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Raina dropped the argument and pushed her chair back once more. Her anxiety had faded and now she just felt an urge to close her eyes.
“Wake up, sleepy head, we’re here!”
“What?” Raina said, rubbing her eyes in confusion. “I slept for three hours? Crap!”
“Yeah you did, and you probably needed it,” Kelly said.
Raina looked at her surroundings and realized that they were parked outside an old fashioned English pub. It was kind of a ridiculous sight in the midst of all the other seafood restaurants, but she wasn’t going to complain about Kelly’s choice. Her stomach growled and she realized that she was starving.
“Let’s go grab something to eat and stretch our legs,” Kelly suggested.
They walked into the pub, and it was dark after the light from the sun outside. Raina’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimness of the room, and she searched for the washroom. When she found it, she excused herself and left Kelly to find a table. She checked her reflection in the mirror above the sink.
Kelly was right; she had lost too much weight. Her face appeared almost gaunt and she looked kind of sickly. Raina made a face and splashed water on her face to wake herself up.
She rejoined Kelly and they placed their orders. When the food arrived she threw herself on it like she hadn’t eaten in a month.
“Gosh, I haven’t eaten like this since I was a teenager,” Raina said, patting her stomach.
“I eat like this all the time. With my metabolism I never gain weight,” Kelly boasted.
“Your arteries are probably clogged with cholesterol.”
“Don’t even mention that word to me,” Kelly said and then burped loudly, making them both look around to see if anyone had noticed, and then erupt into giggles. “So, are you ready for my surprise?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve been ready since this morning.”
“Let’s go pretty ourselves up,” Kelly said and stood up.
“Why? We look fine,” Raina protested but proceeded to follow Kelly into the washroom.
Kelly pulled out a small bag filled with makeup and got to work, doing a little bit of magic to make Raina’s wide brown eyes look fresh and alert, her skin dewy and soft, her lips a deep coral pink that matched the flowers on her skirt.
Raina eyed herself in the mirror and smoothed her black curls, tucking a stray strand behind her ear. “I almost look human again.”
“You look like yourself again. You look beautiful.”
Raina shot Kelly a grateful look. She had needed this outing. “Thank you.”
They left the pub minutes later, their faces freshly done up and skirts smoothed down as best as they could. This time, Raina kept an eye on her surroundings and was surprised when they pulled through the gates of a college.
“What are we doing here?”
“You’ll see.” Kelly’s smile was enigmatic.
“We’re here for the talk, here are our tickets,” Kelly said to the guard at the gate. He waved them through and Raina’s excitement faded. A talk? That was her surprise?
Still, she was here and she might as well try to enjoy. After all, Kelly had gone to a lot of trouble to arrange the trip.
“Ready?” Kelly said, after navigating the car into a slim parking space between two large cars.
“Yeah, sure.” Raina said without much enthusiasm.
Kelly was quiet as they followed directions displayed from the entrance of the large building. They took two flights of stairs that led to a hallway where two young women, students from the college, manned a table at the entrance. Again, Kelly displayed their tickets and they walked into a large lecture theatre and Raina made her way to the back seats against Kelly’s protest.
“Why can’t we sit at the front?” Kelly said.
“Because this talk might turn out to be a bore and we may need to sneak out,” Raina explained patiently.
