Yael had this thought that haunts him every time he played the 'cool student' in every drama he had played. This thought often creeps in every night and makes him imagine different scenarios in life. If he had a normal life, how different could his future be?
He gazed at Solanne. A person with rich experience, he thought. Just by looking at her, he gets that kind of feeling. She has this aura different from everyone in the industry he knows.
She often smiles, and her emotions are just bare, and it shows right on her face. She doesn't need acting to cover it.
Yael sighs. He felt like the alcohol was already in his system.
Still, his gaze never left as he subconsciously studied her.
She had finished her drink and was ready to open a new beer. Her eyes seemed to speak of thousands of experiences she had ever had and that she was often free in those times. No one will be pulling up their phone and taking her videos and pictures despite her doing some crazy shit.
She would enjoy the laugh of her friends without minding what the other people were thinking.
"Say," Yael sipped his beer. Solanne looked at him, eyes asking as she grabbed the chopsticks and wrapped some pork with lettuce.
"Do you have some experience?"
"About what?" Solanne asked back. Her mouth is almost full, and she looks like a chipmunk with her cheeks.
Yael shakes his head. This woman doesn't care what he is thinking about her. Her actions say that.
Yael continues, " Any drinking experience you wanna share?" Yael was curious. He wanted to know more. A different life. A different perspective.
The moment Yael asked, Solanne's eyes sparkled as if she was recalling so many memories stored in the back of her head that she was saving.
Yael raised his brow. "What?"
Since her mouth was still full of food, she struggled to chew and swallow it while her lips were grinning. "Finish the food in your mouth first!"
Solanne chugged the whole beer before answering, "Well, I have few. Wanna hear them?"
"Isn't that what my question is?"
"You don't need to be sarcastic!"
Solanne laughed. She leaned on the sofa, holding a beer, and said, "I have 3 friends. One works as an Engineer, and I usually help her with her job from time to time. We have the same course. The other one was an English Literature Major who was an English professor at one of the best universities, and the other owned a café and a bar. Of course, before that, he was also working as part of a tech company, but after his savings, he went ahead and risked his money for some business. Pretty smart of him, I say."
Yael nodded. He was invested in Solanne's stories, thinking so many people were outside his line of work. His space was small and only limited to a few people. And most of his friends are idols and actors. He doesn't often hear such stories, except for those he plays, since he needed to get in-depth with his character.
Solanne sipped her beer as she continued. "I was in my 3rd year of college when I met them in a bar. I was with my old circle of friends back then, and since exams were finished, we planned on getting wasted. I really wanted to get drunk at that time. You see," Solanne pointed at Yael. He paused for a minute, feeling like he had done something terrible, yet he just let Solanne continue.
"I was in my 5th shot of tequila when I lost my supposed-to-be friends that I came with at the bar. I searched for them, yet their phones were off, and I couldn't see them in the bar. I don't really like them, but they left me no choice as college is sometimes tough, and you need connections to survive." Solanne grabbed some chips as she continued.
"If that happens to you, what will you do?"
Yael shrugged as he was also immersed in Solanne's stories. He said, "I'd probably go home and think my whole night was ruined. I'd probably even cursed them."
Solanne grinned at him. "I was thinking of that too when these three, my friends now, just grabbed me by my arm and said, 'We're observing you for a minute or so, and you look like you're going to cry. Is there something? It's weird for strangers to ask questions like that, but we're drunk, and once the alcohol takes in, everybody and anyone you vibe with can become your friend. Of course, I was drunk too, so I told them the reason. I cried! Dammit!" Solanne laughed. Her cheeks are red, and her eyes look a bit teary.
"I really cried, and I told them that I felt like I was going to fail my exam, that I didn't have money, and that my supposed-to-be friends had ditched me. I looked like a fuck of a mess, I say to you."
"Then, these three idiots pity me, of course. They grabbed my hand, comforted me, and said I didn't need them. They even know those people, yet they even cursed them for doing such a thing. Then we clicked off. We partied; hard, I say. We ordered a case of beer and two bottles of tequila. The party was lit. But I was so worried! I don't have money. How could I ever afford that money to split the bill with them? So, I was thinking of getting their contacts, and I'll try to pay them when I have the money."
"But the crazy thing was, it was Uri's birthday."
"Uri?" Yael repeated. It was an odd name.
Solanne nodded. "Yes. The ones who own a coffee shop now. It's his birthday, and he treated them like they needed another person to finish what they bought, so they were eyeing me from the beginning since I look like a lost child in the crowd.."
"So, we get drunk, drunk! We partied until about 4 am. And the hangover was hellish, I say! Because dammit! Those three idiots don't know the word 'limit!' They treated alcohol like a fine glass of juice you can buy at a convenience store. I actually was fearing for my life back then, thinking that I might actually die because of the alcohol we consume. And dammit! All 4 of us were so drunk the bouncers used wheelchairs, I say! Wheelchair to get us out of the bar, and we were covered with our own puke!"
"What?" Yael disgustingly looked at Solanne as if he can't believe what Solanne was saying was actually true. "Disgusting!"
Solanne laughed so hard. "Of course, it's disgusting. We don't even recall what happened, and Uri's eldest brother, Keito, just came there to get us out, inside his car and dumped us at Uri's apartment. When we woke up, we smelled and looked disgusting. We were competing for the bathroom. Who was going to take a bath first. If you could only see our reactions there. Our head was killing us, and our hair was everywhere. There's even a piece of chicken bone on one of my friends' hair. She was horrified and disgusted with her own self. We recounted our experience that night; it made us all laugh."
"And that's not the end of it. Our bodies were covered in bruises, and we were even so ashamed of the video that Uri's Eldest brother took. We were dancing inside his car! Dancing, I say, and he was so calm about it. He's a very handsome man, and I had a crush on him that day, but I was so embarrassed to even face him."
"Crush? He's your crush? You have a crush?" Yael asked teasingly. Solanne rolled her eyes as she smiled and even blushed like a teen! She remembered her feelings.
Yael was so horrified to even see that.
"What do you think of me? A robot? Of course, I have a crush. It's Uri's eldest brother. He's 30 now and works at an excellent company. The last time I saw him was our get-together a few months back. He just got promoted."
Yael tilted his head a little bit. He stretches his lips.
"Let's go back with your story, not your crush."
Solanne chuckled. "I have tons of stories. We got drunk, danced on poles, grabbed a grocery cart and used it everywhere, got embarrassed, and even enjoyed every part of life when we were together. I thought my friendship with them was temporary and we would be strangers once the morning came. We saw each other the next day on the same campus and just hit off. And hey! 8 years of friendship! We actually survive it!"
Solanne swallowed for a moment. "After we graduated, we went with our separate ways to work. We have different dreams, and we have different paths to take. Of course, we often meet of course and find time, but sometimes it's just different."
Suddenly, Solanne's eyes reflect an emotion Yael could not decipher. Solanne finished her beer and opened a new one again.
"I'm really envious of such an experience," Yael causally said as he ate some chips. "I grew up most of my life, and all I can remember was the camera. Sometimes I pity myself for it."
Solanne nodded, agreeing with him. "Yes. Sometimes, you are indeed pitiful."
"How encouraging." Yael sarcastically added.
Solanne laughed. "It's just the truth. You miss half of your life, but that doesn't mean that you should let it be. You're still young; you have tons of experiences on your path ahead of you."
"You know what, you sound too old."
"I get that too. I have a little brother, and we often talk about things like this. We drink. Yes, I'm the cool type of sister that lets her brother drink as soon as he turns 18."
"I haven't said anything. You sounded so defensive," Yael teased as he opened another beer.
Looking at the table, there were already 17 cans lying around empty.
They also seemed to have forgotten the game they were playing as Solanne asked, "What about you? Your life as an actor. Care to share?"
Yael paused for a moment. He expected that question as he said, "I'll use my first save with this question," he uttered. Solanne watched him. She nodded. She was reminded of that news again, about Yael taking a break after an accident happened.
He seemed to not want to talk about it. Solanne sipped her beer. There was a silence between them as Solanne looked at the second floor; suddenly, her eyes widened in disbelief as she pinched herself. "What the fuck? Am I that drunk?" She aggressively said as she stood up. Her eyes look up.
Yael frowned, not knowing what was going on, but he followed the direction of Solanne's gaze.
"What the fuck?" He muttered, too, pinching himself.
"Are we that drunk?" Yael asked, her expression was so horrified.
Who wouldn't be? When there was a fantasy-looking portal gate on the second floor of the cabin.
--