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Rachel got out of the taxi in the early hours of a Saturday morning. The taxi still had three of her friends in it.
“See you tomorrow night ladies”– Rachel, somewhat intoxicated, said enthusiastically.
“Will do honey”– one of them said back. “That was a good night out.”
“It was indeed. It’s been a few weeks now since we’ve had any guy, ruin our night”– Rachel said and closed the taxi door. She waved her friends goodbye.
Rachel entered her building, and then climbed up the stairs to get to her fourth floor apartment. Somewhere between athletically graceful and staggeringly drunk, Rachel climbed up the stairs a little slower than she does when she’s sober. But she managed to not trip at all. She looked through her small handbag for her keys for a moment. And when she did get them out she dropped them to the floor. She picked the keys up and opened the door. She followed her tried and trusted post-alcohol drinking routine of a pint of water and a banana. Then she went over to her bed and let herself collapse onto it. Staring up at the ceiling, she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to muster the motivation to get properly ready for bed. She accepted she was going to sleep in her subtle make-up and that night’s outfit of tight sleeveless T-shirt, little hot-pant shorts and knee high black boots. After a few moments she thought she really should at least take the boots off. Just as she sat up to do that her phone started ringing. She wondered whether she’d handed out her real number by mistake that night or maybe it was an ex-boyfriend wanting some physical attention. Blearily looked at her phone and it wasn’t recognizing the number. Without thinking she answered it anyway.
“Hello”– Rachel a little groggily said.
“Hello Rachel”– the sinister sounding voice replied.
“Who is this”– Rachel spoke with the impatience of somebody desperate to get to sleep. Her intoxicated state meant that she didn’t really pick up on the sinister tone.
“My name is not important. But I do have a question for you. By the way I think I actually preferred the pink hair.”
The tone and the words themselves were now getting Rachel’s attention. And she was becoming uncomfortable with the conversation.
“What question?” She nervously asked.
“Do you want to dance?”
“Not right now”– Rachel said with a mix of trepidation and confusion.
“It doesn’t matter anyway anymore. The fact is you’ve already given the wrong answer to that question when it was asked.”
“I’ve been asked that question a lot.”
“Have you now?”
“I’m not trying to brag. I’m just saying. I get asked a lot like most women do.”
“Do you always say yes?”
“Hardly ever! Look is there a point to this conversation or can I hang up and go to sleep now?” Rachel tried to speak with some defiance but was unconvincing in giving off a fearless image.
“Trust me you really don’t want to hang up. And there’s that impoliteness of yours creeping in again.”
“Why don’t I want to hang up? And what impoliteness?””
“You don’t want to hang up because if you do you’ll die right there in your apartment.”
Rachel couldn’t manage a verbal response, instead only uncontrolled heavy breathing and running a hand through her hair and then covering her mouth with the same hand.
“I wonder what that big fluffy bunny rabbit would look like covered in your blood?”
Rachel looked round slowly at her big soft toy rabbit that she kept next to her pillow, jumped up in panic and started looking round the room.
“Where are you?” She asked whilst literally shaking in fear.
“As for the politeness well lets go back to my question, when you do decline the offer to dance with somebody are you polite in the way you turn them down? Something along the lines of: ‘I’m really sorry but I just want to dance with my friends tonight. Please don’t take it personally. Or do you say something more like: ‘In your wildest dream do you really see someone like you being with someone like me. If I were any further out of your league I’d be playing a different sport. Go and hit on someone your own age, not that anybody your own age would be out right now...”
Rachel dropped the phone, her knees buckled and she collapse onto the bed then tears poured out.
“Where’s you’re knight in shining armor now?” Rachel could still here the voice. “I tell you what though. You are about to meet another would-be hero, we’ll see if this one can keep you alive.”
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