“How’d it go? Tell me everything. Do you want a smoke?”, Jialing asks rapid fire as she pulls a cigarette out from her pack of Nanjing Reds and tosses it at Rachel.
Rachel and Jialing are sitting on an old tan coach that is buckling in the middle, forcing them to balance on the edges when they sit there together. Their living room is filled with left behind objects. There’s a guitar covered in AC/DC stickers, a bobbing lucky cat statue with a tiny knife taped to it’s paw, some giant neon pink fans, and textbooks in half a dozen languages. The place has been passed down from one Nanjing University foreign exchange student to another for years. They suspect it’s never been cleaned out and the grime in the corners of the rooms attests to that as well.
“It was…just…ok. I don’t know. I can’t tell if he likes me or not, but I really like him, so I kind of feel like…stupid”, Rachel says and walks to the fridge to pull out a pitcher of water. She pours herself a glass and slumps down dejectedly.
“What? What are you talking about? If anyone’s stupid it would be him, not you. What happened?”, Jialing says as grabs a cracked yellow lighter from the table.
“That’s the thing. Nothing happened, so I have no idea.”
“Well, forget him. Let’s go out tonight. We’ll find you a hotter guy.” Jialing’s words tumble out with a puff of smoke. She always sucks her cigarettes down in half the time it takes everyone else.
“I’m not sure if Castle Bar is the best place to meet guys. George, your worst ex yet, was a total jerk. The last time we ran into him there I seriously wanted to kill him”, Rachel says as she clenches her fists and crosses her legs tightly.
“He’s not that bad. He just doesn’t know how to act when he gets upset. It’s because he cares. It doesn’t matter now…because he doesn’t want to get back together”, Jialing says as a frown spreads across her face.
Rachel turns to Jialing and almost shouts, “Do not get back together with him”.
Instead, she takes a second to brush back her hair and inhales deeply before saying quietly, “He called you a witch and then got in a fist fight with the bartender when you wouldn’t come over”.
Jialing smiles at that.
“Wait…we haven’t finished talking about YOUR jerk”, Jialing says as she levels her gaze back at Rachel like they are trying to call each other’s bluff in the middle of a hand of poker.
“Ummm, we are not talking about my jerk. My jerk is great…I mean he’s not a jerk”, Rachel laughs despite herself and Jialing pokes her in the ribs. They both giggle and Rachel, who is annoyingly ticklish, almost causes the couch to collapse.
“Josh… what happened with Josh? We all left at like 9 and you stayed there”, Jialing says and holds up her finger as if to threaten Rachel with another poke.
“We just watched a movie. And that was it. I got home at like 12.”
“What? What went wrong? I thought you really like this guy? You always want to go where he goes and Xiao Shuang has been arranging these dinners so you guys can get closer.”
“I know. That’s the problem. It’s too much pressure. What if he doesn’t like me?”, Rachel says and then takes a long sip from her coffee cup, cradling it like her own insecurity.
“I’m so sick of this! We find out tonight!”, Jialing shouts and jumps off the couch before rocketing to her bedroom. Rachel shrieks as the futon buckles and folds inward, sucking her into its dusty innards.
That night they go where they go almost every night; Castle Bar. The place is underground and the walls are painted black, giving one the feeling that you’re in a cave no matter the time of day. They all like it that way.
“Ugghhhh”, groans Rachel as she watches Josh. He’s wedged in the middle of three women at a table way in the back.
“What?”, replies Jialing with irritation. When she sees what’s bothering Rachel she replies with a shake of her head, “You need a shot.” She holds up her hand and calls the bartender over.
“That French chick has been all over him all night. She’s going to housesit for him and watch his cats. And she’s so pretty. And I just feel like I’ve been… friend zoned.”
“Just tell him that you like him already, if you want him. Why is this one different? You just need to make a move”, Jialing says, without bothering to look in the boy’s direction further.
“Ughhh. I want him to make a move”, Rachel says before sloshing her drink on the smooth black bar and putting her head between her hands.
“Let’s make a move on one of those guys over there”, Jialing retorts as she weighs up the guys around the bar. “Those two. Over there”, she says as she bobs slightly to the beat. She doesn’t try to hide that she’s pointing directly at them across the semicircular bar.
“Yeah, I guess, I just…I don’t know. I really like him. I feel so stupid…” She’s cut off by a round of 10 shots that is plopped down in front of Jialing.
Jialing smiles charismatically at the bartender like the local legend that she is. She rarely pays for her drinks. Then she taps the guy sitting next to them on the shoulder.
“Have a shot with us!”, she yells over the music at him. “One for you and one for your friend.” The two guys turn their way, it’s a Chinese guy and a foreign guy, both handsome and clearly surprised that they are being offered free drinks.
“Yeah, thanks! I’m not used to women buying me drinks, but if you insist.” He is shouting a bit to be heard over the loud music. They all hold up their shots and drink. Time passes and they drink and dance and get drunk. Jialing is always materialising shots out of nowhere. And then more shots. And then some more shots. Rachel is totally plastered by 1am.
“I think…I neeeed to go homeeee”, Rachel slurs her words and leans on a chair. Her head is involuntarily moving in a circle as she tries, unsuccessfully, to ignore the spinning of the room.
“I’m not going home now, just go outside and grab a taxi”, Jialing shouts loudly at her. Jialing has somehow burned her liquor off by dancing non-stop for the past 3 hours.
“I can’t. I’m so dizzy”, Rachel groans.
“Go puke in the bathroom”, Jialing says briskly and moves back onto the dance floor.
“Uhhhhh”, Rachel groans as she approaches the bathroom. She has to walk past where Josh is sitting and laughing with the French girl and two of her friends. The girl is delicately drinking a gin and tonic. Josh’s hands are twirling the hair in his ponytail. He’s from Nanjing, but everyone always thinks he’s either an artist or Japanese because of his long hair.
“Rachel”, Josh says with concern as she grabs the back of a chair at the table next to them. She was sliding across the room by grabbing the back of one chair and then the next as she tried not to succumb to dizziness. She didn’t want to draw his attention, but she’s too drunk to really focus on who is around her.
“Are you ok? Come sit with us”, he says as he takes her arm and pulls her to his booth nearby.
Rachel clings to Josh’s arm and follows him to sit down. “I don’t feel so well”, she says as she clutches her stomach.
She takes one look at the French girl and starts ranting and flailing her arms, “And she is not a good cat person. I’m a better cat person. I love your cat. So much. Like I’d definitely love the shit out of your cat. It’s not fair”.
Rachel leans over and pukes on Josh’s Converses. The French girl and her two friends all jump up as the vomit splatters across the floor.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry”, Rachel says as she grabs some tissues and starts wiping his shoes. Josh laughs, “Just rest for a second Rachel, it’s ok. I can wash them when I get home”.
Xiao Shuang appears from nowhere like a guardian angel. She’s always at the party, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.
She says to Josh in Chinese, “Can you take her home? She’s really drunk and I don’t think Jialing is going home tonight. She shouldn’t be alone”. She takes a serious tone.
“Yeah”, Josh laughs and nods his head. “She sounded a little out of it, she was yelling at Solaine about shitting on my cat.”
Solaine and her friends have left the bar. At this time of night, Rachel is not the only one vomiting under a table or in a corner.
Xiao Shuang laughs, “She just had too many shots”.
“Let’s get you cleaned up”, Josh says kindly as Rachel rolls down the seat like a jelly-filled mannequin.
The next afternoon, Jialing is sitting on the couch in their living room smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee when Rachel walks in.
Jialing jumps up and says excitedly as she waves her cigarette around, “You’re back, it’s past 2. Were you at Josh’s this whole time? Here, I’ll get you a coffee cup”.
“Yesss”, Rachel says slowly and giggles a little.
“Sooooo you finally…, didn’t you?”, Jialing asks as she puts the tiny blue coffee cup down on the table.
“OMG, yes! It was…It was…perfect!”
“What? I can’t believe you guys hooked up even after you puked on his shoes!”
“No, of course not”, Rachel stops her. “He’s definitely not THAT kind of guy. I told him I liked him this morning, after I showered, brushed my teeth and he made me breakfast.”
“I’m just glad you finally broke the ice. Getting tired of your obsession with him.”
Rachel’s phone dings. “It’s him”, she smiles widely.
“Oh no, I have a feeling you’re about to get even more obsessed”, Jialing says and sticks out her tongue. “But as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters. And when you’re done with this one, let’s find you a hotter boyfriend.”
“Shut up”, Rachel says, her eyes shining brightly as she swots Jialing away and grabs her phone.
