Myria POV
MYRIA: Elena...
I'm in Elena's room trying to wake her up. I have an unbearable hangover and I need her company.
MYRIA: Elena, wake up, come on.
Elena opened his eyes slowly.
ELENA: What do you want?
MYRIA: I feel sick.
ELENA: That's a hangover.
MYRIA: Take care of me.
ELENA: Take an Ibuprofen, and let me sleep.
MYRIA: No, you take care of me.
I rolled my pity eyes and Elena snorted.
ELENA: I want to sleep.
MYRIA: Please...
I woke up in a terrible mood, I'm sad, I have a headache, my stomach is sick, my heart is racing and I've already drunk a litre and a half of water. I've been awake for two hours with my cats but I need human company.
ELENA: Ahhhh, okay. I hate you.
MYRIA: Aww, you don't hate me, you adore me.
I cuddled her and waited for her to wake up. After a while we were already lying in the living room with Leo and Pepe Lee, who were purring all the time. The female cats enjoyed the fact that we had left the beds free to lie down on them.
Those damned traitors never keep me company, thank goodness the two boys adore me'.
ELENA: What a binge last night, you don't know how to drink.
MYRIA: I didn't drink that much, something made me sick and I was drunk all of a sudden.
ELENA: You had 3 or 4 drinks in a row in less than half an hour, that made you sick.
I remembered that moment a little bit and maybe Elena was right, but that wasn't the point.
MYRIA: Well, but it came up too fast.
Elena looked at me like I was stating the obvious.
ELENA: That's what happens if you drink fast.
MYRIA: Oh yes, don't be such a pain. What time did you leave?
Elena stared at me.
ELENA: Do you want to know when I left or when Alba left?
'What does she say?'
MYRIA: What? What time you left in general, I don't care about Alba.
ELENA: Well we left there at about 5 o'clock.
Okay, maybe I should ask her about Alba in particular. Not because I care, just out of curiosity.
MYRIA: Alba too?
Elena's eyes widened and he began to giggle.
ELENA: I knew it! I knew that's what you wanted to ask.
I got nervous.
MYRIA: I don't care, I already told you that I was just curious, since she was flirting that night and the poor girl doesn't have much luck...
ELENA: So do you just want to know what time she left or do you want me to tell you if she went home alone or with someone else?
'That's a trick question. Don't answer it.'
MYRIA: Both?
'Myria, I'm your head, you have to listen to me. It was a trick question'
Elena looked at me with a smile I didn't like at all.
ELENA: They left at 5 too. And I don't know if they slept together or not, but they got in the same taxi.
I'm sure she slept with her. They didn't stop kissing all night and the dancer kept touching Alba everywhere. I saw her touch her ass three times, all desperate on the dance floor. Miss Hevia and the dancer, a beautiful love story. I hear even Netflix is planning to release the drama.
'You're making a disgusted face and Elena's looking at you.'
MYRIA: Well, not that I was particularly interested, I told you.
Elena chuckled.
Alba POV
I've been in the office for two hours, I love to come before anyone else and enjoy the silence for a while. These are the hours I work the best and this Monday we need to work hard because tomorrow starts the promotion through the streams. Tomorrow we will go to Elena's house to set everything up. Javier will also send a couple of teams to the other streamers who are going to promote us, but the main one is Elena, who has the biggest channel. In the end, it looks like we are on schedule, I didn't think we would make it.
Adriana keeps sending me messages. We had a good time on Saturday, but not good enough. We made out all night and in the end she wanted to come to my place, but I didn't feel like it and we each went to our own house. She's good for a bit of fun, she's soft and a good kisser, but the truth is that we don't have much in common either. I need someone who can turn my whole life upside down, who when she kisses me the world stops, with whom I can spend hours talking, the whole day, with whom we only shut up to kiss... And that person is not Adriana.
Myria just came in with my coffee. How I need it. She knocks on the door and I gesture for her to come in.
MYRIA: Morning, Miss Hevia. I've brought you your coffee, you'll need to recharge your energy after this busy Saturday.
'God, I can't wait to wipe that idiot's grin off her face.'
I look disgusted, I don't even try to hide it.
ALBA: Thanks, Myria. You might need your stomach pumped, after all you've had drunk on that busy Saturday.
She looks at me tensely.
MYRIA: Yeah, after what I had to see, I'm going to have to get my stomach pumped.
I raised an eyebrow.
ALBA: Excuse me?
She became visibly nervous.
MYRIA: Well, I'm gonna go work, because the project doesn't get done on its own and then there are doubts about my professionalism.
She hurried out of my office and sat down at her desk, looking like an angry child.
My mobile is vibrating, Adriana again. I'll answer politely and leave things alone.
When I looked up from my phone, I saw Myria staring at me. As soon as our gazes met she looked down and pretended to be working.
'What the fuck is wrong with her?'
She spent the whole day like that, every time I looked at her she was staring at me with an angry face and as soon as I caught her she pretended to do something or looked the other way with the worst form of dissimulation I've ever seen in my life. Can't she notice that I see her? There's a glass between you and me, Duangjan, stop fooling around.
Myria POV
What a disgusting morning, what a disgusting Alba. All dressed up and formal in her Chanel dress as if two days ago she hadn't been making out with a stranger from the internet in the middle of the disco. Shame on her. And then she said she didn't sleep with girls on the first date. Ha. All snooty there, looking like a good girl. How deceptive appearances can be. And she told me about Sandra, that I never did anything with her. In the end, the most polite girls are the worst.
She's looking at her mobile again, I'm sure she's on Tinder all day to see if she can find another victim to take away in a taxi.
Agh, I hate her. Alba Hevia has come to my life to destroy it. First, she makes my friend cry, then she bitches at me at work and now all day long with my group of friends, I can't get rid of her a single day of the week.
She's on Tinder for sure, I bet she's there. Her emails are on her computer and whatsapp too, so she can only be on Tinder.
'And I can check it.'
Of course I can. That's the best idea I've had all morning. I'm going to install it and see if it's online. I'll bet Elena's dinner she's online.
Install. Create profile. Name: lihfgwoihfe. Age: 24.
Left. Left. Left. Left. Left.
Here you are. Online. I jump up from my chair.
'I KNEW IT!'
I glance around me and my colleagues are looking at me in surprise at the jump I've taken. Alba looks at me too, but she's nonchalant. She rolls her eyes.
'So this is what you spend your working days, Alba-I'm-busy-as-hell-with-work-Hevia.'
I feel an impulse to write to her. But I have no photo and no description. And I don't know what photo to use. I look through my whatsapp contacts for someone who she might like....
'I know! Alejandra!'
Alejandra is Noelia's ex-girlfriend. She now lives in Los Angeles and only comes here a couple of times a year. On those days Noelia is missing, they lock themselves in Alejandra's house and when we see her again she has lost three kg doing God knows what.
'Delete mental image.'
Open conversation.
MYRIA: Hi Alejandra.
ALEJANDRA: Myrie, what's going on.
MYRIA: You know, all the same. Well, now I have a job.
ALEJANDRA: I'm glad. I'm still the same here too, I'm really wanting to come and see you guys.
Oh, yeah, I don't want to talk about it now.
MYRIA: I wanted to ask you a favour.
ALEJANDRA: Hahaha, tell me.
MYRIA: I want to tease some idiot I know on Tinder, could you send me photos of you in which you're super crush? I don't want her to recognize me.
ALEJANDRA: Hahaha, what are you up to?
MYRIA: If I told you...
ALEJANDRA: Well, I don't care, I don't live there, so...
She sends me a lot of photos, they're perfect.
ALEJANDRA: Is that OK?
MYRIA: Yes, thank you so much, they're perfect <3 When you come over I owe you dinner.
ALEJANDRA: I'll charge it ;)
Now I just need to download a VPN to change my location so I don't get so close and suspicious, put the photos, change the name. A description that she likes... Things that she likes... I don't know what Alba likes.
Description: I like to make out with anyone in clubs.
I chuckled under my breath.
'Myria, focus.'
I realize that I don't know her very well, I know she likes ice cream but I don't want to be so obvious, she likes to work 12 hours a day but that doesn't help me. I'd better put something that I like and then at least I can talk about it.
Alba POV
'Why is she laughing like a creep now?'
I knew Myria was not normal, but today she exceeds all expectations. She's been looking angry all morning, then laughing, then jumping out of her chair, looking at me the whole time... I can't work like this.
My phone vibrates. Adriana again. I've been on my phone all morning with the nonsense of answering her. I see a new girl among the profiles, she looks cute. She's not as pretty as Adriana (or fucking Myria), but she's cute.
Description: I like photography, dancing and I'm looking for someone to talk to for hours without getting bored.
Right.
'And now get back to work.'
--
At lunchtime I went to the restaurant with Rosa, while we were ordering our food I saw that the girl from Tinder, Alejandra, had just texted me.
ALEJANDRA: Lucky me, I got matched by the most beautiful girl on Tinder :o
I chuckled.
ALBA: I think we have things in common. Do you really like photography?
ALEJANDRA: A lot, do you?
ALBA: Yes, I have a photography Instagram account.
ALEJANDRA: I'd love to see that.
ALBA: But you show me your photos too, right?
ALEJANDRA: Sure :D I can't take too many lately because my boss makes me work too much, but I also have a photo Instagram account.
ALBA: We can show them to each other later, I'm having lunch with my best friend. We'll talk :)
ALEJANDRA: Enjoy.
ROSA: Well, you're finally looking up from that phone.
ALBA: I'm sorry, I'll put it away.
ROSA: It's OK, silly. Was it Adriana? -She asks, smiling.
ALBA: No. It's another girl.
Rosa looks at me in surprise.
ROSA: Jesus, Alba. I can't follow you.
ALBA: Don't be an idiot. It's just that things with Adriana didn't work out.
ROSA: Well, I saw you two doing well...
I blushed a little.
ALBA: I'm not denying that I had a good time, but I need something more.
ROSA: Something more? -She laughs.
ALBA: I've been thinking a lot lately. I have the feeling that I'm too shallow. I looked at Elena's profile just because I liked Myria's picture and I didn't care that we weren't too compatible, I was just obsessed with the pictures. And then when Myria made her profile it was the same. I thought she was pretty, which stopped me from seeing that she was actually an idiot.
Rosa looked like she was about to say something, but she let me continue.
ALBA: And with Adriana, it's a bit the same. She's not an idiot, she's nice and she treated me well. But even though I like her physically, we don't really had a connection.
ROSA: Are you trying to tell me that you're talking to an ugly girl now? -she asks me with too much irony.
ALBA: No.
We burst out laughing.
ALBA: I mean I'm not just going to look at the appearance, I want to meet someone, have things in common, talk for a while and if it works out we'll get to know each other. Not meet a stranger I've talked to for a week and that's it. You know?
ROSA: I get it.
ALBA: I think I need a twist, I'm still getting used to this damn app.
We laugh. My experience with Tinder so far has been crazy.
ROSA: By the way, I have some information for you.
She looks at me in silence. I look at her seriously.
ALBA: What's wrong?
Rosa bursts out laughing.
ROSA: Nothing, I just wanted to add drama. I know why Myria was such a jerk to you on your date.
I looked at her curiously.
ROSA: And it wasn't because she thought you were a dwarf, or ugly, or anything. Apparently, when you met Elena she was very upset by the things you said to her and Myria felt she had to get revenge.
ALBA: And why would she do that? I apologised to Elena and we made up.
ROSA: I think they had problems with the exchange of information. And neither Myria knew that you had talked to Elena, nor did Elena know that Myria had talked to you.
I'm trying to organize things in my head. I remember feeling terrible about how I spoke to Elena. Myria is her best friend and it's normal for her to be mad at me.
ALBA: Anyway, her revenge was pretty excessive.
ROSA: Yeah. Myria is very protective of Elena and felt a moral obligation to defend her friend.
ALBA: I see.
ROSA: Anyway, I think you've more than gotten your revenge, too.
ALBA: What are you suggesting? -I laughed.
ROSA: You talk terribly to Myria and you're exploiting her. She spends all day making photocopies on the old photocopier, I feel so sorry for her.
ALBA: Yeah, maybe I should tone it down, I think she's more than paid for her offence.