@Paperok
I jumped out of my bed and walked over to Zaura’s bed. She was wrapped in a few blankets. I could easily make out her form in the darkness.
“How do I get money?” She didn’t respond. I shoved at her through her blankets. I’d been in Flora for a few days now. Zaura has been my tour guide of sorts. She’s shown me to the shopping area in the north, the library, the garage, even a school. I just now realized I didn’t have a source of income. “Zaura wake up!” She groaned and pushed me away.
“Go away, Ange!” She growled. Her friend, Angelica, used to sleep in my bed. She moved in with her boyfriend or something. I tugged on her blankets. I was too stubborn to quit now. Zaura pulled back, she was strong, but I was determined. I let go, stealthily moved to the other side of the bed, and tore all her blankets away in one fell swoop. She made a surprised yelp and tried to cover herself with her stock of pillows.
“I need to ask you something,” I said moving up to her bed. “Where do I get a job around here?” She sat up. I couldn’t see her face in the dark, but I knew she was pissed off.
“What is your problem?” She shrieked. I moved backward against the door, she was a scary woman. Zaura groaned loudly and checked the clock on the nightstand. 4:36 AM. “Go to bed,” she ordered.
“But my question,” I complained. “I need to get a job.”
“Give me my blankets and go to bed!” She shouted.
“Shut up Zaura!” Someone said from the next room over.
“Fuck you, Scott!” She growled. Scott didn’t respond. I waited, I wanted an answer. “Give them,” she demanded.
“Give me an answer,” I rolled up her blankets and sat on them. I considered the possibility that I was going too far, I probably was. In my moment of consideration, Zaura pounced. I managed to put my arms up and deflect her body from landing directly on me but Zaura kept coming. She grabbed my wrist and yanked me towards her. I struggled, flailing my arms but Zaura wrapped her legs around my neck and grabbed onto the back of my head. I couldn’t do much but struggle and grunt. She tightened her grip. I couldn’t breathe. I struggled as hard as I could, but Zaura didn’t budge. She was going to kill me. I tried to scream but my voice failed me. Let me go! I tried to roll, Zaura twisted, pushing my face into the floor. I turned and bit into the closest thing, her bare stomach.
“Owowowowow!” Zaura’s reaction stirred me on. I bit down harder. She started beating into my back. Her grip loosened. I jumped up and attacked. I punched her in the chin. Zaura reacted with lightning speed, she curled up and sprung her feet into me. I was pushed into the wall, Zaura jumped on me. She pushed my head against the wall and went for my throat. I reared back in pain, no pain came. Zaura didn’t tear my throat out. I looked up at her, she was rubbing my scalp. The strange sensation confused me. I didn’t like people touching my hair, the confusion prevented me from complaining.
“You’re not Ange,” she said. “You bit me!”
“You were choking me!” I argued. She backed away, laughing dryly. I rubbed my neck. She picked up the ball of blankets and tossed them onto the bed. I fixed my baggy jeans and got up.
“Zaura,” I spoke up. “I’m sorry.” She ignored me, burying her face into her pillow. I felt my messed up braid and started to fix it.
“She’s so aggravating!” Zaura shouted into her pillow. I looked up.
“Me?”
“No!” I finished my braid as I walked towards my bed. I heard a soft murmur coming from Zaura’s direction. I was too stubborn to leave it like this. I walked towards her bed.
“Hey,” I nudged her. She grunted. “You miss Angelica?” It wasn’t hard to assume that. She rolled onto her side, facing me.
“She’s a lot better at wrestling than you are,” I rolled my eyes. “You bit me!” She felt her side.
“Sorry,” I said, leaning against her mattress. She laughed again. Was this her weird way of warming up to me?
“You’re light too,” Zaura added. “I think I can bench press you,” she made a show of flexing her arm. I felt my thin bicep in shame.
“You and Angelica… wrestle a lot?” Zaura didn’t respond for a moment. She just stared at me.
“H-h-hey not like that!” She stammered. I didn’t understand what she meant until I really thought about it.
“I didn’t mean a sex thing,” I assured her. Zaura murmured something and returned to silence. I scratched my thigh. Aside from wearing the same outfit every day, I needed to buy some hygiene products. Razors, toothbrushes, a comb.
“We fought a lot,” Zaura suddenly spoke up. I looked up at her. “She always ended up throwing me with her ability,” she talked about Angelica like she was dead. I saw her at the library just two days ago. She was with a guy. Oh. The guy she moved in with. As she rambled on, I wondered if Zaura had a crush on Angelica. I had a cook who was interested in women. It wasn’t new to me. I carefully examined Zaura’s face in the dark. She seemed so happy talking about Angelica. It had to be painful, unrequited love. “Are you asleep?” Zaura asked.
“No,” I replied.
“Why did you wake me up again?” She asked, crawling towards me.
“I want a job,” I said. “I need to buy a lot of things.”
“Yeah, you have hairy legs,” Zaura mocked.
“Shut it, Nell,” I snapped.
“What?” She asked, confused. Nell was a character on a television show I used to watch. He liked a girl named Kailo but she never felt the same way about him. I decided it would be my nickname for her. Of course, I had no intention of explaining that to her. I got up and walked over to my bed. “What did you call me?” She asked again.
“Nell,” I said before climbing into bed. She gave up on understanding what it meant and changed the subject.
“I’ll show you somewhere you can work tomorrow,” she said. “After I buy you some new clothes.” I considered this.
“Where do you get money?” I asked. “I’ve never seen you work.”
“Everyone gets a hundred digits a day when they check into the largest building,” she said simply. Digits? Did they use their own currency here?
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
