#val:julia

[scnderisms]

valeria takes a look around as if to see who julia could be talking to , not thinking it could be her . in lieu of silence , val tells the hard truth — ' maybe like , right away would be best . save yourself some misery , you know ? ' the answer does not seem to sway julia one way or the other , but it does get val an almost free drink , not that she needs it .

she would be hard pressed to say more on a regular occasion , but because julia asks about the patheticness of it all , which is really val's favorite topic , she feels obliged to tell a hard truth again , mostly because this one feels a little bit light , like a funny little tickle , on the tongue . ' i don't think getting stood up is pathetic , ' val says , ' but this is an eleven dollar drink ... '

OPEN STARTER

with: @nottinghillstarters where: literally any bar trigger warnings: alcohol

Julia wasn't even a stranger to having a drink alone – so why did getting stood up at a bar make her feel like everyone was looking at her like they all knew? It would be different if there had been something with the person who left her with nothing but her own company and whatever well-drink was featured for happy hour. But there hadn't been. No chemistry, no 'I can't wait to meet you in person' excitement. It was a way to pass the time, and a better use of her night than doing the exact same thing, but with no expectations. So she thought.

One more look at her phone told her it was going on an hour, and after an hour of clearly waiting for someone, Julia powered off her phone, and submitted herself (and her tab) to the will of the bar gods or whatever. "Uh, another. Please," she ordered, nudging her empty Jack and Coke forward. "And fuck it. Whatever they're having – my tab's fine. I'm good for it... if it's like, less than ten bucks," she said with the cadence of someone who was going to have to turn her phone back on at the end of the night to make sure she was indeed, good for it. "So at what point does someone accept that they've been stood up? And how long ago did I nosedive into fucking pathetic?" She asked the soul with the misfortune of being closest.