the fray. The number of people there seemed to have doubled in the short time we’d been gone. It took us a couple of minutes to find Nat, who’d managed to get a table in a reasonably quiet corner. We downed the rest of our drinks, and Nat headed off to the bar to get the shots. Sal and I had barely settled into our old routine of making up bizarre life stories for the people we were watching when Nat emerged from the thronging crowd. He brandished a tray laden with enough shots for a small army (well, a football team at least), and was looking mighty pleased with himself.
He sat down and carefully placed the tray in front of us. ‘Check it out!’
‘I take it you didn’t pay for them?’
‘A tenner for the lot.’
‘Won’t Anna get in trouble?’ I hope so.
‘Nah, she was pretty sly about it. She wouldn’t care if she got fired anyway.’ And then he sort of muttered, ‘Plus, she owes me.’
‘For what?’
He shrugged. ‘I’m always buying her drinks when we’re out.’ So he goes out with her a lot? We’ll have to see about that.
I doled out the shots. ‘Right, let’s drink.’
And so we did. I began to think that maybe Anna wasn’t so bad after all. Anyone who supplied free drinks was OK with me … as long as she kept her hands off my boyfriend.
A few shots down the line, a new band started up. They were loud and brash, and actually tuneful. I jumped up, somewhat unsteadily. ‘I’m going to the front. Who’s with me?’
Sal and Nat exchanged glances. Nat said, ‘Maybe later,’ at exactly the same time as Sal said, ‘Not right now.’
‘Man, how boring are you two? Fine, I’ll see you in a bit.’ I turned and weaved my way towards the stage. I wasn’t in the least bit bothered about being on my own. The alcohol was flowing through my veins and I just wanted to jump up and down until I could jump no more. And it’d be good for Sal and Nat to have a chance to chat without me watching them like a hawk, willing them to like each other.
I managed to wheedle my way into the pack of people dancing and jostling in front of the stage. Calling it ‘dancing’ was stretching it a little bit: people were bouncing off each other, elbows flying everywhere. I threw myself into it with complete abandon, jumping around and sweating a lot. These guys were awesome. It felt as if the bass burrowed into the very core of me until I became part of the music itself. God, I was properly wasted.
After half an hour or so, I stopped jumping and dragged my fingers through my sweaty hair. I was dizzy and thirsty and elated. Time to head back to the others, after a quick trip to the toilets to check myself in the mirror. Amazingly, the eye make-up was still in place. Somehow it looked better than it had before – nicely smudged, like I wasn’t trying so hard. My reflection stared back at me, slightly bedraggled, but alive and sparkly in a way I’d never noticed before. I smiled at the girl in the mirror; a real smile just for me and me alone. Is this what happiness feels like? I laughed and threw a scrunched-up paper towel, which hit my reflection on the nose.
As I approached our table, I saw Sal and Nat, their heads close together. He was saying something in her ear, and she was shaking her head vigorously. Her face had a stubborn set to it. Whatever they were talking about looked way too serious. I hoped he hadn’t said anything to upset her.
‘Hey, guys,’ I had to almost shout.
Nat looked up guiltily, which made me sure he’d said something stupid to Sal. ‘Hi.’
I sat down and picked a shot glass from the tray. They hadn’t drunk many in my absence. Sal took one too and we downed them simultaneously.
‘So … what were you two talking about?’ I asked casually.
‘Nothing much,’ said Nat.
‘Didn’t look like nothing much to me! Tonight’s supposed to be fun, remember? No more serious debates, OK?’ Nothing – not even burning curiosity about what they’d been talking about – was going to ruin my mood.
We drank another shot each, and I told them all about my ‘spiritual’ dancing experience. They laughed at me. We sat and drank more. Nat didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in watching