This is the fictional diary of Sophie Dayton. After her unexplained expulsion from university, she has turned detective, trying to find the truth behind her tricky predicament.
Dear Diary,
Believe you me, I’d LOVE to know the answers to those questions, and many more besides (such as how often he works out and what kind of shampoo he uses to make his hair look so soft… I’m getting distracted). However, the bad news is that by the time I made it across that thronging dance floor and out of the door, Smirk Guy was nowhere to be seen. Blue Zone is located on a pretty deserted street but there are plenty of side roads and he could have dodged down any of them. Heck, he could have even gotten into a taxi in the time it took me to get out of that place.
My next option would have been to follow up on my find-a-hacker plan, and go talk to Mr Blade-Wannabe, who was standing inside. The problem is that in my rush to get out of the club I forgot to get my hand stamped and the stupid bouncers wouldn’t let me back in without paying the exorbitant cover charge. I swear they must have seen me just run out of the club! I tried every trick in the book, smiling and batting my eyelashes, but by this point in the evening, pretty girls were a dime a dozen lined up on the pavement and there was no arguing my way back in. Eventually I made a graceful retreat and walked home. And by home, I mean back to Shane’s place.
After last night’s failure, I was a little down today. Ok, a lot down. So far I have discovered a grand total of nothing about the reasons behind my situation, and to make things worse I think I’m going to have to find somewhere else to stay. Shane is a good friend, but it seems that Jade is becoming a permanent fixture here. And let’s just say that there ain’t room in this tiny apartment for the two of us. Three of us. Whatever.
Starbucks coffee helped to revive me after another disturbed night. So, right now, my priorities look like this:
1. Find hot smirking guy and pump him for information.
2. Find Blade guy and pump him too. (Ok, that came out wrong)
3. Find another place to live.
2 hours and 5 coffees later, and I’m browsing through a room-to-rent group on Facebook. Suddenly, a hand touches my shoulder and I nearly jump out of my skin!
“Hi,” It’s a girl I've never seen before. She has fair skin and silver blonde hair and she’s so pale she could almost be albino, except her eyes are dark enough to be called black. She gestures at my laptop screen. “This is very stalkerish of me, but I noticed you’re surfing that group. Are you looking to rent a room?”
I’m struck dumb for a moment staring at her, then it clicks that she asked me a question. “Sorry, you startled me,” I say. “Er, yes, I guess I am looking,”
She smiles. “One of my flatmates ran off with her boyfriend last month. I haven’t found anyone to take the room yet. Don’t suppose you’d like to take a look?”
When I hesitate, she continues “I posted an ad but it’s a bit late for students to still be looking for rooms, and so far the only people I’ve had ring me have been creepy guys. I’d rather have a female flatmate, and you seem normal at least. Here, I’ll show you,”
She leans over and scrolls down the group’s feed until she finds the post. It’s one that I had already noted as being interesting. A room in a 3-bedroom flat, close to the centre of town. I’d be sharing with two other girls. It’s small, but cheap. And cheap is definitely what I need right now.
“Look, I know it’s weird that I’ve pounced on you in a café like this. My number’s there, so if you’re interested, give me a call. I’m Layla, by the way."
“Sophie,” I say.
“I know,” she grins, and gestures to my laptop. “It says it there on your Facebook page. Well, I’m hoping to hear from you, Sophie, have a nice day!” With that, she waves a hand, then exits the café and heads down the street.
With all the weird things that have happened this week, I suppose I should take being accosted in a café by a girl who looks like Lady Galadriel’s cousin in my stride. I’m going to think about her offer for a little while before I decide what to do.
When I get back to the flat, Jade and Shane are in a shall-we-say “compromising” position on the couch.
Ok I’ve thought about it. I’m calling Layla first thing in the morning.
This is an original piece, written for Steemit by @Victoria-Kelly. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this installment of Diary of a Detectress, please let me know by commenting, and watch out for the next installment coming soon
Images from Pixabay