Saturday Night

 

My feet click clack on the Mall pavers as I race, as quickly as my stiletto heels will allow, to meet my two Uni girlfriends. The crisp chilly Saturday night air burns my cheeks and gnaws into my aching fingers, so I picked up the pace in an attempt to shake off the cold.

I follow a chain of golden orb street-lights dotting my path, warm and bright against the hard black edges of darkness, finally arriving at our designated meeting spot: the Mall Pigeon, a chrome stylised bird eight feet high.

My friends are already there and deep in conversation when I arrive, so I slow my pace to catch my breath. I’m so unfit these days. Too much studying and too little anything else.

We’re all 18 and half way through our First year of a Civil Engineering degree. For me, it wasn’t that I was so fascinated by the thought of building stuff; it was more that I’d heard too many stories of pointless degrees where there was no demand and no jobs. At least with Engineering, there was a chance I could purchase a house and pay my bills. Basically, grow up and leave home. Possibly my friends felt the same, but it was a discussion we never had. Whatever the reasons, this was our life now.

I watched my friends and tried to imagine seeing them for the first time: Judy, my high school friend and best friend, was someone you probably wouldn’t remember if you met her for the second time. She’s pretty, tall, blond, neat features but nothing that sets her apart from other young girls in either a beautiful way or an unattractive way. She’s a sunny daisy in a field of daisies where only the occasional bold crimson rose or the unsightly sprawling weeds are set apart and draw attention.

Gayle personifies the word sporty. Whatever the occasion, her style of dress, while appropriate, looks like it would also be equally suited to a tennis court or a session at the gym. She is glowing health and vitality. Medium height and build, shoulder length honey-blond hair, large green eyes, bronzed skin, long legs, and everything she does is fast with a spring in her step.

I join them and they suddenly notice me, jumping in surprise as I greet them with a cheery, ‘Let’s get going you lot! Where to first’.

We look at each other and smile. It’ll be the usual, to start the night. We chorus: ‘To the Austral Pub, of course.’ A sort of in-joke to even ask the question. The Austral is where our friends start their nights out. It’s a great place to shake off the study books and stresses and switch over to Relaxed-night-out mode. To chill.