Dark And Light

Mia was fed up, truly fed up. Judy was away and the flat was so quiet and she hadn't danced properly for ages but was getting sick of dancing anyway. I need to do something else with my life she thought. Something is missing.

*

Maddy was fed up also, Jed had gone away up to Scotland to take his parents on some family gathering and was going to stay for a while and he didn't know how long for. She sat at the computer surfing the net as usual but was fed up, pissed off and bored. There must be more to life than this she thought.

The next day...

That's it Mia thought. I'm calling her; I finally need to see her. She picked up her phone and entered Maddy's number. Maddy answered almost immediately.

"Mads!" said Mia settling down onto the sofa.

"Hi Mia, what you up to?" said Maddy. This was a surprise she thought, clicking the mouse button with her right hand.

"Actually I'm bored fucking stiff and I thought I'd give you a call." Said Mia sighing.

"Oh right, so I'm your last resort am I?" Mads said typing GOOGLE into the computer.

"Oh Mads, don't be like that. Shall I go then?" said Mia putting her hand out and checking her nails.

"Actually no... . I didn't mean it and I'm 'fucking' bored stiff too." Said Mads hitting the search button.

"Listen Mads, shall we get together soon? It's been a while and, you know we should catch up," she said reaching over for a nail file and resting the phone on her shoulder.

"Yeah we should, I agree. Where?" said Mads typing in MIKE DIRNT for about the one-millionth time to see if there was anything new on him that she hadn't found before.

"How about I come home." Said Mia filing her thumbnail.

"Come here? You hate it around here. I thought you'd want to meet up in some smart London restaurant and show off." Said Mads realising that there was no new information on Mike Dirnt so she lay back in her computer chair listening to her sister.

"I'm not like that." Mia said throwing the nail file over to the coffee table.

"Well you were. You were always like that, always trying to better yourself." Said Mads. What the fuck did her sister want?

"Well I'm not like that now." Said Mia picking up the remote and pointing it to the TV.

"Oh right," said Mads sarcastically. "What are you wearing then?" she sniffed.

"What?" said Mia, half listening and trying to find a decent channel to watch.

"What are you wearing? I bet you're wearing something right now that's glittery and pink. I bet you've got one of those spray-on tans and those disgusting false nails. You have haven't you?" said Maddy.

"Actually... " said Mia, finding a soap opera that she had followed.

"I knew it." Said Mads laughing to herself.

"Now hold on a minute," said Mia sitting up. "I'm actually wearing a pair of jeans and I have a T shirt on."

"Yeah and I bet its pink." Smirked Maddy.

"Hmmmm... a very pale pink" said Mia half listening to the soap.

"See, I knew it. Has it got glitter on it?" she said.

"No actually, it hasn't," said Mia but looking down to check.

"Oh." Said Maddy, surprised.

"Told you," said Mia realising she wasn't interested in the soap at all so turned off the TV and lay back down.

"Right? So... what about your nails?" said Maddy swivelling on the computer chair.

"They're false." Said Mia. "So what?"

"Your skin tone," said Mads.

"Natural skin, natural is in, not the spray on tan," said Mia.

"Oh. So you have had a spray on tan then?" said Maddy getting up from the computer chair and going over to the window to look out at the usual boring view.

"Only once, it was for a photo shoot. Look what the fuck is up with you. I bet you're wearing black." She said getting pissed off with her sister.

"I might be." Said Maddy walking away from the window and sighing. Bored.

"I reckon that's definitely a yes. So tell me Mads what are you wearing?"

"Black jeans and.." she said looking down.

"Yeah... tell me... a black T shirt." Said Mia chuckling.

"Yep, my old Ramones one." Said Maddy proudly.

"I knew it." Said Mia.

"Its comfortable." Said Maddy.

"Make up?" said Mia

"A little," said Maddy going out to check herself in the hall mirror.

"A little round the eyes you mean. No I'll rephrase shall I, a lot round the eyes. Black eyeliner I bet."

"May be." Said Maddy. Yeah she was wearing black eyeliner but not as much as she used to.

"We don't change do we?" said Mia

"Hardly, anyway, do you still want to come here?" she said putting her chin up and checking out a spot that she had found on her chin.

"Of course." Said Mia. "Of course I'm coming."

"When?" said Mia trying to squeeze her spot with one hand.

"Tonight. Can I stay over?" she sort of said that last part quietly.

"Stay here? You want to stay here? I thought you'd want to rush off back to London and be with your club friends and discuss the latest lip colour." Said Maddy.

"Fuck of Mads. Can I stay or not?"

"Of course," she said enjoying their banter. She'd missed it.

*

Maddy noticed the taxi pull up as she was pacing up and down waiting for her sister. She'd made up the old bedroom for her and was all ready for her arrival. She glanced out quickly seeing her sister get out from the taxi. Oh my god. She's not blonde anymore she thought then Maddy put her hand up and touched her own hair.

She got to the door before Mia had a chance to open it.

"Mads! Oh my god. You're hair is not black any more," and Mia put her hand up to her own hair. "Actually, it's the same as mine, dark brown. Oh my god, I didn't realise. I always envisioned you with jet black hair."

"And I always remembered you as a bleach blonde." Said Maddy moving aside to let her sister in.

"Come in then and get a drink. What are you drinking now? Some weird and wonderful cocktail? What's the latest in drink?"

"No. A beer will do." Said Mia dumping a holdall in the hallway.

"Beer? You used to hate the stuff." Smiled Maddy.

"My tastes have changed," said Mia.

They sat in the Living room drinking their beer together. They looked quite alike and were not dressed that differently really. Mia had actually worn some black jeans with black boots and had on a grey t-shirt. Just a plain t-shirt and she wore no make up but she still had those awful nails.

"You look good," said Mads. "You've finally got rid of that pink gunk off your face."

"Only a couple of days ago, I felt like a change."

"Why?" said Maddy slightly intrigued.

"I don't know, got a little fed up of trying to be so beautiful and perfect all the time. It was hard work. So.. what you been up to all these years."

"Oh you know, this and that. I feel like a change to but I don't know what," said Maddy.

Mia got up suddenly and went to a photograph that was sitting on the window ledge. It was of the two of them dressed as five-year-old girls with pretty party dresses, before they argued, before everything changed.

"You know Mads, I have this exact same photograph in a frame in my bedroom."

"Really?" said Maddy surprised. She didn't think her sister would have anything to do with her old life in her trendy London flat.

"Yeah, do you remember before this party what we used to get up to?" she said looking over at her sister.

"A little. We were so young."

"Do you remember that time we exchanged places for a week and nobody guessed." Laughed Mia.

"Sure did except I had to eat broccoli as you loved it so much and I hated it."

"I still love it." Said Mia replacing the photograph.

"..and yeah I still hate it." Said Maddy. "Just the smell of it... .uggh." She said making a face. "Do you still hate meat?"

"No. I eat meat again." Said Mia coming over to the sofa.

"Another phase of yours Mia, what were you like?" smiled Maddy.

"Do you still listen to crap music?" asked Mia.

"Its not crap and don't bring it up." Said Maddy looking away.

Mia sighed. "Its so peaceful here" she said putting out her feet onto the coffee table.

"It's bloody boring here. I'm hardly out of the place, I also work here." Said Maddy, not impressed.

"Oh yeah. It must be peaceful sometimes though?" said Mia.

"Yeah but sometimes you don't want peaceful do you?" said Maddy, imitating her sister without realising and putting her feet up onto the coffee table.

"I'd love peaceful," said Mia sighing. "Hey Mads?"

"Hmmmm," said Mads taking a sip from her beer.

"No, nothing." Said Mia, brushing her comment aside.

"No, what?" said Mads. Was her sister up to something? She could sense it.

"It was just a thought, a stupid one." Said Mia.

"What was?" said Mads, intrigued. "Come on tell me."

"How would you feel about changing places, may be for about a month." There, it was said.

"Not sure." Said Maddy. She knew her sister was up to something.

"Go on," said Mia sitting up, "it'd be fun and it'd only be for a month, I'm sure we could cope for a month."

"Yeah but... your dancing." Said Maddy starting to worry now.

"I've given the dancing up." Said Mia.

"What do you do then?"

"I... . I do some modelling. Just catalogue stuff." She said, ashamed.

"What? I thought you were some top dancer." Said Maddy.

"Well I was but... I'm getting old," said Mia looking down.

"At 21? Old?"

"It's difficult in that game." Said Mia slightly ashamed.

"Fucking hell Mia." Said Maddy. "I didn't know."

"I get by, just a few photo shoots, sometimes a tiny bit of acting in adverts and stuff. It's not difficult. Fuck if I can do it... "

"But my business," said Mads.

"Can't you tell your clients that you're on holiday for a week or so? Then I could have a crash course in computing and web design. They must do online courses. I'd love it, I know nothing about computers and now's my opportunity. Please Mads... please." She almost begged it. She wanted to get away.

"Let me get another beer and we'll think about it," said Mads getting up off the sofa.

While Maddy was in the kitchen she looked about her. Boring suburban house, boring life, boring computer. She'd never meet anyone in this dump. May be this was an opportunity to let her hair down a bit and enjoy herself. It was only for a month and everything would be back to normal after that. If she hated it... . well... she was sure she could manage it for a month.

She went back into the living room and handed a beer to her sister then sat back down on the armchair.

"Well? Have you thought about it?" asked Mia hopefully.

"Yeah and... I'll do it," whispered Maddy.

"Oh fucking awesome," said Mia. "I'm just looking forward to spending some time on my own, chilling out and learning something worthwhile for once." She said. "When shall we start? How about now?"

"We could sort of start now I suppose," said Maddy really beginning to like the idea.

"How about you come to mine tomorrow and I'll show you the place, you know keys and where everything is, you've never been there. Yeah tomorrow we'll go back to mine. You'll love it Mads, you really will."

"What the fuck have a let myself in for?" Said Maddy making a mental note to hide everything to do with Mike Dirnt. She had loads of photos of him around the place and she belonged to nearly all the fan sites. She couldn't be bothered for Mia to find out about him, she'd really take the piss.

At that moment Mia's phone rang and she checked the name.

"How about we start now?" Said Mia, "answer my phone."

"No I couldn't." said Maddy.

"Yes you can. Pretend to be me, this guy won't know any difference." Mia said.

"Who is it?" said Maddy frowning.

Mia checked the phone again.

"Just some guy I met the other night and wants to go out with me." She checked the name flashing in front of her "... a guy called Mike Dirnt."