No tap dancing! (Hayley)

She was sitting on the bed, her knees up to her chest, while her back rested on the bed’s headboard, carefully polishing her nails while Doja Cat – Say So played from her laptop. She blew off the dust, before placing down her hand on a bowl filled with water as she rested, content with that moment.

Hayley worked until late on the night before; normally people get more relaxed on a Friday since it’s a day before the weekend, but another model got sick and she had to fill her place; well, rather, it was an unfortunate casualty that gave her a chance to get a bit of extra cash, although having to work on a Friday night was tiring even for herself, at least, it wasn’t as late as her last photoshoot session, so she got home earlier than she expected. It also helped the fact that Mia drove her back on her car, which she was grateful for avoiding the subway’s hush.

When she finally got home, she was so tired that she didn’t even bother changing clothes or taking a bath. Luckily, Hayley had taken off her makeup after the session was over. She shut away her thoughts that nagged about the mess in her apartment, too tired to do anything about it. Hayley closed her eyes and slept the whole night, not even bothering with the loud upstairs neighbours… whatever was it that they were doing – partying, dancing, having sex? No, probably just a bunch of drunk pirates tap dancing with their wooden legs. One day, she would get a broom handle and tap the motherfuckers back… But not that night; that night she slept.

It was a good night’s rest, though, too good in fact, since she woke up earlier than normal. With that amount of spare time, she finally decided it was high time she cleaned up the mess accumulated throughout the week on her apartment. By the end of the day, she had completely finished cleaning everything and after a long day’s work she felt glad with herself, and decided she deserved a reward.

Now, after a relaxing bath, she was cleaning and polishing her nails. The song changed, and she recognized the lyrics of Lost days from Megan Heartstring, one of her favourites. Singing along, she started to play on her cellphone and check the new messages. A few group notifications and direct messages from James and Mia. Hayley sighed deciding to ignore James – how can someone be so clueless?  – and answer Mia. Her manager once again gently reminded her that she needed to go to the gym. It was part of her contract to maintain a balanced lifestyle, and her company emphasized the necessity of their models having healthy bodies, meaning: they wouldn’t accept skipping meals over a good day’s work out. Although it bothered her to frequent a gym, she liked the fact that the company paid attention to that. It was still true that in some other agencies, the models weren’t that well taken care of, besides the pressure of maintaining a big schedule of sessions without proper breaks to rest and eat, some models had to resort to fasting in order to not get over the accepted weight limit. But luckily, she never had this problem with her agency.

Scrolling down the messages, she was once again drawn to the weird kitten picture on Alex’s profile and she wondered what the other girl was doing. Partially, she wanted to meet her again because she felt in debt to Alex, but there was also another part of herself that was intrigued by her. Almost without realizing she sent Alex a message. She wasn’t expecting a reply since she already knew Alex didn’t have a habit of looking for messages and Hayley hadn’t figured out Discord yet. But she got surprised when her cellphone vibrated and Alex had answered back.

Alex: Hey. Of course, I didn’t forget you. And yes, we’re definitely meeting.

Alex: I’m excited to see you again.

Alex: I’m mean, not excited, just, you know. Normal.

She chuckled with Alex’s embarrassment. Biting her lips, she decided to play with the girl a bit.

Hayley: Aw, I was excited to meet you… It’s sad that you don’t feel the same. It’s okay though.

Alex is typing…

…

Alex is typing…

…

Alex is typing…

Alex: No, no… I didn’t mean it like that. I’m also excited to see you, but not in a weird way, just… uh, looking forward to meet you.

Hayley: Wait. Is it possible for someone to be excited in a weird way?

Alex is typing…

Alex: Honestly, I have no clue right now.

She laughed holding her cellphone, then finally decided to stop teasing the girl.

Hayley: lol don’t worry, I get you. I was just playing with you a bit.

Alex: Huh?

While she was about to send another message, her cellphone slipped through her finger, falling on the facial moisturizer on the bed. Shit. Shit. Shit. She grabbed the cellphone quickly, accidentally, pressing a few random keys.

Hayley: djilyio

Alex: Uhm, what’s djilyio?

After cleaning the cellphone, she almost buried herself with embarrassment.

Hayley: Nvm, can I call you? It’s a bit difficult to text right now.

Alex: … Sure. I’ll get my headphone.

Hayley: Weird, u use headphones to talk?

Alex: It’s more comfortable. I get to hear better, and my hands also get free. It’s a win-win.

Hayley: lol. If you say so.

After she dialed the number, it didn’t take long to the other girl to pick up, and she heard Alex greeting in a low, but calming tone:

– Hey. How’s it going?

– Hello – she answered back. – I’m good. What about you?

– I guess good works for me too.

– Eh, why? Something bothering?

A small silence from the other side of the line, before Alex answered:

– Yeah. Something like that.

Hayley immediately stiffened, adopting a more serious tone. – What’s the problem?

– Just… you know… – Alex paused, letting the words suspense in the air. Then continued. – There’s this girl from my college, but we’re not in same class. She’s majoring Pharmacy and work part-time as a model. Thing is: she has a knack for bullying me.

It took Hayley half a second to understand and she let out a laugh. – Oh, why? How is she bullying you?

– Uhm, she makes me say embarrassing stuff.

– Ah – Hayley forced a gasp. – So cruel.

– Right? But she said it’s just teasing, though.

– If it’s just teasing, then I’m sure she means no harm – Hayley pointed it out, playing along with Alex.

– I don’t know – said the other girl.

– Who knows… – Hayley continued. – Maybe she just wants to be friends?

– You think so?

– Yes. But you should try asking her next time.

– Ok, will do. – Alex agreed, pausing a few seconds before continuing. – So, you wanna be my friend?

Hayley was about to answer her back, but from the other line of the phone, she heard a masculine voice and Alex hushing a few words back. “Ok, I’ll go down in a min”.

– Sorry – said Alex back to her in the phone. – It’s my family. They’re calling me to dinner.

– Oh, okay. Sorry I must’ve called you in a bad time.

– Don’t worry about it – said Alex in a calming tone. – I liked the talk.

– Me too. – Hayley astonished herself with the honesty in her own words. She quickly added, clearing her throat. – Then, we’re meeting on Monday?

– Yes, if it’s still fine for you.

– Okay. During lunch? We could grab something to eat together...

– Fine by me.

– Then I guess this is it. – she said, a strange feeling bubbled in her chest. – ‘Till Monday. See ya, Alex.

– See ya, Hayley.

A few minutes passed after the call ended, when Hayley noticed she still had a smile on her lips.