Ch 7 The Break Up

“I just can’t believe that noise down there! How do they sleep with it on? If it’s playing loud tonight I swear I’m going to complain. You know that girl in the elevator earlier? Jamie talks to her sometimes. She lives down there. I wonder how they let her do that.” Kelly said as she looked down through her window at the room below her.

“Mhmmm,” said Jen, not really listening to her roommate as her manicured hands flipped through a Vogue.

Claire threw open their door. “You got to get out here and see this!” she said, her curlers coming undone. As she jogged back down the hall, they started to unfurl. By the time they had trotted after her to the lounge, Claire’s hair had come completely undone and baby blue circles littered the hallway as the shouts grew louder. They walked out to find Joe, belligerently inebriated and breaking up with Amanda.

“You know, you know what I’m talking about? The shit you do with your shoes and your parties and your backstabbing bullisht. Buuuuuuullshit. Buuuuuuuuullshit. Oh! And let’s not forget that guy that you fucked in Reno!” He stumbled and fell over himself repeatedly.

“Joe, sweetie you aren’t making any sense!” Amanda said sobbing, “I’ve never been to Reno. And where are your shoes?”

“OH you’ve never been to Reno! Well darling, Reno isn’t a place, it’s a state. But not like the United… or the mind! Yeah and then what about Paul, huh? Paulie! Does he want a cracker? I can’t believe you got so fucking upset about that shirt of yours that I didn’t like and then your mother went off and had sex with that prostitute.”

“What did you say?”

“That shirt that I didn’t like.”

“No, after that.”

Joe paused to recap what had happened. “Ok,” he began, swaying gently with his eyes lids fluttering up and down. “I said ‘that shirt that I didn’t like.’ And then you said ‘No, after that’ and then I said ‘I said ‘that shirt that I didn’t like’’.”

“No, after ‘that shirt that I didn’t like’.”

“I said ‘I said ‘that shirt that I didn’t like.’’ And then you said ‘No after ‘that shirt that I didn’t like.’ And then I said ‘I said ‘I said ‘that shirt that I didn’t like...’”

“No, after the first time you said it.”

“I SAID YOU’RE MOTHER’S A WHORE!”

“Ok this is just making my brain hurt.” Amanda said. “Joe, lets go in my room and talk about this…” She said looking around at the crowd that had begun to gather to watch the newest reality show. Everyone was there. Everyone was watching this happen to her and then it just got worse. She saw the stairwell door open and a pair of RA’s making their rounds entered at the other end of the lounge. Amanda turned back to Joe and began to whisper, “Joe, let’s go.”

“You can just suck my dick or did you get enough of that in RENO!” To everyone’s horror, he stubbed past her and towards the stairs only to run straight into the RA.

“Have you been drinking?” The RA said, tired of his rounds already.

“No but she has!” Joe said as he pointed back at Amanda. Her whole face was red and wet from crying. ‘The whole floor has seen this!’ she thought to herself. After seeing that his path was blocked, Joe turned on his heel and started heading the other direction. The Resident Assistant reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

“Why don’t you come with me, dude.” He pulled Joe to face him.

“YOU’RE NOT MY FATHER!” Joe shouted and then proceeded to vomit all over the RA.