Deconstructing the Nerd Ch. 02

And then a light bulb came on.

Reema identified with how Lady Gaga went against the grain to differentiate herself with all the other female solo songstresses in her genre. They were both 'outsiders' - even though Reema might have overlooked that the pop star was the most 'in' thing in popular culture. Reema didn't, however, mention anything about her sex symbol status or attractiveness...

By the time her evil ponderings ceased, Reema was yelling passionately in her face. "Oh my gooddd! I can't believe I did that!!"

Cassie stood and hugged her. "Reem, that was ah-mazing, you hit those notes better than Gaga!"

Reema laughed, "Not sure about that, but that was A LOT of fun..."

"C'mon we need to drink to that," Cassie said, lifting her orange glass from the table. Then she looked around for Reema's. "Where's your drink?"

"I...uh, drank it?"

Cassie thrusted the near full glass she was gripping in her manicured fingers into Reema's hand. "It's yours now."

She then scooped up a half-pint of beer off the table for herself. She knocked her glass against her friend's and offered a toast to her great performance. Immediately after that, Cassie held up a glass of water, advising her not to get dehydrated. That went over well with Reema who, in her slight haze, appreciated Cassie's tips.

As the night progressed, more laughs were had and stories were shared. Cassie had the fun idea of doing an all-girl tribute to the Spice Girls. She, Reema, and the other girls in their party went on stage for a hearty rendition of 'Wannabe', which got an excited response from the nostalgic girls in the audience and even the males (although quite possibly not for the song choice as much as the performers themselves).

At the end of it, Reema still had an eighth of her orange vodka left, which prompted Cassie to playfully inform her that wasting drinks of any kind was 'a sin'. With Reema's normally rational mind compromised, Cassie smiled while the girl didn't seem to hesitate gulping the rest of the drink. The second glass of liquor, even if not full, was a victory and actually quite easy to coax her to drink.

Reema's state made for a giddy and entertaining walk across campus. As she helped the girl keep her balance, Cassie could only wonder how Reema might adapt to walking in a taller, more dramatic pair of heels.

She helped her into her dorm, patiently and amusingly waiting as Reema fumbled around at her door for keys. Aiming the shiny jagged object into the slot ended up being a greater feat than normal for the straight-A student.

"Here we are, get lots of sleep, OK? I'll be back in the morning. You were magical tonight, Reema," Cassie smiled.

Reema looked back at her sweetly, wished her a good night and slipped into her suite. She staggered past a few pieces of furniture and into her room, summoning the concentration and coordination to change out of her clothes. She succumbed to sleep as soon as she hit the mattress, putting an end to the fun evening.

The beginning of her morning - if it was indeed still early enough to be called morning - by contrast came less easily. For one thing, Reema's introduction into Saturday was the thunderous knocking at her door. As she lifted the covers and swung her brown feet off the bed, she immediately put a hand to her head. The ache wasn't just an ache. There was something different. Through half opened eyes, she gradually guided herself to the door while fighting off some nausea.

As she waited on Reema, Cassie made bets with herself about what she'd see. "Morning, Sunshine!"

Although even she wasn't prepared for it, the yellow PJ'd, messy haired, brown jumble in front of her was probably the best thing she could have seen. The alcohol had done its job. Now Cassie had to do her job. Hangovers were to be made to seem like just a normal part of life.

"Doesn't feel like sunshine," Reema lamented, attempting to show some good nature. As much as it pleased Cassie, the coarseness in her vocal delivery was not appreciated either.

The Blomshell touched her arm sympathetically. "Go back to your room, wash up, but don't change. Meet me back here," she cheerily proposed. "We're going to have a Reema and Cassie relaxation day. Just us girls, pyjamas, Netflix, and junk food."

With a plan set, Reema did just that. She bent over her sink and splashed water in her eyes. Gazing up, her feelings about how she felt matched how she looked. She couldn't even remember the entire night in all its loudness and craziness. She recalled singing and she recalled telling people about her love of the classics. Ignoring the alerts on the screen, she retrieved her phone and pocketed it, but not before shockingly noting that it was after 11 am. Reema never woke any later than nine, even on weekends.

Cassie was ready with a tall glass of water and a couple of Advil when she saw her again. "Here, the key to a hangover is lots of water," she advised.

That's what this was: a hangover. It was like a swear word to her. All the 'cool' kids in high school talked about how they drank and they were proud that they couldn't move the next morning. She didn't get how anyone could treat it like a badge of honour. She felt awful.

"I can't believe I got drunk," Reema said, returning the cup.

"Like, whatever Reema, it's no big deal. You had fun, didn't you?"

"You don't need alcohol to have fun," the girl defended.

"But it didn't stop it either, did it?" Cassie countered. Reema was silent. The logic was good, as much as it pained her to admit it. "It's like I said, it's natural to have a drink before you go up to sing. It's also natural to have one when you're out with other people. Doesn't make you a bad person or an addict or anything. It's a social glue - that's all."

Even if she wasn't completely comfortable, she at least understood her argument. "Yeah."

"Great! What do you want to watch first?"

For the next few hours the girls sat on the couch and watched marathons of stupid and normally mind-numbing reality TV while eating meals of chips and cookies. Cassie was great in filling her glass of water. Her sickness and headache went away pretty quickly because of Cassie's experience. Above all, she was enjoying her time with her. Relaxation day was nice. Poor decision making was soon forgotten.

"Hey, what do you think about going to the gym?" Cassie nonchalantly mentioned to her, turning to face her.

Reema looked to her with a lost gaze. "To work out? I...don't know," she truthfully answered. And really, she never considered it once in her life. She told Cassie that she had never been inside one and wouldn't know the first thing.

As always, Cassie radiated confidence and assurance. "I'll teach you everything you need to know. We'll go tomorrow. It'll be fun!"

So they were going to the gym. With the junk food today and the working out tomorrow, this was turning into an interesting weekend. Certainly a different weekend than with Miguel.

Reema abruptly sat up. "Oh, shoot!" she panicked, pulling her phone out. "I forgot to call back Miguel last night!!"

Reema checked her alerts to find multiple missed calls - all with voicemail messages attached to them - and several texts - each one elevating in concern. "I'm going to call now, excuse me."

Before she could dial, Cassie stopped her. "Wait, before you do it," she said and then told her not to say anything that'll make him worry, especially about her 'state' this morning. "Boyfriends - they don't need to know everything. Tell him where you were - no super exact details or anything - that you're fine, and that you had a good time. Ultimately, that's what matters and what they care about in the end. Just keep it short."

In her haste, Reema nodded to the advice. She attempted to compose herself and hit dial. Cassie repeated to her to keep it short.

"Hey! It's me...Yeah, really sorry about last, I'm fine...No, I'm fine. I was out at karaoke last night..."

Reema's voice then became smoother as her understanding boyfriend accepted her explanation. Cassie pretended to watch the 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' episode as she kept a peripheral eye and ear on the conversation.

"Yeah! It was A LOT of fun...Now? Oh, nothing...I'm relaxing at the moment and then going to start on some work later...Yeah, you must have a bit to do too...Well, I'll leave you to it...We'll talk again...Good luck!...Love you, bye."

With a sigh, Reema dropped her arm and the phone on the couch. Her fat lips nearly formed a smile. "Yup, it's definitely a good thing we nixed the weekly visits."

Cassie was impressed. Reema had followed her instructions and promptly ditched the nerd. The sadist in her believed it was a bit more polite than she would have liked, but such gentleness was still to be expected from Reema, at this early stage in the girls' 'friendship.'

She entertained her comment with a laugh, but not wanting to spend any more time on Miguel, she directed Reema back to the show. "So apparently Kyle..."