phone call

Really, Emily was ready for her adventure in hair styling. She could take on just about anything. It felt that way, especially, the way everyone looked up to her. They liked her own hair style and what she could do.

Actually, she didn't know she could be so happy. It just made her more eager to learn more. To be top of her game, so to speak. And she was punctual. Not slow in the least. She couldn't help but smile. This was where she wanted to be. She just felt energised and at peace.

She told Casper all this and more when she had lunch with him. Even that went remarkable well. She was OK. Everything was perhaps better than OK. No qualms. No problems. And she liked this with Casper. Just talking. Being friends. It was the best.

She definitely wasn't going to second guess this. It felt amazing to be sure of herself. Finally.

And then she got a phone call late one night from Archie.

Emily thought it was an accident that she took the call anyway, but she was friendly enough when she said, "Hello."

"Oh, Emily, I did get the right number this time," he said.

There was a silence.

"Its me." He then said. "Uh, Archie." then a pause came. "Remember?"

"Um, yeah," She winced wondering why did she give him her number to begin with back in Omaha. "Its late, you know." She looked at her digital alarm clock it was close to two in the morning.

"I know," he almost laughed. "I'm a vampire."

"What?"

"No, sorry, " there was a sigh as if the words were coming far to clumsy to even try to take back. "I mean, I keep vampire hours. Well, yeah, I'm a so called vampire. Didn't tell you, did I?"

"I guess not." This was odd and why was she still listening? She had to get up by five just to straighten her hair. She wanted to look like a hair stylist, after all, and that took time.

"I work at the Red Cross. I suck blood out of everyone, practically."

There was a great silence. She had no come back to that.

"Is this awkward to you?" Archie then asked.

"No, not in the least." Awkward, really hadn't come to mind.

"OK, good to know," There was a sigh then. "So?"

"Uh." Emily winced. He was possibly right this was getting awkward.

"So how ya been?"

"Good, really," Emily said. "I started classes at the beauty college. "

"That's great. That's really great." His voice sounded a little nervous.

"What have you been doing?" Emily pulled a question as if from the air. Maybe she really wasn't ready to shut up yet. There was this need to have someone to talk to. Suddenly.

"I'm trying to quit," There went a sigh then. "Smoking."

"How's that going?" She could picture him pacing in that messy kitchen of his, smoking right now.

"Not good."

"So you're smoking right now?"

"How did you know?"

"Just a guess."

There was a silence.

"I did something really weird this past weekend," he then told her.

"How weird?" Why did she want to know? She didn't need to be freaked out. Not right now, anyway.

"I went to this concert by myself," Archie said. "You know, it was lame. But I wore spandex under my cutoffs. I don't know why I did that. God, it was cold. Everybody kept looking at me. Freaky shit, you know. And I said not a word to no one. Have you ever done that?"

"Not lately," she was cool about it.

"I didn't have anyone to go with to the concert." Archie sounded lonely.

"Don't you have any friends?" Emily wanted to know.

"Not really." He let out another sigh. "So would you talk to me, again? If I called?"

"I dunno," Emily first said. "I mean, could you call earlier, perhaps? You know, ten would be fine."

"Are we even in the same time soon?"

"As far as I know."

"Well then, tomorrow night?" he said.

"Sure." Emily had nothing better to do.