Member-only story
Bang Bang
A short story.
When she sat down, Sol realized she had already made her first fatal mistake. Carla would be fashionably late, meaning she had lost the upper hand.
For a second, she weighed the possibility of throwing her latte in the trash and sneaking around the corner to return only after her friend had arrived, but abandoned the idea. What if Carla caught Sol sneaking out? There was nothing as humiliating as that. The best she could do now was pretend she was fine with it. Nonchalant. Not a care in the world, least of all Carla’s judgment. She found a book in her purse and opened it, sitting back and pretending to read.
“Hi, Sol, how great to see you. It’s been such a long time, hasn’t it?” Carla appeared from behind her, shooting kisses through the air. “What are you drinking? Smells like vanilla,” she said, grabbing the drink in her hand to sniff it, making the row of golden bracelets on her wrist clink together as she moved. “Oh, I could never drink that. So many calories.” Bang. The first shot had hit its mark.
“Hi, Carla. It’s… It’s skimmed milk and a non-sugary flavoring that’s zero calories,” Sol tried, suddenly wanting to throw the beverage at her tall, skinny, exquisitely dressed and coiffed companion.
“Oh yes, but you know, my body is just too weak to handle all that artificial stuff. You’re so lucky…
