Chapter Text
Kat woke up in the same routine as she had for the past 6 weeks. She woke up at 8am, rolled out of bed, and made some toast while checking how dead her emails were. And it turned out that that morning she actually had an email, from someone she didn’t know, but from checking all over it she concluded it was legitimate.
“To Miss Almagro, sorry for the early email- Yeah, right. I’ve got work, blah blah blah - you’ll be managing Alena Shirmanova. You mean that spoiled bratty egomaniac actress? I mean, I can understand why she hasn’t been getting work recently. Ugh, I have to have a thing in common with her other than being a woman. Joke’s on her, I’ve got work now. She’s having a party this evening, you’ll meet her there. You’ll also need to pack a lot, you’ll be living at her house. Oh, wow, can’t fucking wait.”
She took a few minutes to process the information (while swearing a ton in her head and working out the best way to murder the person who hired her) before she went upstairs and knocked on her housemate’s door.
“Kat, no.”
“Kat, yes. If you can live with my drumming, Sara, you can live with me knocking on your door.”
“Fine, you can come in.”
“Good, I need to vent.”
Kat opened the door and sat down on the armchair that Sara had for some reason. She then picked up one of the cushions and started screaming into it.
“You alright?”
Kat looked up and sighed. “Good news or bad news first?”
“Good?”
“The good news is that I’ve finally got work. The bad news is that it’s for that stupid spoiled bratty egomaniac.”
“Which one?”
“Alena Shirmanova.”
“Good luck. Personally I don’t think she needs a manager, no one wants to give her a role, we all know how she is.”
“And now I have to temporarily move out and live in that stupid fucking woman’s house.”
“You mean no more drumming?” Sara laughed. “Just kidding, just kidding. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
Kat screamed into the cushion again before speaking a lot of unintelligible Spanish.
“I think you should call Kenzy. You’re going back into Spanish mode.”
“She’s never awake this early on a Saturday, and I know she’s an hour ahead but she wakes up at 10 at the earliest. I can't call my friends at home, I can’t channel my anger through the drums at 8am, what do I do?”
“Kat, maybe you should just sleep for a bit, then call Kenzy or Aria. Or both. Hopefully you’ll feel slightly better then.”
More pillow screaming. “I can’t sleep knowing I have to live in the same house as Alena Shirmanova.” Kat looked up and smiled. “Meanwhile you’re lying in that bed like a queen, Sara.”
“Thanks. I aspire to live life by relaxing.”
Kat sighed. “I guess I’ve got some books to read. Oh, I’m going to miss the drums so much. Separation anxiety on top of living in a mansion with a spoiled brat. All I want is to live in a normal house with my drums and my best non-Spanish friend.”
“Always second to the drums.”
“Apart from my family and Madrid and my job when I have one, everything is second to the drums. Though if both you and the drums were dangling over a volcano and I could only save one it would be you. I can buy another drumkit, hopefully, but I can’t buy another Sara. Parties are not my thing, and come to think about it that is probably why me and Kenzy are so close. I’m going to miss seeing you every day as well. I’ll read, call Kenzy, pack a bit, play the drums, pack more, do more drumming, wait for a bit, then go to hell.”
“That sounds good. Apart from the last bit, even if we know it has to happen. You being torn away from your drums for that is a fate worse than death.”
“Working there is a fate worse than death anyway.”
BZZ. BZZ. BZZ.
Kat looked up from her book at around half past 10 to check who was calling her. “Ugh, I’m so fucking tired, why the fuck- are my eyes deceiving me or does that say Aria Bedmar? At least I can speak Spanish now.” Sighing, she accepted the call and stared at her phone. “Hi. What do you want?”
“Why didn’t you tell us first?”
“You were asleep, I found out an hour ago, and you’re in a different country and I live with Sara. Did she message you?”
“No, she messaged me, Sara doesn’t have Aria’s number yet.” Kenzy poked her head into view. “How bad are you feeling on a scale of 1 to 10?”
“Fucking infinity. I’m about to enter the 7th circle of hell. Also, I haven’t just woken up, because you know I wake up at 8 to check my emails.”
“You look like it though,” Aria said with worry. “You shouldn’t deprive yourself of sleep so much, Kat.”
“Ugh, you’re the unpaid therapist me and Kenzy don’t deserve. Also, didn’t you meet Alena Shirmanova once?”
“Just because we’re both actresses doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve met, but we have, as it happens, even though her massive yet weird and mainly-teenage career is based generally over your way and my relatively good career is based entirely over here. She had one of her rich-people parties when she was on location in Madrid, and I was there even though I’m very much not a rich people and my TV career had barely started. She never spoke a word of Spanish apart from hola, despite the fact that it was filled with Spanish people, and then she had the audacity to make fun of my English when it was actually alright even back then. The next time we talk she then proceeds to call me Amelia and ‘accidentally’ spills her coffee all over me. But I did gossip to some of my friends after, not even just about her.”
“When was this?”
“Early 2020, why?”
“Your English wasn’t that good then, mi vida,” Kenzy muttered. “So much better now, and I’m still rubbish. Kat’s is better than mine, but that’s because she lives in England.”
“Never lost the accent though! I like how my neighbours think of me as the nice Spanish lady. Or public nuisance in the case of some people. The ones who complain about my drumming waking them up, despite the fact that the earliest I play them is half past 12, and despite the fact that the same people keep waking me up by drilling. I ask on our street groupchat if my immediate neighbours are still asleep or having a nap before I play, and if they aren’t, then I do it. And yet I still get complaints, even if they know it’s the day I’m giving drum lessons to the girl across the road. Oh, god, I won’t get to see Katrina! Or, as I like to call her, mini Kat.”
“Is she the one who you said once ate an entire medium baguette within 5 minutes?”
“No, that was Sara. Mini Kat is the one who makes the best chocolate brownies in the world. She’s also the one who really likes musicals and got us both to learn some of the drum parts from SIX. I also really shouldn’t call her mini Kat, she’s taller than me. It’s just force of habit, we’ve known each other for 5 years.” Kat sighed and punched the bed. “Aaaaaaaaaaa....Aria, how are you doing?”
“Kat, you’re derailing the conversation like you always do. You’re going to be fine.”
“No I’m not. I’m not derailing the conversation and I’m not going to be fine.” She wiped her eyes to try and stop herself from crying. “Oh, god, I don’t deserve a friend like you, Aria. Kenzy, you’re so lucky.” This time she didn’t even restrain herself from crying. “If it wasn’t for that stupid stupid stupid woman and whoever hired me, I would be going back to Madrid sooner. Why the heck did I even leave? Why am I not still in Madrid now?” She tried to slow her breathing and calm herself. “Kenzy, could you help me murder someone?”
“Why me?”
“You seem more likely to know how. And I also want to hear you because I haven’t heard you enough and I don’t think I’ll get to for a long time. Not that I don’t like your voice, Aria, but I won’t get to see either of you for ages and I need an equal amount of your voices in my brain.”
“We still aren’t murdering anyone, Kat.”
“I know. Like Aria is probably about to say, I’m having irrational thoughts. Again. But you can understand how stressed I am. I have to go to a party, I have to work for a brat, and I have to temporarily move out because of that.”
“Introverts’ nightmare, am I right?”
“I really don't deserve either of you. You're the best friends I ever had.”
Kat almost started having her fifth mental breakdown of the day when she got out of her car. This was it. The simultaneous worst and best day of her life. She knocked on the door and tried to smile as someone opened it.
“Hello! Are you Kat?”
“Yep.” Kat was trying to consign herself to singular words so that she didn’t start crying again.
“Great! I’m Marina, I’m your port of call if things go a bit wrong, erm...welcome? Alena’s in the living room, I’ll take you there.” She leaned over to whisper in Kat’s ear. “Just a little heads up, don’t say anything out of pocket about Alena, she could find out and that wouldn’t be a good idea. Her aunt’s fame and influence have absolutely ruined people who’ve even slightly badmouthed her.”
“Okay.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Trying not to have a mental breakdown. I like your accent.”
“Thanks! I’m Greek, really miss being in Athens. Oh well...”
“I also miss home. Madrid. Family, friends, food. Oh my god, the food.”
“Me too, me too. Just...leave your stuff here, we can move it later.”
Kat had blanked out the next few minutes as Marina took her to the living room, where she awkwardly stood in the corner, looking at the other people in the enormous room. The cool-looking blonde woman, the man lazing on the sofa, the woman who seemed to be massively gossiping. And then the woman herself, Alena Shirmanova, looking every bit as self-absorbed and egotistical as she’d expected. Rich people. Kat was very happy to not be a rich people.
“Sorry, just trying to find a sensible gap in the conversation to go over there. You have nice hair.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Oh, my mistake, she’s noticed us. Try to look less awkward.”
Kat attempted to smile, while simultaneously dying inside.
“And who are you? How did you get in here?”
Kat’s eyes widened. This was really it. Don’t fuck this up, Kat. “Kat.”
Only mildly fucked up! Unfortunately I’m apparently only able to say my name. And I still fucked up either way. Nice one, Kat. Alena just stared. “And?”
Marina quickly interjected by adding, “She’s your new manager, Alena.”
“What, this...thing?” Alena sighed. “I’ve had enough for today already. She’ll do. I don’t really want to see her anymore today. Don’t let her back in here, she can stay in the foyer if she has to, but not in here.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and Marina? I have the best hair, don’t forget that.”
“I know your hair is great, Alena, I see it every day.”
Alena gave a sickly-sweet smile to Marina while glaring at Kat. “Thanks, I appreciate that!”
“You always do.” Marina quickly reversed out of the door, Kat following her, starting to sweat a bit. “And there you see a small sample of my life for the past 10 years. Earlier on it was her aunt, but when it changed to only Alena, oh my god...” She proceeded to mutter many words in Greek, which Kat (correctly) assumed was her swearing a lot.
“10 years?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t look like it, but I’m 37.”
“You’ve aged gracefully.”
“Thanks! You’ve given me some of the only genuine compliments I’ve received today.”
About 3 hours later, after they put Kat’s stuff in her bedroom...
Kat stood in the shadows of the foyer, watching the people leave. The gossipy woman had managed to stop talking, somehow. The cool-looking blonde woman was just generally looking ethereal and talking to herself in a language Kat didn’t understand and could only deduce that it was Eastern European, possibly Polish or Hungarian. Alena was standing in the doorway, in a way that made Kat slightly sweat even more. And the man was talking to someone on the phone, voice lowered. Kat could only make out “Oh my god, she’s so fucking annoying.” and “what is her problem? Spoiled brat, doesn’t know what no means.” Evidently he was talking to the person about Alena, and trying to make sure she didn’t hear, but from the cunning face Kat saw her pull immediately after he said it, she definitely did.
“Oh, Monika, or whatever your name is?”
Nowhere near. “Yes?”
Alena looked directly into Kat’s eyes. “Don’t be like him.”
Well, this is gonna be a rollercoaster, Kat! Just listen to your common sense, because somewhere deep in your mind there’s a little voice giving you good advice. And it’s almost certainly Aria Bedmar. Listen to Aria and everything will be fine, I promise.