Chapter 1
"Push"
"Push harder"
“Yes, you can do it Alice”
Alice heard Diana encouraging her in the background. The task in hand was much more difficult than she contemplated. Her body was trembling from exertion. She was on the verge of exhaustion, but giving up was not in her nature, with that thought in mind Alice focused again with more determination.
“Just last push & then our work is done” shouted Diana. She had been standing & supporting her friend. Though she had few reservations whether it was a good idea or not, time will tell.
“Will you please shut up Di, it’s your fault” grumbled Alice. Most of the times it was difficult for Alice to decide whether to hug her friend or drown her, well the later option seemed more reasonable.
“How is it my fault Al?” Diana mumbled innocently, with her ‘I can charm anyone’ voice, but the slight tremor in her voice was not missed by Alice.
Not wanting to engage in unwanted conversation, Alice pushed with all her might, grunting and mumbling profanities luckily it was not much audible.
With one last push by Alice, ‘Thuddd’ the bed shifted to one side of the wall.
The noise made by the bed was like music for Alice. She collapsed face first on the bed; her knees kissed the ground for support, her chest heaved with exhaustion & her hands splayed on the bed trying to relieve them from the pain. She wished that the bed was covered with the soft mattress & pillows which were lying around the ground, but for now took comfort in the hard wood that felt cool on her skin. She felt drained after pushing that awful bed. Her hands & legs were numb from exertion & her whole body felt like it was set on fire. Sweat that made her clothes cling to her body was not helping the situation.
“Hurray!!! You did it Alice” Diana cheered at the top of her voice. She started jumping around the room. Seems like, she had momentarily forgotten about her friend who was on the verge of dying from exhaustion.
“Al you are the best, I love you!!! I love you!!! I love you!!! I mean, I love you, but not in that way. If you have such type of feelings for me, I totally understand. I mean look at me, no one will blame you for secretly loving me. You are 27 & still single, you have been waiting for me to acknowledge your love but I don’t love you in that way.”
Still laying face first on bed, Alice heard every single word that Diana had spoken but was not able to comprehend the words properly. Her mind was jumbled with exhaustion. She decided to stop Diana, before her rambling gave her headache.
“...oh yes, we can marry & I will have to be unfaithful to you...you know what I mean I love Dan & not to mention his Dic...” Diana was rambling about Dan & his special anatomy.
Alice had no interest in listening about his special body part & conjured her mind to speak the words that can stop her friend “Di, if you don’t stop right now, this will be your last day on earth…Stop blabbering & help me”
After hearing the threat it didn’t take long for Diana to come back to reality. She mumbled apologies to Alice & helped her in walking towards the living room to settle Alice in her new sofa. Though sleeping on bed was a better option (of course if Alice helped with placing mattress which she didn’t say loudly), but the way Alice glared her for mentioning the bed, she dismissed the idea.
Alice could feel her trembling legs while walking towards the living room but the thought of sleep kept her motivated. She had laid down her body on the soft & tried to absorb its softness. To get on her good graces Diana placed pillows under her head & below her calves, helping her in comfortable position. She adjusted her worn out body comfortably and closed her eyes. She focused on giving her body the rest that it needed.
Diana kept pacing in front of Alice, biting her nails & thinking of ways to save herself from her wrath.
Alice peered at Diana who was busy biting her nails aggressively. “Stop biting your nails, that’s not going to save you”
Her words stopped Diana on her tracks, probably saving the floor from all that pacing.
Diana knelt in front of Alice & stared at her with her big grey eyes. “You know Al, why I asked you to help, you are my only friend. I badly needed your help in adjusting that bed” Diana whined, which always worked on her boyfriend, Dan, who had left her in this mess.
“I am not your boyfriend Di, that voice is not going to work on me. If I remember correctly, he had helped you in shifting that bed in your room, also it was you who had made him & his friends drag that bed almost in every corner of that room...”
“I...” Di tried to interrupt but Alice was not finished.
“Not to forget, it was your brilliant idea to have that awful bed in center so that you can dance all around it. So tell me dear Di, Why did you wake me up early in morning to shift that bed to one side?” Alice was still lying on the sofa, which assured Diana that Alice won’t punch her.
“Al...Please forgive me, Dan refused to help me, he was already tired with all the shifting & he went out with his friends. I wanted to help you, like really wanted to help you but I just got my midi & pedi done yesterday. See, it looks so beautiful, did you like the shade? I was going for some other shade, which was not that good but that lady with brown hair said I should try something new & glittery. When I saw this beautiful shade I couldn’t resist it. I have already decided to buy a beautiful dress...” Diana’s blabbering went on for few minutes, by the time Alice interrupted her, she had already imagined a beautiful dress, wonderful date with her boyfriend.
“Di, if I remember correctly you were supposed to buy curtains & other necessary things for the apartment yesterday. So that means while I & Dan were working our ass off, you were enjoying your Spa time”
Diana realized her mistake too late; she was supposed to keep her Spa time as a secret.
Alice sat in front of her with those accusing black eyes, her arms folded across her chest which always intimidated people & Diana was one of them.
“Let me guess, Dan came to know about your mini trip & got angry, so he left you with the mess”
“Will you not kill me, if I say yes to everything” bouncing on her toes, Diana mumbled giving a sheepish smile to Alice.
In return Alice threw the pillows at Diana, which she dodged gracefully & ran to her kitchen.
“I am making lunch” Diana yelled from the kitchen.
“Just don’t burn the whole apartment; I am going to take shower”
Shaking her head at Diana’s silly antics, Alice decided to take shower in guest room. Diana had already kept some of Alice clothes in her closet, so it came handy in situations like this.
