The Peacetime Pantomime

Jamie put her feet on the footrest under her stool and restlessly jittered her legs. She slowly blinked her eyes and focused on a small part of the bar in front of her before looking back at Lucky. It was sort of hard to focus. She wondered, for a brief, terrifying moment, if they had drugged her. She'd heard about that happening on TV.

She narrowed her eyes at Lucky and looked away. "I guess I don't need to. It didn't help you any." She glanced back at her out of the corner of her eye to see how she would take her barb. Without thinking, she slid a hand into her satchel to take stock of what she had inside, while her other hand went up to adjust her headscarf, if only to draw attention away from what she was really doing.

The bar tender slid Lucky a shot and she downed it in one gulp. She flipped the glass around and slammed it against the bar. "You couldn't beat me without cheating!" She said. Lucky then furrowed her brow. "What do I have to do to get you to..."

Before Lucky could finish, Macky was back. She clamped both her hands onJamie's shoulders. "Ha Ha Ha! Playin musical chairs, eh!?"

The bar tender slid Macky's new drink in front of Jamie. "So, did we finish chick talk, yet?" Macky said, laughing. She then gave a serious look to Lucky who turned her head and blushed.

Jamie haughtily raised her eyebrows. "If I was cheating the ref would've disqualified me. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at her," she said, in slow and measured drunk-speak, the pinnacle of reason and levelheadedness.

She nearly fell off her stool when Macky clamped her strong hands on her shoulders, but being cloaked with the bigger, older woman made her feel like she was on her side and not Lucky's, and that was a little comforting. "I think so," she said. She trusted her more than Lucky now. "What kind of talk do you do? Man-talk?"

"She almost DID a couple of times." Lucky retorted, eying Jamie. "And I'm not mad. The truth is the truth, that's all. I told you, if you can get away with it, then that's fine. I'm not bitter." She repeated.

Macky squeezed Jamie's shoulders and laughed. "Ha Ha Ha!" She said. "Man talk! Sure." She said, smiling. "That's right. I love talking about all that manly shit. Ha Ha Ha. Or, whatever." She said and shrugged, loosening her grip. "How're you holdin up, champ?" Macky said to Jamie. "Are ya ready to go home or are ya ready to have another shot!?"

Lucky furrowed her brow. "M-Macky-san!" She said. "Jamie-san doesn't need any more alcohol! I think she's done quite well for her first time!"

"I don't really like the alcohol but I liked the orange juice," Jamie slurred. "But I'm a really good job at drinking, right? I think maybe she's drunk because she's saying crazy things now like how I cheated." Jamie stood up off her stool and leaned uncomfortably close to Lucky's face. "I DIDN'T CHEAT!"

She walked away and put Macky between herself and the blue-haired woman. "I wanna go see Mercy. Mercy owes me something, and I want it. I don't have any money right now, so I can't get it myself. Do you guys have her number or something? Can we go to where she works?"

Lucky wrinkled her nose when Jamie yelled in her face. She narrowed her eyes at the girl but quickly turned her head and motioned to the bartender. "Get me another shot!" She demanded with a bit of a growl in her voice. She needed something to keep her mind off Jamie's irritating attempt to throw the match back in her face. She WASN'T bitter!

Macky, meanwhile, listened tot he two and frowned a bit. Jamie was starting to wig out. Macky raised an eyebrow. "Who the fuck is Mercy?' She said.

The bartender was quick on the draw with the shot and Lucky downed it. "J-Jamie-san." She slurred. "Where are you going after this?" She said. "Where do you live?" She asked.

"Mercy!" Jamie said, as if everyone was stupid for not already knowing. "Mercy's Mercy. She has pink hair and she's my size and she's a lawyer. She works in the... you go up the stairs three times, and then turn left, and then..."

Lucky's question stopped her dead. She immediately took on the tense, hunched posture of animal ready to fight. She narrowed her eyes and shot a glare at Lucky. "WHY ARE YOU ASKING SO MANY QUESTIONS, HUH?" She shouted. "NEVER MIND WHERE I LIVE! WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW? HUH?!"

She stumbled up to Lucky and stood close enough that she nearly brushed against her, and then gave her a sloppy shove off of her stool. She put her weight into it enough that she lost her balance when Lucky moved, and she caught herself on the bar, knocking Lucky's shot glass off in the process.

Lucky narrowed her eyes at Jamie. The girl was way too obnoxious when she was drunk and Lucky was starting to get drunk too. She needed another shot but all she got was Jamie in her face and she didn't much care for it.

The shove made Lucky slip off her stool and she hit the ground hard. She yelped and rubbed her butt, cursing a bit as she eyed Jamie. Another broken glass and Lucky tried to pull herself up.

"I'll... I'm..." Lucky said and then flopped over the bar stool. She shut her eyes. She could feel tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. "I was just..." She blubbered.

Macky narrowed her eyes and grabbed Jamie by the scruff of her neck and stood her up. "She was asking if you had a place to stay tonight, dumbass!" Macky said, letting Jamie go and swatting the back of her head.

"Now we gotta leave. Are you coming with us or not? You can crash at my pad if you need to sleep somewhere." Macky reached out for Lucky's purse and began to fidget through it. She took out some money and slapped it on the bar to pay for the drinks and the glasses and then looked expectantly at the girls, crossing her arms under her chest. Lucky was slowly standing up, trying to scrub her eyes. She was feeling a little sick.

Jamie flinched when Macky laid hands on her, and quickly pulled away when she was released. She kept blinking as she looked back and forth between the two wrestlers, as if she couldn't get a clear look at them, or she just couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was the same thing that always happened whenever she thought she had made friends. They always wanted something. They wanted to take her somewhere.

But Jamie, luckily, was too smart for them. She could see what they were doing a mile away.

And she didn't have a place to stay. Until she got paid for tonight's match, she was broke, and it was too late to hustle on the sidewalk. They wouldn't let her back into her hotel room. She could try to sneak in, but they caught her last time because she couldn't jimmy the door and there was a camera. She'd probably end up in an all-night diner, order a soda and sleep in a corner booth until they caught on and then skip out on the bill.

And she didn't want to do that! She wanted a place to stay, and these people...

Her face contorted into the deepest scowl. How DARE they? They figured out what she wanted and now they were luring her with it, but she knew that after she went to sleep she'd hear them moving around, the murmurs from the next room, the rustling of clothes and the quiet feet on the carpet.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed, full of bloody-throated hatred. Then she turned and ran, fumbling to get out the door before she took off down the side walk.

Macky watched with an unamused look as Jamie screamed at them and ran off. She turned and punched Lucky in the arm as hard as she could, causing the blue haired girl to start whining as tears reappeared and she began to rub her arm.

"You're shit for picking friends." Macky said and turned away. She was ready to go home, put on some music, light a stogie and relax. Lucky pushed herself away from Macky, shoving the bigger red head out of the way as she scrambled to run towards the door. She barely managed slipping on some of the broken glass and shoulder tackled the door throwing it open.

"JAMIE-CHAN!" She shouted, looking to and fro. "WE WANT TO HELP! COME BACK!" Lucky fell to her hands and knees. "Onegai..." She muttered to herself.