It's Tuesday, Why Does it Feel Like Monday?

“Oh, my head. What hit me last night?"

“The champagne maybe? Joanne asked looking at her roommate’s sleep tousled hair.

Unique grabbed her head with both hands and squeezed hard. “Champagne? Was I drinking champagne? I could have sworn I was drinking Johnny Walker.”

Joanne tapped a nail against her lower lip. “When I saw you last you were toasting Mac’s rewrite with Dawno and Lori. I didn’t see you after that.”

Unique groaned and squeezed her head harder. “That was right after dinner. There was a whole night’s worth of something after that. Oh, I hope I didn’t make an ass out of myself. She tried to get up and sat back down. “I think I’ll wait a bit for that.”

Joanne shook out a corduroy jumper and laid it over her arm. Picking up the rest of her clothes she headed for the bathroom. Unique eyed her curiously.
“Where are you headed off to this morning?”

“I thought I’d head down to the spa before it got too crowded. Maybe a good soak in the whirlpool will get the blood flowing to my brain. What about you? What do you have planned this morning?

Unique pulled her hands away from her face. “I signed up for the Streamlining Your Plot class. It starts at eight. What time is it? And where is Conference Room B, anyway; have you seen it?”

“Right next to Conference Room A, I would imagine. A pillow hit the bathroom door with a whump just as Joanne closed it. She called through the door, “You’ll have to be quicker than that if you want to catch up with me.”

“Don’t I know it” Unique sighed to herself. “Don’t I just know it.”


Later that morning, Unique wandered outside looking for a good place for a smoke between classes. ‘There has to be a place to sit down out here somewhere’, she said to herself. Rounding the corner of the building she walked smack into Will Haskins’ back. “Excuse me’, she said, ‘I wasn’t expecting you there. What are you doing out here?”

Will quickly hushed her. “I’m watching. Look down there; what do you see?”

“I see some people getting into a van. Why? What are you looking for?”

“Didn’t you see who that was?” he asked. Unique shook her head. “No, William, I’m sorry. It’s much too far for me to see from up here. Who was it?”

“That was my wife getting into that van with Ray and Neuro. That’s the hotel shuttle that runs back and forth to town. It takes tourists out on daytrips and back and forth to the airport. It drops them off and picks them up later and brings them back here.” Will field stripped his cigarette and pocketed the filter. He looked back over his shoulder, “You don’t get it do you?”

“Get what, Will? Maybe they went into town. Maybe they needed to get something.”

“I’m sure they’re getting something”, Will said through his teeth. “I’m certain they’re getting something.” He started to leave.

“Wait, please don’t leave yet.” She put her hand on his arm to stop him.

”I’ve seen what I needed to see, Unique.”

”Stay with me a while longer, Will; at least wait until I finish this cigarette. I enjoy your company and I so rarely get to talk to you.”

Will turned and put his hands on her shoulders. “Unique, this will never be.”

“For Christ’s sake, Will, I’m not propositioning you. I just don’t want to stay out here by myself.”

”You came out here by yourself” he reminded her.

“Okay, fine. Go on back to whatever hole it was you crawled out of then. I’ll be fine out here. Just go on.” She took another drag on her cigarette. ‘This is ridiculous’, she thought to herself as he walked away. ‘I don’t know why I let that man get to me. He’s as prickly as a cactus for all his brilliance. I should just leave him alone. He’s got friends enough.’

She bent down to rub out her cigarette in the mulch under the shrubbery. Her hand bumped into something cold. ‘Shit, what’s that?’ She bent down for a closer look and spotted a well-manicured hand; the nails tipped in carmine. She stood up feeling a little dizzy and peered over the shrubbery. A hint of navy showed through the leaves. Pulling back the branches, Unique gave a gasp.

‘Christ, it’s a body.’ She let go of the branches and took off down the hill after William. ‘I really should quit smoking’, she thought as she reached the bottom of the hill. Taking a deep breath, she pushed through the entrance doors and made for the hotel’s reception desk.

“Excuse me’, she said to the man behind the desk. “I believe there’s someone lying in the bushes in front of the hotel.’ The man gave her a curious look. “Lying in the bushes? In front of this hotel?” he asked disbelievingly, “Surely, not, madam.”

“I’m serious! Perhaps you should send someone round to have a look. The person might be ill.” The man picked up a handset and had a brief conversation. “One of the maintenance men is coming round in a moment. Where did you say this was?”

Unique pointed to the door, “Up the hill and to the left at the corner of the building behind the shrubbery.” The desk clerk picked up the phone again and spoke quickly to the person on the other end. “Everything will be taken care of madam, an ambulance has been dispatched. It should be arriving momentarily.”

A few moments later a runty little man in a utility uniform came wheezing through the revolving door. He looked curiously out of place in the hotel’s elegant lobby. With a brief nod to the clerk behind the counter, he rounded the corner of the desk and disappeared into an office. The desk clerk hurried after him. They shut the door in Unique’s face and left her standing there. Glancing up at the clock behind the counter, she realized she had just enough time to make it to her next class. With a sigh and a shrug of resignation, she left the decision of what to do with the incapacitated guest to hotel management. She didn’t like it, but she knew they would handle the situation as they saw fit regardless of what she had to say.

Coming around the corner, she saw one woman leading another out of the elevator and into one of the classrooms. She sighed and went on. Sometimes there was no point in getting involved.