Drawn Read Online Free Page A

move in this week,” I tell her.
    “Sounds great,” she says.
    We work out a few of the particulars of the move, such as a deposit to hold the room and my portion of the bond money, and by the time we have finished, the front door opens.
    “Kensi,” Jessica exclaims. “Come and meet our new flat mate, Etta.”
    “Oh you got one. Great,” she says, dropping her knapsack on the floor and walking over to me, her short severe black bob barely moves as she walks.
    I stand from my seat to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you,” I say.
    “Holy shit. Look at the size of you.”
    Smiling politely, I return to my seat. Although my sitting height is almost the same as Kensi’s standing height, she has birdlike limbs and very pale features, made even starker by her dark crimson lipstick.
    “So ‘Etta’ huh?” Kensi confirms, sitting on the chair next to Jessica. “Is that your whole name or is it short for something?”
    “It’s short, for Henrietta actually. Although I won’t answer you if you call me that,” I grin. “It’s a horrible name.”
    “Better than ‘Kensi’,” she laughs. “You should try spelling that all your life. I’ve been called ‘Kendi’ ‘Kenny’ ‘Kenthi’ – the list goes on.”
    “Listen, since your moving in and all, maybe we should all go out beforehand?” Jessica suggests, looking behind her at Aaron who’s been sitting on the couch playing with his phone while he waits for me to finish up. “Are you guys going to the Scarlet Party at the World Bar next Thursday? It’s free for all UWS students. ”
    “I remember getting the email for it, but I hadn’t really thought about it,” Aaron replies.
    “Oh, hello there,” Kensi says, spinning in her chair. “I didn’t see you when I came in.”
    “I’m Aaron,” he says, standing to shake her hand in greeting.
    “Well, I can see why Etta likes you Aaron. You’re obscenely tall too,” she grins, raking her eyes obviously over his body as she touches her tongue to her front teeth.
    “Everyone is tall compared to you Kensi. You’re a waif,” inserts Jessica, before turning back to me. “Anyway, it would be great if you could come. We’ll meet at the Uni Bar and watch the pool competition, have something to eat and then get the train in with everyone else.”
    “That sounds perfect,” I say, grinning like a Cheshire cat. This will be the first outing I’ll have as an eighteen year old. What better way to celebrate than going to my first University party?
    ***
    “Are you serious?!” I whine. “What do you mean I can’t go? I’ll be eighteen. It’s not like I’ll be the only eighteen year old in the entire student body! It’s a university party!” 
    My father doesn’t like the idea of me going out next Thursday and continues to lay down the law. “No daughter of mine is going to some drunken uni student party. You have no idea what goes on in those places,” he points out.
    “That’s only because I’ve never had a chance. If I had have been a ‘normal’ person growing up, then I would have gone out with my friends in high school like everybody else did,” I argue, using my fingers as quotation marks. “Mum! Help me out here,” I beg, looking at her beseechingly. As strict as my father is, my mother is a soft touch. After Craig died, I became her primary focus. It’s made us very close, more like friends than mother and daughter, and as a result, she is my biggest advocate in the fight against my father’s rules. She hasn’t been able to get him to lift the rule on my curfew, but she has gotten him to understand that his rule ends on my eighteenth birthday.
    “Barry, she’s right. In a few days’ time, she’ll be an adult. You can’t keep her here forever,” she reminds him, and I know the moment she says something, he will relax a little. There is something special about my parent’s relationship. When my father looks at my mother, his tough exterior melts away, and he turns to mush.