Claire One

Loud knocking woke Claire from her sleep. She groaned and lifted one hand to shield her eyes from the beams of sunlight that were currently blinding her. The night had been far too short, again. The noises from her door weren’t stopping, on the contrary they increased in volume and now a female voice started talking as well: “Come on, Claire. I know you are in there. You said you would go to Max birthday party with me!”

Claire sighed once and forced her tired body to move. After all, she couldn’t just ignore her best friend. She nearly fell over her high heels on her way to the door. She had thrown them off her feet after yesterday’s party, not caring where they landed. She managed to get her balance back thankfully, and opened the door, revealing her by now more than a bit unnerved friend.

She managed a small smile and said: “No need to be so loud, Jenna. I am awake.” Jenna just looked at her unbelieving, and pushed past her into the room. She gazed at the chaos of books, clothes and make-up that was spread all over the room. Then she looked at her best friend: “Oh, Claire. You didn’t really study after yesterday’s party, right? We came home at 5 am. No wonder you look so tired.”

Claire simply shrugged. She wasn’t in the mood to justify her actions. Her eyelids were still heavy, and she had to concentrate hard to keep them from closing. Jenna sighed and looked at her friend with affection: “Ok. I can’t claim that I understand you, but you promised me you would come. Maybe you will finally meet someone too. Being alone for so long isn’t healthy.”

Claire rolled her eyes: “I had some relationships in the past year. Don’t make me look like a loner.”

“If you call one-night stands relationships, then you are right. Come on, get into the shower and dress up a bit. I will even help you do your hair.”

“Fine. You won’t stop until I agree either way.”, she made her way into the bathroom, yawning, and stepped into the shower. The hot water made her feel at least a bit better. When she exited the bath, Jenna had already decided on an outfit for her. She slipped into the short, tight dress without complaint and did her makeup as her friend curled her long blonde hair. She just had time to grab her purse and keys, then Jenna had already pulled her out of her flat.

They took a cab as always. No sane person would drive their own car in New York after all. Claire had tried that out once, directly after getting her driver’s license, and she had sworn to never to it again. It had been a disaster, and she had nearly caused a mass collision.

The car drive was silent to Claire’s relieve, but she was dreading the moment they reached the party. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Jenna’s boyfriend, Max. He was a nice guy, and his family was wealthy, but she wasn’t in the mood for another party. Her head still hurt from their partying yesterday, and she needed to get more sleep before her next exam in three days.