“Earth to Inessa,” Thalia uttered, her touch gentle as she tapped Inessa, a clear undercurrent of concern permeating her voice. “Are you okay?” Thalia asked further, sensing that Inessa’s demeanor suggested anything but okay. The question lingered in the air, accompanied by a perplexity fueled by the mystery of Inessa’s unusual state. Was she hiding something? No, that was not Inessa. Inessa had always been an open book, particularly with Thalia. So, what exactly was the source of this disturbance? Inessa’s explanation was seemingly simple—it was because she had been “lost in the beauty of tonight.” However, Thalia knew that was a lie. “Ok,” Thalia offered a small smile, her voice laced with understanding. “If you say so.” She said, not pressing further though she wanted too. It was nothing that was going to make her worry, right? Inessa had just been off because her performance had made her nervous- right! That would have been a good explanation, if not for the fact that Thalia knew quite well that it was not it. “But hey, If you ever want to talk about it, or if you need anything, I’m here,” Thalia added softly, her eyes conveying genuine concern. That was what Thalia had said, a small weak and friendly smile on her face, letting Inessa know that she was here if she wanted her to be there, that she could listen but not pressing further. Instead, she had asked for drinks, asked whether Inessa would be interested in grabbing drinks with her, and when she had said yes, they quickly made their way towards the bar.
Thalia had been quick to scan the array of drinks, her eyes flickering towards the alcoholic section, and weighing her choices. She had classes tomorrow, yes, a 10 pages short story and a poem due in 4 days that she had to write. Yes, the school year had just began and she already had work to do, because after all this was college and also Thalia had taken an extra credit assignment for the beginning of the term that was optional, to start the term with a good grade and keep her writing skills strongs. The poem was easy, it was a free verse, and Thalia had already completed it and printed it out, but she still had a couple pages for the story one, that she had planned to finish today and the next day, meaning that going to sleep and waking up with a hangover was obviously not a good choice.
Thalia should absolutely not do that, she should say no to drinking and in a perfect world, yes, that would have happened but this was not a perfect world. In Thalia’s defense, she did not plan to drink so much that she would get drunk and wake up feeling sickly, it would just be a tiny teansy drop, really believe her. Inessa had, for after all, she had affirmed that alcohol now was the choice.
The good choice, the choice that will help her ease her mind, her frustrations and her fears that she would not be able to carry out her plans for the school year or that North shall never be found. Yes, alcohol would get her to forget- it should have, but why was it not? As she took a sip of the her drink, the wine sliding from the mouth to the esophagus, to the stomach, waiting to be absorbed by the small intestine, the alcohol was doing everything but making her relax. Especially, when her eyes scanned the laughing crowd, the dancing crowd, the crowd where North should have been, the crowd that should have been worried about this whole thing.
She could not help herself, really, then again, it’s not like she tried to control her mouth, but before she could think she had turned to Inessa and ran her mouth, ruining the mood. She shook her head, trying to steer away the conversation into a more relaxing and less depressing mood. But Inessa had replied, telling her she had reached out to someone about it today, just to let them know she was thinking at them. At that, Thalia raised her eyebrows, "Who? " She asked, filled with curiosity. wondering if it was someone she knew. “Is it someone I know? Are they in trouble?” Thalia asked with slight worry in her tone. “But hey-,” Thalia began, her voice slight and soft, “With your reassurance, I’m sure they will be fine.” Thalia reassured, or at least she hoped that was a reassurance because Thalia herself was not the most reassured currently.
Especially at Inessa’s next words. “Can you imagine if one of us went missing?” Can you imagine if one of us… Can you imagine if… Can you… Can, yes Thalia could, she had imagined it ever since the first disappearance- what if this was to happen to her? What if Thalia was to disappear? She had onced questioned, before she came to the conclusion that no- it was not going to happen to her, she was not a big threat in this world, she was not trying to be a big threat at that time. She stuck to herself, did all that she had to did and kept silent, using pictures and writings to speak for her. But now… Thalia was not so sure, and she was especially scared for Inessa who was like gold. Inessa has always been quite popular, she had always stuck out and she could be a next target. Thalia could lose Inessa and that worried her greatly.
She grabbed Inessa’s hand tightly, not tight enough to hurt Inessa, but tight enough to feel something, to create an effect. “Promise me…” She began, “Promise me you won’t put yourself in any trouble,” She squeezed Inessa’s hands gently, “Let’s stick together, okay?” She offered a weak smile, placing her head on top of Inessa’s shoulders with a sigh. Removing her head from on top of Inessa’s shoulders, she held Inessa at arm’s length, getting a good look at her. She was savoring the moment, just in case… just in case. Then she smiled, “Maybe the power of friendship will work on our side,” She teased, wishing to light up the mood. “So let us enjoy the beauty of the night,” And get one more drink of alcohol.
It was her second glass, and Thalia was drinking it blissfully, and she would have continued to do so if not for Inessa’s words that made her almost choke on her drink. It was nothing offensive or shocking, no, instead Thalia should have had no reaction to it- it was just a mention of her brother, just talking about Renlin. But see, that was the problem. is it just me or has alcohol become spicy l- Thalia began looking closely at her glass instead of at Inessa’s face. She could not face her, unless Inessa would see the reddening of her cheeks. “it’s so hot in here,” Thalia said, fanning herself, trying to divert attention away from her reaction. Inessa had chuckled at that, and Thalia could not help herself but to chuckle as well at Inessa’s words. “An omen, huh? Hopefully not, I already have enough spice in my life.” Thalia mused.
The mention of Inessa’s brother and his mysterious activities drew a furrowed brow from Thalia. “Siblings, huh?” Thalia laughed, her voice a touch forced. "Brothers can be quite unpredictable, it seems. She shrugged, “So what about you, how unpredictable has your life been?” She questioned , taking another sip of her drink and stirring the conversation away from the talks of Renlin.
“Rock-climbing was incredible,” Thalia began, her eyes lighting up with the memories. “And yes, I do have pictures. Loads of them,” she added with a playful wink . “The views from the top were breathtaking.” Thalia reached for her phone, scrolling through the pictures, unlike her sister, Kaelith, Thalia had not gone so far up while rockclimbing nor done a lot of tricks because well she was not Kaelith. She had a lot of pictures of Kaelith climbing far because Kaelith had requested for pictures to be taken, “That one is Kaelith,” She said, pointing at a girl in the photo with a sport bra and yoga pants. “That’s Calista, and this one me,” She showed, swiping through the photos, until she reached one, but before Inessa could see that picture, Thalia had quickly placed her phone inside her pocket.
“Sounds like torture,” Thalia agreed with a small giggle, taking another sip from her drink. As she finished her drink, she began to pour herself another one, “But really is that all you need? How was the island, any fun apart from them?”
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