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Leonie felt like shit. She was at a party – a party that her friends held, partially for her – and she was alone, sitting in the kitchen with a beer while everyone else was having fun and doing god knows what. She didn’t really feel like socializing; all of her friends were with people she didn’t know and Sothis knows she wasn’t going to talk to strangers. She had enough small talk and awkward conversations to last her a lifetime. Holy shit, she needed a blunt.
“Hey, wanna smoke outside?” Her Lord and Saviour. Leonie looked up and immediately froze. A girl – a really pretty girl – was holding a joint in front of her. Well, small talk wasn’t bad when you were high as fuck.
“Yeah, sure.” She took it graciously and pocketed it. The girl motioned outside before walking away, as if beckoning Leonie to follow. And she did.
They walked past the loud music, alcohol and intense Smash Bros match outside to the cool, October breeze. Leonie was always warm bodied, so she welcomed the cold. She realized that she had lost track of the girl, until she noticed her open the door to a Mercedes Benz. This girl was rich too? Damn this was probably some boujee strain then. Leonie followed her into her car and sat inside the passenger seat. The leather seat she was sitting on probably cost more than her fucking college tuition, her own car and her residence combined. Leonie suddenly felt self conscious, as if her presence was dirtying this expensive vehicle, but the girl clearly didn’t mind, as she passed her a lighter for her blunt. Well, here goes nothing.
She hadn’t smoked a blunt in a while, so she coughed a bit as she inhaled, but soon enough, her anxiety began washing away and a light-headedness took its place. Ah, she missed weed. She noticed the girl looking over at her, smiling.
“Sorry for coughing,” Leonie said.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. The windows are open for a reason.” Her voice was soft and feminine; it matched her soft face and willowy frame perfectly. A pang of envy hit Leonie, hard, so she took another hit.
“My name’s Mercedes, what’s yours?”
“Leonie. Leonie Pinelli.”
“What a beautiful name. It suits you,” Mercedes said, smiling.
“No one’s ever told me that before.”
“Well, I think you should hear it more often, because it is.” Leonie blushed and took another hit.
“So… why did you pick me to smoke with you? There’s like, thirty other people here you could be with. Why chose me?” Leonie bit her lip to stop herself from tearing up. Oh god, why was she doing this now?
“I don’t really have a reason. I just wanted to talk to you.”
“I’m not buying that. I’m sure you have friends here, friends your own age, that you could be having the time of your life with, but instead you’re with some sad sack who can’t even figure her life out. I’m only here because I didn’t want to be in the army anymore, I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.” The words fell out before she could stop them. Leonie looked away, trying to hide the tears that were prickling her eyes. Of course, she had to dump her life story to a random stranger she just met. What was wrong with her??
“It sounds like you’ve had a hard journey to get here, but I don’t think you need to worry so much about figuring out your whole life. I don’t think any of us have.” Mercedes placed a handkerchief on Leonie’s lap. Leonie took it and started dabbing her eyes.
“I just gotta, you know? It’s just me, fighting for myself. Ma’s sick and I don’t even go-got a Dad… I’m only here because the army is paying for it, I don’t have a cent to my name. I bet the blunt you just gave me is worth more than me.”
Mercedes rubbed Leonie’s back. “I think you’re worth more than you give yourself credit for. I think it’s incredibly brave of you to be here, to get a degree to help your mother out. I know it’s hard…” Mercedes’ eyes shifted slightly, “but I think you’re doing a great job.”
At this, Leonie broke, and the tears began to flow freely. She sobbed, grabbing onto Mercedes and holding her as if she was her own Ma.
“N-n-no one’s ever told me that before,” she said, between sobs.
“I think you should hear it more. You deserve it.”
Mercedes and Leonie stayed like that for a while, holding each other as Leonie’s tears began to dry. When Leonie was done crying, she mopped her face up and began to get out of the car.
“Are you going to be alright?” Mercedes asked.
“Yeah I… I just need to be alone right now.” The guilt was beginning to hit her, and she needed to be alone.
“Okay, but I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
Leonie walked back into the house, avoiding human contact and dragged herself into her room and cried into her pillow.