ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ｔｏｕｃｈ

“Maybe you can join us sometime, they usually perform at this nice cafe downtown.”

“That would be awesome! I’d love to!”

“Let’s make a deal, then – you can choose my drinks and I’ll choose yours”, Nikolai proposed. 

“Only if you promise it won’t be beer. I cannot stand that stuff.”

“Nice save, Lace. I suppose I won’t have to cut off your access to the discounted drinks just yet”.

“I appreciate that but I do mean it also.”

“So in summary, the whole show makes absolutely no sense?” Lola joked. “Yeah, it was a little too hard to maintain my sobriety in that house, although I’m still close with a lot of my sisters”, she explained. “I’m sure you’ll feel much more settled after you’ve personalised your room”.

“That is definitely the impression I think we’re drawing from this. I think that makes sense. I was teetotal for a little while and it sucked being invited to parties and not being able to join in. I ended up not going out a lot to be honest. I think so too about the room thing. Got to turn a room in to a home.”

“Thanks. Maybe next round I’ll join you on something more tasty than beer.”

“Can’t wait for that. How do you find it here? Do you like being at Monarch?”

“I’m currently drinking a boring generic beer but if you want something a little more fun, we can take a look at the cocktail menu. I’m game.”

“Now that sounds more like it for me. I cannot stand the taste of beer and you have to admit, something fruity is way more fun and refreshing.”

“her grandma is the best, i couldn’t ask for anyone better. i’m glad it’s good for you, lacey.”

“She’s very lucky to have an awesome grandma and mom. And thank you. It really is a breath of fresh air over here.”

“glad to hear it.” lily finished texting on her phone  “aria’s grandma is usually pretty quick at responding so i’ll know soon. how’ve you been doing, lacey? settling in okay?”

“It sounds to me like you have some good quality childcare in her grandma. I’ve been good, I think this place is good for me. Thanks for asking!”

“Not overly cute, no. It was filmed in Hawaii but it was supposed to be this abandoned island so it made absolutely no sense to just have one in the wild. I stopped watching before that was ever properly explained”, Lola told the blonde. “It’s the social sorority, although I’m not a part of it anymore”, she explained. “You should head over to the San Diego Plaza, then. It should have everything that you need”.

“Neither does a smoke monster to be fair.” Lacey said in counter argument. “Because of the party stuff? And that’s a good idea too. I’ll make my way over at the weekend and see what I can find to really make my room my own.”

“That sounds like a solid plan to me. How about a drink first though?”

“A drink sounds good. What are you drinking?”

“It’s a good thing that I’m going to be drinking with you tonight, then. I’ll make sure that you try something other than a rum and coke”.  

“What drink are you going to get me then, handsome? In fact, you know what? Let it be a surprise. Blind taste test.”

“That’s very resourceful of you, I’m impressed”, Arden complimented the other woman. “Something tells me that you’re really going to like the Delta Psi parties”, she told the blonde. “If we really want to get fucked up, I feel like tequila is the obvious choice”.

“Resourceful or Crafty? Either way, you’re impressed! I can’t wait to go to one then if I’ll like them that much. Tequila is such a good choice! Yes please!”

“I’m personally a fan of Mudslides, mainly because they taste like milkshakes but can get you royally fucked up. Whenever I go to a new place though, I steadily work my way through the cocktail menu in case I stumble across a hidden gem”.

“In that case, we start with mudslides and work our way down the cocktail list from there. See? The bets of both worlds! Deal?”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind paying for my own drink.”

“I’m sure. It’s no dent in my bank account really. One drink anyway.”

“Taking it back certainly seems like the smart decision here”, Amber-Jade teased. “I’m just going to pretend that you don’t want to embarrass me because we’re such good friends; and not just because you want discounted drinks”. 

“You know I love you, Miss Amber-Jade Rhodes. Of course that’s the reason... the discounted drinks are simply a bonus of our friendship!”