Phone call
In a house full of trinkets and machinery, a tall woman sat down in a cushioned chair with a white letter in hand. Humming her favorite Halloween song, a melody of the forests surrounding her home, she carefully opened it up and looked at the contents carefully.
The contents made her raise an eyebrow.
Strawberry.. Strawberry was throwing a party?!
--
Snail was sitting on the edge of her bed, her purple hair freshly washed and soapy with a towel wrapping it up. Her hands were bubbled up with lotion as she applied it to her legs, making sure to rub it into that one area she seemingly always missed. She wasn’t thinking of much until a sudden voice rang out from beyond her door.
“SNAIL! Mail!”
With a sigh, Snail rolled her eyes before she replied. “Coming, Mom!”
She quickly finished applying the lotion, patting the fat on her leg before she stood up, threw on a pair of clothes and shoes, and left her room to retrieve the mail.
She wasn’t expecting much when she left that apartment, really. Other than maybe some messy hair she’d need to redo thanks to the windy air.
But, once she returned to her room to sort the papers out, her eyes landed on one in particular.
Snail picked it up carefully, her lavender-coated nails glimmering from the purple lights in her room. Tilting her head, Snail looked at it from all angles. Up. Down. Sideways. What was this..? It was obviously nothing from the merch she’d ordered earlier..
Snail began to open it, and when her eyes locked onto the words, she thought she’d officially lose it.
An invitation to a party.. By Strawberry.
Straw. Ber. Ry.
Strawberry had invited her to a party?!
Snail stood up, leaving the invitation on her bed as she began to pace her room. Strawberry had literally just invited her, SNAIL, to a party. Snail wasn’t really, well, a party girl.. But normalcy be damned! If the girl she’d been crushing on for months invited her to a party, who was she to decline?!
And- They had snacks?? SNACKS?? Oh, Snail was happier than she imagined she would be that day. Substances.. Okay, that made her stop her pacing.
Snail grabbed her glasses off of her desk and slid them on as she sat on the edge of her bed once again, checking the letter. Substances.. Snail leaned her head back as she gave the ceiling a cold, disapproving stare.
But, once Snail remembered it was Strawberry, the race in her heart started once again. Strawberry was so cool..! If Snail went, would Strawberry.. Be upset if she didn’t take anything?..
No, she decided. No. As much as Strawberry acted eccentric, Snail knew she was a good person at heart.
She’d go to the party, she decided. A fangirl at heart, she’d never reject her crush’s invitation.. She just hoped it would be less intense than she was expecting.
--
Mouse stood up from her chair, paper in hand as she strode over to the landline mounting her wall.
Clicking in a few numbers, Mouse entered Strawberry's number and brought the phone to her ear.
After a few seconds of tense anticipation, Strawberry answered, her voice hoarse. “Hello..?”
“STRAWBERRY!!” Mouse squeaked, her clenched hands up to her face. The noise almost made Strawberry drop her phone.
“Oh- Oh my god. You’re- You’re hosting a party! Not that I think you’d- be bad at that- Excuse me, it’s just..” Taking a short moment to catch her breath, Mouse continued in a more relaxed tone.
“I’m used to, well.. Halloween parties.” Mouse finished, her face heated from embarrassment at her outburst. Normally she was more composed than she’d been as a kid, but sometimes her inner kid just.. Crawled its way out of her throat.
After a moment, Strawberry replied, her voice quiet. “Yeah..”
Despite whatever Strawberry wanted, Mouse didn’t miss the shake in her voice.
Mouse paused for a moment, listening to the noises on the other side of the phone. It was quiet, but not silent. She could hear the sound of what was maybe a TV, though the words were indecipherable. Mouse had always had good listening. Maybe she should let it slide, but Mouse couldn’t help the gnawing question she had.
“.. Strawberry, are you.. Crying..?”
“... Nno.. Fuck, whoo are you to.. To ask?” Strawberry hiccuped, her voice more clearly slurred now that Mouse was hearing more of it.
Mouse’s smile turned into a faint frown as she looked at the floor, suddenly feeling rather awkward. Maybe she’d called at the wrong time.. But no! There were bigger issues at hand, she reminded herself as she refocused. “Strawberry, what’s the matter?”
A sniffle was heard from the other line as Strawberry pushed some more words out. “Man, I dunno..! Just, stupid party.. Making me.. Hic.. feel nervous..”
Mouse wished right then and there she had a chair to sit on so she could focus better. No matter though, she’d stand this one out.
“Strawberry, it’s not stupid.. And hey, you have every right to be nervous, knowing you I know you never settle for anything small..” Mouse spoke carefully. She hoped that Strawberry could understand her through the alcohol. Mouse wasn’t big on those sorts of things, but she had dabbled in it once out of curiosity once she’d turned that age.
“Yyeah.. And I-.. Fucckk.. I’m supposed to host this big, party that everyone loves.. But.. If I mess up, I’ll look like a goddamn idiot..” Strawberry sniffled, her voice wavering.
Strawberry’s pride wasn’t something she took lightly. Her image was extremely important to her. The whole reason she even went through with this party was to spice her boring life up. Even if only for a moment, she missed the parties from her high school life. From college.. God damn being an adult sucked.
Dealing with her own insecurity at her boring job.. She needed something fun.
Mouse took a moment to think of what to say before she replied with, “Strawberry. Even if the party doesn’t go well, I’m sure it’ll be okay.” She took a small breath. “It’s kind of you to even do this for your friends. That’s one good thing, right? We’ll all appreciate that, and we’re all going to appreciate that we can spend time with you.”
“If it helps, I can even help you with the party. If the party’s giving you anxiety, maybe me helping with it will help..”
Strawberry hiccuped, wiping the tears from her eyes with her shaky palm. She looked at the bottles on the floor, a few nearly empty. Normally, if she was sober, she’d refuse. Her pride would never let her agree to this.. But Strawberry wasn’t in her usual mindset. Normally she wouldn’t even show vulnerability, and Mouse had just listened to her sobbing her pretty little eyes out.
“... Fine.. but mention tonight anytime after today and I’m gonna be pissed..” She grumbled.
Mouse let out a small sigh, setting her head against the wall as she twirled the phone wire between her fingers. “I know, I won’t.. Let’s make this a good party.”
The two continued to talk for a while. About party details, guests who could be attending. They caught up on the events and details they’d missed from the other, and at the end of the call, Strawberry slowly drifted off to sleep.