After Hours

West. Jane West.

January 8, 1971

She awoke, fortunately not to the sound of an alarm clock. It was a Friday, but she had been on vacation time from her job and she had taken full advantage of it. On her nightstand sat a half-full glass of water which she proceeded to gulp down rather quickly. She doesn't remember much from the previous night other than the constant flow of champagne, which proved to be responsible for her horrendous headache and dry mouth that morning. Jane was involved in some.. more influential circles. Nothing illegal, if that was what you were assuming, the high society types.

She didn't come from wealth or power but damn it felt good to rub elbows with the elite of the city. Growing up in Feltham didn't get you friends that were able to fly their private jets to Milan for lunch.

She sat up in her bed, her eyes fixated on her stack of books in the corner. The same ones she would read for hours as a teenager, the spines barely holding the pages together. Orwell, Vonnegut, and Verne had been neglected for quite some time, the only attention brought to them recently was being dusted, along with that nagging voice in the back of her mind that she should read them again.

She didn't necessarily like to admit it, and god forbid her friends found out, that she was a bit of a nerd. As a child and during her early adolescence, Jane was the ugly duckling that was a little too tall for her weight, had oversized glasses, and pulled her socks all the way up when she wore her shiny Mary Janes. As most young girls were, she was extremely insecure and didn't understand why she couldn't get the guys that the conventionally attractive girls her age did. She came to the conclusion that her interests and appearance had something to do with it, so she ditched 'em. It was extremely shallow, she knew this, but she was tired of going to dances alone and sitting by the phone, hoping the guy she fancied would call her. In the summers she would use her allowance to catch the tube to London. She couldn't believe what the world was like outside of her small town, how people dressed and interacted with one another was almost overwhelming.

When Jane was 15 she happened to watch "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and it was the spark that ignited a change within her that she couldn't wait to show the outside world. Jane became obsessed with Audrey Hepburn's character, the way she carried herself, the way she dressed, and the way she spoke. She wasn't a smoker but she got a cigarette holder and would practice using it in front of the mirror so if she ever did smoke, she wouldn't look like a fool. She replaced her poster of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and her idol, Holly Golightly. Her new wardrobe that she acquired made her feel more confident and it definitely drew the attention of possible suitors at school after the summer holiday.

She quickly tried to block out the memories of her old friend that she had abandoned when she had her "re-birth" if you will. They had eerily similar interests, he was always so sweet and she knew that he had feelings towards her that exceeded friendship. She never returned his advancements, but he was persistent. He always had her best interests at heart, she missed him dearly but she was too far into this lifestyle that she can't go back. Another reason for her reluctance to make contact with him again is.. the way she let go of him wasn't the most thoughtful.

"Damn it.." She muttered to herself, trying to shake that thought, she was too hungover and it was too early to starting drinking regrets away. Jane walked to her bathroom to assess how bad the damage was from the previous night. She had gone to La Gavroche for a birthday party. The restaurant was a bit pricey for her to be comfortable with and she wasn't going to eat, she wanted to spend time with her friends but the birthday girl insisted that dinner was on her and encouraged everyone to eat and drink as much as they could. How she not turn that down? As she saw herself in the mirror, it was the usual, lipstick smeared on her cheek and the running of mascara underneath her eyes. Nothing a hot shower won't fix, she needed that to wake her up fully.

Her Fridays were spent at work before coming home to get some much needed sleep as she usually wouldn't be getting much for the rest of the weekend. As she was still enjoying the rest of her holiday, maybe she would go out instead of being cooped up in her flat. She had stumbled upon these two guys that had a stall in Kensington Market, they usually had the style of clothing that she liked and they were fun to talk to. Two people who didn't know who she was and neither cared about societal status.

She opened the curtains to be greeted with an unusual, sunny London day in the dead of winter.

It would be moronic to pass up going out today, maybe the two lads would be at their stall today.

*
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