Pearl had spent most of her day unpacking. She had never thought that moving would be such a hassle, or mean so much to do. There were boxes and boxes, her whole life wrapped up in neat cardboard packages, moving from one place to another. She took a final look at the last box and decided to leave it until morning, the unavoidable need to sleep starting to take over; the box could wait. She strolled into her new bedroom, a small room with white walls and beige carpet. She couldn’t wait to add posters and photos to the wall, make it more her. She wanted to cover the walls with her art, surrounding herself with things she had made, things she was proud of. She snuggled her way into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, continuing to plan out ways she could decorate. She was warm and happy, calm and content.
And then there was a noise. The sound of a window being slammed open next door, followed by the sound of music. The blonde was about to storm next door to complain, but a voice stopped her in her tracks. Instead of the original version of the song that she was expecting, it was someone singing. The fact that it was one of Pearl’s favourite musical songs helped to calm her anger, the blonde relaxing into the soft sound of their voice. Before she could stop herself, she joined in, singing the male part, their voices mixing to create a perfect harmony. The volume was lowered as the song ended and the window was then slammed shut, her neighbour seemingly realising that someone else was listening.
A few minutes went by and there was a knock at the door. Pearl was just preparing to get back into bed as she heard it, sighing to herself in annoyance. She sleepily stumbled towards the front of her new flat, almost tripping over the box she had left in the middle of the kitchen as she made her way to the door. She pulled it open and looked up to see a tall, skinny girl stood with her hand still up, as if she was ready to knock again. She was clearly dressed for bed, a large burgundy shirt with the words ‘Wine is my Valentine’ on the front in gold was draped over her body. Her sandy blonde hair was in a messy ponytail, and there were remnants of makeup under her dark brown eyes. She cleared her throat.
“Hey, sorry to drop in on you like this, but I- were you the one singing?” Pearl was taken aback. The girl’s voice was so raspy and deep in comparison to her soft exterior. It took a moment for the girls’ words to register, the question not quite making sense in the blonde’s head.
“Uh, I think that was next door, I mean, I joined in, I guess, but it, uh, it wasn’t me singing the main thing, so, uh, yeah you might want to check there, if that’s what you meant? Sorry.” She was unaware of what had happened to her voice, no idea why she was unable to speak in the presence of this stranger. Her response only earned her a short laugh from the other.
“That’s what I meant. I was the one singing next door,” she paused to smile at Pearl, who stood there, wide-eyed and embarrassed, “You finished my duet; I wanted to say thank you, and sorry. I didn’t realise I was loud enough to be heard, let alone loud enough for someone to be able to join in!”
“It’s okay, I love that song and you’re really pretty. Uh, your voice, it’s uh, pretty.” The stranger laughed at Pearl’s idiocy as she stumbled over her words.
“Thank you, so is yours, although I feel like you would suit Veronica more than JD. Maybe we should swap next time? It would be nice to hear more of your voice.” Pearl couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was talking like an idiot and somehow this vision of beauty still wanted to spend more time with her?
“Yeah, I’d like that. But you really did sound beautiful singing Veronica’s part.”
“You’re just being nice. I’m a music student with autotune as a best friend,” she laughed, “Seventeen is my favourite musical duet of all time, I mean, the sound is so beautiful and the harmonies are phenomenal, the subject is a bit weird but I feel like it adds to it. I mean, the whole musical is fucked up, so, y’know I- I’m sorry, I just turned up at your door and started rambling about my love for Heathers without even introducing myself. I’m RuPaul.” She held out her hand, which Pearl eagerly took, smiling so much she could only hope she didn’t look like a psychopath.
“Pearl.”
“That’s sweet, it suits you.”
“How so?” The blonde was slowly gaining more confidence.
“You just look like a Pearl, something special, a valuable treasure from the sea.” Pearl felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment, the confidence she was feeling had once again disappeared. Sensing her slight discomfort, RuPaul continued, “Well, Pearl, I’ll let you get to sleep. Sorry, again, although I can’t promise that I won’t be knocking on your door late at night again, or dragging you into another impromptu romantic musical duet.” She finished her sentence with a soft laugh, the kind that made goosebumps appear on Pearl’s arms, sending a light shiver down her spine.
“It’s okay, I enjoyed it. Goodnight, Ru”
“Goodnight, Pearl.” She smiled as she turned away from the door, returning to her own apartment. Pearl watched the blonde as she walked away, mesmerised by her confidence and talent, in awe at the way she held herself. She had a sort of power that Pearl could only dream of possessing. Pearl slid down the door, face burning with embarrassment as the last few minutes registered in her head. She was fucked.