150km/hour
All vacations are the same, or are they?
Laura sits blank in front of her computer at work, praying for not another angry customer, while Mari is at home probably sleeping after a night shift. Since there is almost no work to be done, she starts what she always starts: looking for better, sunnier locations, somewhere outside the grey and polluted air of the capital she has been living in for the past three years.
- Mari, hello, are you awake?
- hmmm, ahhaaa ....
- C'mon you have to wake up and hear the news I have for you, Laura almost screams.
- You always wake me up at the most inhuman hours...What happened this time? Is that guy again looking for you? Mari speaks low and rare, like she has to go through a lot of trouble to be able to articulate the words.
- What guy? Are you nuts? I have holidays plans for you and I, you Missy.
- And your boy?
- My boy will have to understand. This is girls holiday! She shouts once again almost bouncing off her chair. She realizes her enthusiasm is too much for the crowd in the office, so she changes her status on "on break" and streams outside of the building. I am telling you, this will be the "awesomest" holiday ever! This is her style, and Mari knows it: there is no stopping her when she has her mind set on something. She can even invent words that do not exist in order to make a point.
- Ok. I am awake. Where are we going?
- Costa Ricccccaaaaaa
Time flashes before your eyes when you are counting down the days and almost drawing lines on the walls like prisoners do when they are in the big house. Laura could just not function without mentioning each and everyday that this is going to be it, the greatest holiday ever!
- I am done! a happy Mari says while lifting her 1.75m tall body of approx. 60 kilos from the living room's floor. This was the last one, and proudly shows Laura that she managed to fit all the stuff in two middle-sized suitcases.
- I am getting there; if only I can fit this pair in, she says while pushing a pair of light beige sandals into a tiny side pocket of her luggage. It will never fit!
- Well it will, it always does. As always Mari is the relax one; no need to hurry or to make a mess out of every situation. And she should know after more than a year living together in the same apartment, that this is the one thing that gets, really gets, on Laura's nerves.
And she was right. Laura fits everything and happiness is making its way on her pale white face.
- We leave in five hours, can you imagine?
No answer from Mari. She is already asleep, if not pretending to be so that Laura can't talk any more. "She is a great friend but sometimes I soooo would like to put her on mute", the one phrase Mari always mentions to people who ask about her relationship with Laura.
Ricaaa babi!!
- How can you go back to what you had before if what you have now feels better? Laura asks out loud while lying on the sun bed with a cocktail in her hand. This is the most I will ever have in life. Mari, are you happy?
- Sure. I wish we could stay here.
- Then, let's rent a car, drive around and stay here! Mari could almost see a bright light coming from Laura's perfectly brown eyes. Let's stay here, she says again.
- Are you crazy? How can we stay here? what about our apartment, our jobs, our life?
- I don't mind! Here I am way happier than back in the city and I think this is our place now! a convinced Laura leaves the bed, and throws herself into the light-blue sea without a care in the world.
The car is rented, the baggage are packed and ready, the girls are ecstatic. They drive as if there is no turning back. Correction, Mari drives with Laura as a co-pilot. See, Laura never even tried to get a driving license and she is really good at reading maps, while Mari has the skills of a busy-city taxi driver, one of the best drivers Laura ever met in her life. They drive in their cabrio coupe car for hours and hours in a row, like in a race with the truck drivers that appreciate seeing two 22-year-old girls cruising on the high-way looking great.
- At the next exit we go right. Laura interrupts the lovely song playing on the radio, a Greek song, of course.
Mary is still deep into her thoughts, though she heard her. Nods her head and presses the acceleration pedal like in a robotic move she has been doing for the past seven hours.
- This is great. Highway, trucks, hot air, great! Laura decides to start talking again (as if she could ever stop)
- How much until our destination?
- According to the map, like four more hours. We will be there around midnight, Laura checks again their location and the route they had planned in order to go and meet Mari's boyfriend.
- Ok. Then we have to hurry and she presses the pedal once more.
- This is great. where are not even speeding!
- Yeah. this car is great, Mari almost laughs...not speeding at all!
Suddenly, there is no living with Laura, who starts screaming like a lunatic on the verge of deep-diving from a cliff:
- What the f***??? Mari that is 150km/h, are you trying to kill me? She almost wants to reach for the steering wheel but stops halfway with her hands in the air and big eyes demanding an explanation.
- It is fine! Two seconds ago you said 80km/h is too slow and now you complain again? Ohh, woman you have to decide....
- No!!!!
...and you hear a truck braking down while another one almost smashes the horn of too much pressure, while a cabrio car drifts.....
Laura sits blank in front of her computer at work, praying for not another angry customer, while Mari is at home probably sleeping after a night shift. Since there is almost no work to be done, she starts what she always starts: looking for better, sunnier locations, somewhere outside the grey and polluted air of the capital she has been living in for the past three years.
- Mari, hello, are you awake?
- hmmm, ahhaaa ....
- C'mon you have to wake up and hear the news I have for you, Laura almost screams.
- You always wake me up at the most inhuman hours...What happened this time? Is that guy again looking for you? Mari speaks low and rare, like she has to go through a lot of trouble to be able to articulate the words.
- What guy? Are you nuts? I have holidays plans for you and I, you Missy.
- And your boy?
- My boy will have to understand. This is girls holiday! She shouts once again almost bouncing off her chair. She realizes her enthusiasm is too much for the crowd in the office, so she changes her status on "on break" and streams outside of the building. I am telling you, this will be the "awesomest" holiday ever! This is her style, and Mari knows it: there is no stopping her when she has her mind set on something. She can even invent words that do not exist in order to make a point.
- Ok. I am awake. Where are we going?
- Costa Ricccccaaaaaa
Time flashes before your eyes when you are counting down the days and almost drawing lines on the walls like prisoners do when they are in the big house. Laura could just not function without mentioning each and everyday that this is going to be it, the greatest holiday ever!
- I am done! a happy Mari says while lifting her 1.75m tall body of approx. 60 kilos from the living room's floor. This was the last one, and proudly shows Laura that she managed to fit all the stuff in two middle-sized suitcases.
- I am getting there; if only I can fit this pair in, she says while pushing a pair of light beige sandals into a tiny side pocket of her luggage. It will never fit!
- Well it will, it always does. As always Mari is the relax one; no need to hurry or to make a mess out of every situation. And she should know after more than a year living together in the same apartment, that this is the one thing that gets, really gets, on Laura's nerves.
And she was right. Laura fits everything and happiness is making its way on her pale white face.
- We leave in five hours, can you imagine?
No answer from Mari. She is already asleep, if not pretending to be so that Laura can't talk any more. "She is a great friend but sometimes I soooo would like to put her on mute", the one phrase Mari always mentions to people who ask about her relationship with Laura.
Ricaaa babi!!
- How can you go back to what you had before if what you have now feels better? Laura asks out loud while lying on the sun bed with a cocktail in her hand. This is the most I will ever have in life. Mari, are you happy?
- Sure. I wish we could stay here.
- Then, let's rent a car, drive around and stay here! Mari could almost see a bright light coming from Laura's perfectly brown eyes. Let's stay here, she says again.
- Are you crazy? How can we stay here? what about our apartment, our jobs, our life?
- I don't mind! Here I am way happier than back in the city and I think this is our place now! a convinced Laura leaves the bed, and throws herself into the light-blue sea without a care in the world.
The car is rented, the baggage are packed and ready, the girls are ecstatic. They drive as if there is no turning back. Correction, Mari drives with Laura as a co-pilot. See, Laura never even tried to get a driving license and she is really good at reading maps, while Mari has the skills of a busy-city taxi driver, one of the best drivers Laura ever met in her life. They drive in their cabrio coupe car for hours and hours in a row, like in a race with the truck drivers that appreciate seeing two 22-year-old girls cruising on the high-way looking great.
- At the next exit we go right. Laura interrupts the lovely song playing on the radio, a Greek song, of course.
Mary is still deep into her thoughts, though she heard her. Nods her head and presses the acceleration pedal like in a robotic move she has been doing for the past seven hours.
- This is great. Highway, trucks, hot air, great! Laura decides to start talking again (as if she could ever stop)
- How much until our destination?
- According to the map, like four more hours. We will be there around midnight, Laura checks again their location and the route they had planned in order to go and meet Mari's boyfriend.
- Ok. Then we have to hurry and she presses the pedal once more.
- This is great. where are not even speeding!
- Yeah. this car is great, Mari almost laughs...not speeding at all!
Suddenly, there is no living with Laura, who starts screaming like a lunatic on the verge of deep-diving from a cliff:
- What the f***??? Mari that is 150km/h, are you trying to kill me? She almost wants to reach for the steering wheel but stops halfway with her hands in the air and big eyes demanding an explanation.
- It is fine! Two seconds ago you said 80km/h is too slow and now you complain again? Ohh, woman you have to decide....
- No!!!!
...and you hear a truck braking down while another one almost smashes the horn of too much pressure, while a cabrio car drifts.....
this is as nice to read as entertaining to hear live :)
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