|
Through The Vast Unknown
|
6
|
| |
| |
|
|
"We told her something like this would happen," says Julie, "sooner or
later. You can't go messing with that stuff. `One day', we said to her,
`one day, you'll come unstuck'. Er..."
"Bye, Frances!" Debbie waves as they shut the ambulance doors. "Don't
worry. We'll look after your stuff." She races into the house eagerly
with Julie hot on her heels, up to Frances's bedroom, as the ambulance
pulls off.
An hour later, Julie's parading up and down in one of Frances's flouncy
dresses. Debbie's sprawled on Frances's bed, playing with Frances's Game
Boy.
"Killing aliens is cool," she says.
They've broken the door off Frances's locker and the floor's littered
with a variety of sweet wrappers, crisp bags, and condom balloons.
"More Aqualibra?" says Debbie, holding up the bottle. She tops up Julie's
glass.
Julie tastes it and shudders. "Eugh. I don't know how she can drink this
stuff. We're doing her a favour finishing it. Stick some more Pernod in
it for us."
The front door goes. Julie and Debbie freeze, pretending they're not
there.
The door of Frances's room bursts open. It's the other Julie.
"Julie," says Debbie, slightly guilty. "We thought you were Frances. Want
some pop?"
"Sorry for leaving you," says Julie. "We had a medical emergency."
The other Julie just stands in the doorway. "I've had the most marvellous
dream," she says. "There were aliens, in the deepest recesses of space,
and, like, they started picking up radio broadcasts from Earth. And it
was the Carpenters, and they started like a Cult of The Carpenters, and
they were all going round in horrible chiffon dresses with really bad
wigs on their lumpy old heads and smiling all the time. It was a sight to
behold. Do you think it might be true? Do you?"
"Ay, Julie," says Debbie. "I think you're talking out of Uranus."
*
Out in space, the planets turn in peaceful silence; Doreen wears a woolly
hat to block out the transmissions. Life goes on.
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
