The Plain White Room Read Free Page B

standing. No devil can hold you by the belt, nor God lead you by the hand. You have to make up your mind and accept the consequences. You’d be a happy man if you accept what you get, and rue no one else for what they get. Remember, we aren’t alone, we’re all here, together on our own.” Milton continued to ramble, all the way back to Lepus’s room.
    ***

How to skin a cat, in less than twenty-nine ways
     
    Lepus fell scrambling out of his friend Bronagh's bed rifling for his phone.
    “What? Huh? I mean hello?” He said blinking repeatedly and raising the phone to his ear.
    “Hi,” Lepus recognised Alice’s voice immediately and his heart started pounding.
    “Oh, hey. Sorry, I was just … how are you?” He stammered.
    “I’m good, I’m good.” Alice chimed.
    “So um, this is a weird question, but were you just in Port Lincoln?” Lepus mind blurs. What an odd question, it’s a town almost walking distance, but he’s not there, or currently driving. Or even sober even. It’s too early on a Saturday morning for such strange questions.
    “No, no I’m at a friend’s house; We had some drinks last night. Just talking about what happened between you and me.”
    “Oh right, oh okay.”
    There is a long silent breaking, and Lepus’s mind started to clock over. Is she seeing him, when he isn’t there? Is she imagining seeing him, because she misses him?
    “What, you think I’m stalking you!?” he said gritting his teeth in anger.
    “What? No… no, not at all. I just…” her voice sinking, “I just saw a car that looks like yours…”
    “I miss you, but I’m not going to follow you around like a puppy. I asked for you back once; I’m not begging. It was just once, I’m not completely pathetic.”
    “I know, I don’t think you are. I just thought that I saw you, okay? I miss you too, like, well… I’ve been thinking of calling you. Seeing if you wanted to catch up. I don’t know; this isn’t easy for me either.”
    “Yeah well, you were the one that said I had to wait to hear from you this time. Just because I didn’t want to be friends, and then asked for you back after not talking to you for a month. I just needed some time. Did you expect me just to say ‘Hey yeah, let’s be friends now?’ I’d love to be your friend and watch you meets lots of new guys and date them. That sounds like real fun."
    “… I’m not dating lots of guys.”
    “Oh yeah, just one nice one, hey?” Lepus said with a dark, sarcastic tone.
    The phone went silent for far longer than Lepus would have wanted. His heart sank.
    “Alice?”
    “Just shut up, okay. I thought I saw you; I didn’t whatever. I didn’t know things would end up like this; I didn’t plan this.”
    Lepus felt his face go red and clenched his hand into a fist. He didn’t feel he had enough contol over his hand to stop it doing that, but he didn’t care. She had said nothing else and so he tried to take a breath,to compose his thoughts. But quite suddenly his lips moved
    “Is it March Hare?” he said without meaning to. He then realised that he had moved to the middle of the room. His voice had also gotten louder and louder. The sounds of tossing and turning from the next room reminded him that his friend was sleeping.
    “You didn’t plan this, but I god damn warned you didn’t I!? I told you if you loved him more just let me go. Don’t make me wait for the day when you’ll feel the same way as me if that day will never come.” Lepus said, boiling with anger but trying to keep his voice quiet.
    The phone went dead.
    Lepus had stared at a photo on the fridge of a hamburger before he realised that he had walked out into his friend's kitchen. On the wall hung a picture of a burger, it was gigantic, 2 pounds, plus chips. His friend Bronagh had eaten it to win a prize. If you finished it, the meal was free, and you won a tee-shirt plus a picture of you and your burger in some hall of fame thing. The fact that she had finished