The weather outside suits the gray and gloomy mood that has settled on Meena's face. She reaches into her bag and puts her headphones into her ears, looks at her phone, goes to Spotify and selects the playlist called "MOODY," and begins to make her way to work. The music begins to fill the space between what she sees around her and how she feels and her surroundings begin to become a blur and she walks unabated to her destination as if it requires no thinking at all.


As she takes all the familiar steps of her daily routine, she goes to the coffee shop where she has been getting the same thing for the past year since school has started and since she's lived here. The newness of her experience made even the small routine events enjoyable, but today the weight of her night before just wasn't settling. Taking a sip out of the coffee cup, she had a small moment of pleasure and decided that right after school she would try to piece her life together and that would be THE LAST TIME that she had a drink.


The headache hadn't been kind and as she exited school the surprise shine of the sun breaking through the clouds shot a jolt of pressure right to her eyes forcing her to pull her hood over them as she recalibrated. Dropping her bag to the floor she begins to rifle through it, finding the bottled water, and taking another giant gulp before making her way to the beginning of her problems.


The bar had just opened when Meena walked in and she didn't begin her shift for another hour and a half so Anne was surprised to see her looking how she looked.


"Wow you really did get hit with a brick huh?" Anne hollered out.


"Thaaanks girl, that's exactly what I wanted to hear, you're such a great friend... I mean coworker!!," Meena replies mockingly.


"Whatever bitch, don't be mad at me because you attract lunatic degenerates for customers," Anne fires back.


Mimicking a dry heave Meena says, "that's what I don't get, why don't I remember meeting this person?

"When I was talking to her did I seem out of it?"

"Was I talking to anyone else before that?"

"Did you see me talking to any men?"

"What if someone put something in my drink?"


"Whoa whoa whoa, this isn't twenty questions, I don't get paid to walk you through your moments of humiliation. Remember we're coworkers!"


"Anne, stop it! My life is falling apart in front of your eyes and you're mocking me," Meena fake cries and walks over to Anne and wraps her arms around and says "Of course you're my friend you freaking loser, my bestest loser friend."


Anne shrugs her off and fakes being upset, "bestest loser friend, right you jerk? You can't even apologize right. You're lucky I like names that start with M. That's like your only saving grace right now."


Meena's eyes open wide in exaggeration, "Awwww I'll take it, whatever love you have to give I'll take it," as she plants a giant kiss on Anne's cheek.


"Eww loser juice," Anne retaliates as she wipes her cheek jokingly.


"Seriously though Anne, what the fuck happened last night I don't get it?" Meena asks.


Anne looks right at Meena and says, "Listen, don't worry so much you have a lot of pressure on you, maybe you bumped into furniture when you were home last night and that's how the bruises came about."


They look at each other silently, both with a little concern on their faces when Anne interrupts.


"OK how about this. Tonight no alcohol at all for you. Any non alcohol drink that you do get has to be poured by me and we'll make sure that no one gets close to you and we'll see what happens. Maybe this is just a one off."


Meena fakes a smile and says "Yeah you're probably right. And definitely no alcohol tonight, that's the LAST TIME I do that for a long time. Thanks Anne, you're the only real one I have in my life.


Anne nods her head dramatically, "You damn right I am, you better recognize." She looks at Meena and realizes that this is more serious then she thought. "Em, I got you girl fa real. You don't start for another hour, let me get you some hangover food, you need some color in your face, you're looking whiter than me!"


Meena finally starts to look a little settled and replies, "Anne that's impossible I'd have to be see through to be whiter than you!"


She laughs loudly to herself as Anne walks away laughing holding up her middle finger as she walks away.


While Meena waits for Anne to return, she looks over at the other end of the bar and notices an older lady staring at her. Meena looks up make eye contact and the woman abruptly looks away, and so does Meena. A few moments pass and she forgot about the interaction and started using her phone. The woman across the bar just stares. Even though she's fully engrossed in the endless swiping on her device, she can feel the strangers eyes weighing on her spirit. A few moments of wanting to raise her eyes and make eye contact cross her mind, but she stays looking at her screen.


Anne interrupts the awkwardness by walking up to the bar where Meena is sitting and places a full glass of water in front of her and says "You need to start drinking all of that asap!"


Meena finally looks up and smiles, almost looking relieved. She looks at the glass of water and slowly looks over at her new admirer, but there's no one there. She looks around the room at all of the empty tables, but there's no one in sight. She gets off of the stool at the bar and walks around the corner to see if any one is there, but the place is empty. She walks back over to the bar where Anne stares at her confused.


"Ummm, excuse you, you looking for somebody?" Anne asks.


"No, no... wait. Did you see the woman that was sitting at the other side of the bar earlier? Meena looking distraught.


"Tonight? Nah hun, nobody has been in here. Just you and me." Anne reaches out to Meena's hand and holds it.


"Anne I swear, there was a woman sitting there looking at me, just a few minutes ago. She was sitting there, right there!!" Meena gestures with both hands pointing to where the woman was seated.


Meena puts her hands on her face and looks down, "I don't know, I, ... I just don't feel... ok."


Anne squeezes her hand and looks at her sincerely, "I'm sorry Em, can we start by getting you hydrated? Take a drink, while I'm standing here. I want to make sure you're good girl."


Meena looks at Anne, looking unsure. She picks up the glass and takes a large gulp of water, and then a large breath. She puts the glass down, takes her hand and places it on Anne's and says, "thank you Anne, I feel like I'm just thanking you all the time. You're right maybe I just need to get some food in my system"


"Yes, let's get you right. Cause you got a shift coming up in an hour and I'm not about to help this room full of heathens all by myself," Anne says playfully. "Give me a few minutes and I'll eat with you."


"Thank you baby, I love you." Meena says with love.


Anne smiles at her and starts walking back to the kitchen and Meena is once again all alone in this room. She starts to feel like she's not alone and begins to look uneasy. She's keeping her eyes forward deliberately, not wanting to take the chance of seeing something or someone that is not there. The hair raises on the back of her neck and she slowly begins to turn her head to where she last saw the woman. Slowly her eyes cover the room as she turns her body, and nothing. She exhales heavily and shakes her hands out as if she's going crazy when all of a sudden a cold breeze shoots past her body and lifts her hair off of her shoulder. Meena jumps up and screams out just as Anne walks back into the room with a plate of food that she almost throws into the air.


Anne hollers out, "Em, what the fuck? You scared the shit out of me what happened?"


"Anne, someone touched me, my hair got lifted off of my shoulder like this." Meena recreates the moment by tossing her hair over her shoulder. "There was this cold breeze and then my hair got tossed and I freaked out and I couldn't help it the scream just came out, I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening Anne!" she looks panicked and is out of breath.


Anne looks at her, places the food on the counter and says, "ok listen Em, I'm going to stay with you as long as I can cause I don't like what's going on right now but I need you to talk to me and tell me what's going on, what's been happening."


Meena sits there looking at the food going through her memories trying to figure out what happened and why she feels this way. Out of frustration, she lets out an inaudible series of angry outbursts that Anne can't help but laugh at. Meena stares at Anne laughing, and starts chuckling, then she starts laughing, then they both start laughing. Meena gets up from where she is and grabs Anne and gives her a huge hug while they both laugh. Slowly Meena sits down again, looks at the food looks up at Anne, looks back at the food and says, "Anne, I'm sorry, just ignore me."


Anne looks at her, picks up her fork and says, "sorry girl no can do, you're stuck with me. Now shhh, and eat."