Chapter 1, part 1

This was definitely not the Saturday I had planned for myself. It was the first work free Saturday in a month and – knowing that – I had enjoyed a number of alcoholic beverages the night before, mostly bought by a handsome guy called Michael who insisted to pay. He also insisted he should take me home afterwards but I wasn’t in the mood to ruin my work free day by waking up next to a stranger and all the awkwardness that usually followed these kinds of situations. So I went home alone, expecting to sleep in and have a carefree day.

Unfortunately my plans of watching crappy TV and eating take out in my sweatpants were ruined by my roommate Katie. I love her dearly. She comes from a family with old money but she’s no snob; she’s a strawberry blonde, petit and not only charming but also a good friend. Thanks to her generous parents we live in a comparatively large flat off campus with elegant furniture and an insanely big flat screen TV. Every month I send them a check for rent but they must get lost in the mail every single time because they never get cashed in. This, together with my job as a waitress at a local diner meant I had enough money for general living costs.

So, I was eternally grateful to Katie and her family. She of course knew this and used it against me when she asked that I should drive up to Seattle to do an interview with some guy for the student paper. She’s the chief editor and with graduation coming up she wanted her last edition to be perfect. Unfortunately she was sick in bed. If it had only been a cold she would have popped a few pills and gone anyway but she caught the measles while volunteering at a local kindergarten. She not only felt like crap but looked even worse. If she tried to enter the building of her interviewee she would probably be tackled by security guards in hazmat suits. Or so she made me believe. All the other guys at the newspaper were preparing for the final exams or out of town. Katie was almost in tears. She had gotten the confirmation for the interview on Friday afternoon – hardly any time to find a replacement.

After she pleaded and reminded me of how she helped me move and do an emergency clean up when my mother decided to pay me a surprise visit the morning after we had our housewarming party (in her version this included smuggling my only half-clothed one-night-stand down the fire escape at the last minute though I have no recollection of this) I gave in. How bad could it possibly go? As an extra incentive she said I should take her car – a cherry red 1957 Corvette. Katie got this stunning automobile as a present for her 18^th birthday. Like the pony for her 8^th birthday, Katie usually got what she wanted and she likes the classics. I drove something I bought off a shady used car salesman that didn’t go faster than 50 miles an hour. I wasn’t entirely sure what model or even brand it was but it was enough for getting me to work and doing some grocery shopping.

It was a sunny day and the highway wasn’t completely clogged so I enjoyed my drive to Seattle. I was rarely ever jealous of Katie but I would have loved owning this car. Since Katie dragged me out of bed at 9am (much to my protest of course) and the Corvette was fast I arrived a good hour ahead of schedule and I decided to drink a coffee near my final destination and go over the notes and biography Katie had prepared.