the phone up to my ear.