New Reality 2: Justice (22 page)

GG whooped.

After several spins, GG stopped, wobbling where she stood. She then pointed across the road. "What about over there?"

"Where?"

"The bowling alley."

"What's a bowling alley?"

"What's a bowling alley? Oh my, we
have
to go there now."

"But that's on the
other
side of the road."

When GG didn't respond, Marie added, "The side for the people from the estate."

"Even better."

Interpreting Marie's frown, GG said, "There's no chance of us seeing someone we know over there, so it won't matter that you're pregnant."

A check around confirmed that no one seemed to care about what they were doing; not even the security cameras were watching them. "Aren't we putting ourselves in danger?"

"Really, Marie? Do you
really
buy into that government bullshit? Just because they're from the estate, it doesn't make them dangerous."

Heat rushed to Marie's cheeks and she looked down. "You're right, I'm an idiot."

GG skipped towards Marie and lifted her chin. A childish joy radiated from her. "I didn't say you were an idiot. It's easy to be scared by the shit they peddle, but we need to remind ourselves that that's exactly what they want. We need to rise above the lies. Besides, we're allowed on both sides of the road, it's the people from the estate that aren't allowed to come over here."

While chewing the inside of her mouth, Marie stared at the building. Huge blue neon letters ran across the top of it. BOWLPLEX.

Before Marie could make a decision, GG had grabbed her hand and was pulling her across the road.

***

The thick smell of wood polish and fried food assaulted Marie's senses when they walked into the Bowlplex. It made her push the back of her hand to her nose and breathe through her mouth.

Concern creased GG's brow when she looked at Marie. "Are you all right?"

After a few deep breaths, Marie nodded and lowered her hand. "It's my sense of smell; since I became pregnant it's become hypersensitive."

GG sniffed the air and screwed her button nose up before her face returned to normal. The smell clearly wasn't so bad.

Marie looked around. Along one side was a row of polished lanes, many of which already had groups of people playing. Every time a heavy ball hit the wooden pins, there was a crash so sharp it made Marie flinch.

Of all the people in there, GG and Marie were the only ones not from the estate.
Were they being watched because of that, or was it the fact that they were sopping wet?
Either way, Marie sidled over to GG, grabbed her arm, and dragged her towards the toilets.
 

Once inside, Marie stood over the sink and wrung her hair out. "We stand out enough as it is in here; I want to at least be dry before we go back out again."

"No worries, darling." GG crouched down so she was low enough to stand beneath the hand drier. The hot air rushed out with a
whoosh
and GG danced beneath it.

The woman was a loon—and exactly what Marie needed in her life.

***

After about twenty minutes, Marie pinched her shirt and rubbed it between her fingers. It was still slightly damp, but it would do. They'd been in there far too long already.

Marie opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out. It was hard to be inconspicuous after their entrance. Every pair of eyes turned to them again. They probably would have anyway. Two privileged women in a place like this? What were they doing here?

Although Marie opened her mouth to speak, she managed to stop herself before the words came out. It was hardly appropriate to explain to strangers why she'd spent so long in the bathroom, no matter how odd it may have seemed. Instead, she leaned close to GG and spoke in a whisper. "I don't think we should be here."

Without looking at her friend, GG smiled. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"It doesn't look like it will."

"It'll be fine. Come on."

When they got to the main desk, GG beamed at the woman serving them.
 

Without looking up, the woman slid a sign over that read, 'How can I help you?' It was the same sign that all estate workers had on hand when a ‘good, hardworking citizen’ approached them. It was considered rude for estate rats to speak directly to them.

"One game for two people, please."

A curt nod and the woman tapped the details into the till. She then turned the register around so Marie and GG could see the price.
 

When Marie went to open her bag, GG gave the back of her hand a light smack. "It's my treat."
 

Although GG slid her card across the counter, she kept it pressed down so the woman couldn't take it. When she looked up, GG smiled again. "That's better! Such
beautiful
eyes. You were depriving us of the chance to see them."

Despite her clay-red skin, it was clear to see the woman blushing.
 

"What's your name, darling?"

The woman stared at GG but didn't respond.

"I'm being serious; I want you to talk to me. What are you called?"

The woman looked down at the counter again. "Aarya."

GG's gasp rang out in the quiet bowling alley and she clasped her hands together. "What an
amazing
name. I'd like to tip you, please, Aarya."

A shake of her head and the woman blushed again. "We're not allowed to take tips."

"There must be
some
way I can show my appreciation? Maybe I can buy you lunch?"

While wringing her hands, Aarya studied the counter for a minute before finally looking up again. "You
could
buy me some lunch, if that's okay?"

"Of course; can I buy you dinner too?"

With her eyes looking anywhere but at GG, Aarya finally nodded. "Thank you, miss."

"Don't thank me; you deserve better in this life. Please order whatever you want and charge my card for it. Don't scrimp. Order the best meals in the place."

Aarya gulped. "Thank you. Can I take your shoe sizes, please?"

"I'm a three, and… Marie?"

"I'm a five and a half. Six will do if you don't have half sizes."

After disappearing behind the desk, Aarya lifted two pairs of shoes onto the counter. Before sliding them across, she looked at Marie. "May I say something?"

Why did she want to say something to Marie? What had she done wrong?
She nodded and said, "Of course; what is it?"

"Julio was my cousin."

"Julio?"

"The man from the laundromat. I was there the day you stuck up for him, and I wanted to say thank you. Most of the people in this place knew him. He was well-loved."

A pang twisted Marie's heart. "Was?"

Tears spread across Aarya's eyes. "He died. The injuries he had after he was taken away by the police were too great."

Marie held her heart. "He's dead?"

"I'm afraid so. But thank you for all you did for him. It was brave of you to try and save his life; the fact that someone who wasn't from the estate stuck up for one of us is a
huge
deal." At that moment, Aarya looked over Marie's shoulder at the room behind her.
 

When Marie turned around, she saw they were still being watched.

"That's why everyone's looking at you; Julio was one of those rare people that knew everyone. There are very few of them on the estate because no one trusts anyone. Julio had something about him, something that broke down barriers."

Tears returned to Aarya's eyes and she flushed red again. "Anyway, sorry to take up your time. I just wanted to say thank you. Now let me tie your shoes for you."

"There's no need," GG said. "We can tie our own shoes, can't we, Marie?"

When Marie looked down at her stomach, GG smiled. "I can tie your shoes. Please stay there, Aarya, and enjoy your lunch."

From behind praying hands, Aarya dipped a gentle nod to GG and then Marie. She then patted her chest twice with a clenched fist.

As they walked away, Marie leant close to GG, catching her familiar floral scent. "What did that mean at the end?"

"It's the estate's way of saying thanks. Because they don't talk to strangers on the estate, they've developed a silent way of communicating."

An old woman who was close by then clenched her fist and tapped it against her chest; a man next to her did the same… then another.
 

The gesture spread around the room, and Marie's pulse raced.
 

"I think they like you," GG said. "It seems like you're somewhat of a hero, darling."

***

When Marie sat down at the bowling lane, GG dropped to her knees and lifted Marie's right foot so she could loosen the shoe she currently had on. As she slid one of the bowling shoes on, she smirked. "You're not going to win any fashion awards in these, but they'll stop you slipping over when you bowl."

She wasn't wrong. They looked like the correctional shoes worn by a girl in her primary school.

Once GG was done, she stood up and pointed down the lane they'd just hired. "Right, the idea is to chuck a ball down the lane and knock the pins over at the end."

GG lifted a ball and held it next to her cheek. While stepping towards the lane, she pulled the ball back and released it on the forward swing. The ball hurtled down the centre of the lane, hitting the pin at the front of the pack and knocking every single one over with a resounding
crash.

When GG turned around, Marie stared at her. "How am
I
supposed to do that?"

GG lifted another ball from the rack and beckoned Marie over with a flick of her head. "Come here and give it a try."

Did she really have to do this? How many people were going to see her make a complete tit of herself?
It may seem like the people in the bowling alley had stopped looking at her, but it didn't feel like it. When Marie took the ball, it was heavier than she expected. "Okay, so I just chuck it down the lane?"

GG nodded.

All she could do was try and copy what GG had done. With the ball next to her cheek, Marie stepped towards the lane, pulled it back and threw it. Before it was halfway down the lane, the ball was in the gutter.
 

It was obvious GG was trying not to laugh. "It's okay; you can mock me, if you like."

But GG suppressed it and shook her head. "No, it's the first time you've done it. It takes some practice."

It was Marie who laughed. "It takes a
lot
of practice by the look of things."

When she tried to walk past GG, the petite woman held up another ball. "You get two tries at knocking the pins down."

"Really? One was bad enough." The second bowl was a carbon copy of the first, the ball veering into the gutter by the time it was halfway down the lane. They both laughed that time.
 

As GG was picking up another ball, Marie stayed next to her. "So, as I was saying earlier, Frankie took me out on Sunday."

"Oh yeah, where did you go?"

"To the woods."

"The
woods?
"

"Yeah, I know; risky, right? He'd found a hole in a fence and we snuck through it."

"And you weren't seen?"

"No. He did this thing where he kicked a football for the cameras to follow and then we darted into a bush."

GG lifted the ball next to her cheek. "Clever." She then stepped forward to bowl. Nine of the ten pins fell down.
 

"He said he wanted us to have a day without stress."

"And did you?"

"Yeah, it was lovely. We had a picnic by a stream and we lay beneath the trees. I didn't realise quite how many news reports we have to listen to until I was away from them for a day. It was
bliss.
"

Just before she bowled again, GG paused. "I bet it was." The next ball took out the remaining pin.

As GG passed Marie another ball, she tilted her head to the side. "But?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a ‘but’ to your story. What is it?"

Marie let her arm drop with the heavy ball at the end of it. "It's the physical closeness thing. The fact that all he does is hold my hand and hasn't hugged me for weeks; I don't want to sound ungrateful, but…"

"I know, darling, it's tricky. First and foremost, you have a wonderful man and it's important to remember that."

"I do, GG, every day."

"Second, it's okay that you know what you want and for you to acknowledge that your needs aren't being met."

Another gutter ball and Marie walked back to GG. "Although… he did talk about his family life on the estate."

"That's something. Quite a big deal for him, right?"

"Yeah, he told me things that I didn't know. It's unusual for him to talk about his childhood."

"That's
really
positive, Marie. I think you should hold onto that. I'm sure when your child is born, he will open up more and more. Just give him time."

Marie smiled through the buckle that wrestled for control of her features. She shouldn't cry, not here in front of a group of people who had just lost a dear friend. "Thanks, GG."

"What for?"

"For listening. For giving great advice."

"What are friends for?"

After sending the fourth ball into the gutter, Marie walked over to GG and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Thank you."

Chapter Thirty-Four

The transition from the gloomy Bowlplex to the glaring sun outside burned Marie's eyes and blinded her. All she could do was stand still as she waited for her sight to return.
 

As she stood in the evening warmth, the sun exorcised the rest of the dampness from her clothes. "I can't believe how
hot
it's been this summer. It's what," Marie looked at her watch, "eight o'clock, and it still feels like midday."
 

GG seemed to be having the same trouble adjusting to the light and was gouging her eyes with her petite fingers.
 

As she waited for her friend to recover, Marie looked back through the doors of the Bowlplex. "Why were there so many people from the estate in there?"

"What do you mean?"