No need to be modest around me

"It's the time!" Marli shouts in Glee, making me look up from the book I am reading.

"What's the time?" I tilt my head, confused.

"It's time to party!" She shouts in enthusiasm. Hearing how eager she sounds, you would have thought she's the one going for the party, and not the other way around.

"Oh, it is." I twirl my fingers together.

"What's wrong?"

"I… Uh… No, nothing is wrong. I was just lost in a fantasy world, that's why" I lie.

" I can see that." She purses her lips," you're thinking about your husband, right? You're thinking about the reason he's always acting cold towards you. "

"Who told you that?" I look up in surprise. I know I've never talked of my husband with her before. I've never told her anything about him, nor have I complained about his cold behaviour towards me.

Hearing her talk about that came as a surprise to me.

" I work here, remember?" She scoffs, "I don't think anything is happening here that I know nothing about."

" I see. "

Thinking of it this way, I guess it's not too difficult to believe she heard of the problem between us two during one of the numerous cold 'good morning' exchanges.

" Let's go get ready then. What you currently need is a party to cheer you up."

" You think? "

" I don't think love, am quite sure of it. The loud music and unfamiliar people around are more than enough to make you momentarily forget. "

" Only to recall it all when I return to reality? " I raise a brow at her.

" We'll sort that out when we reach that stage." Smiling brightly, she tugs me. " Let's go, you would rather not be late for the party, do you?"

" Late?" I scoff, "There's nothing like going there late, it's just three o'clock in the afternoon." I point at the clock, only to look down in embarrassment when I saw it's not three o'clock as I thought, it's five o'clock.

"You see, we need to get ready, you can't afford to be late on your first days."

"But the time…" I point at the clock, "it couldn't have been that long, right? Did you change the time to suit you?" I narrow a suspicious glare her way.

I don't think the time that's showing is the right time at all.

Last I checked, it was only 1 O'clock when I started reading. I couldn't read for that long without knowing, could I?"

" See." She showed me the time on her wristwatch. " You see, it's the real-time. You're the one that over read, that's all."

" God." I stretch a bit. " I read for more than four hours without being aware of it?"

Is it some type of joke, or have I gotten readers' sickness?

I guess the second one is the answer, reading sickness is the only thing capable of making us get lost in a fantasy world, and refuse to come out.

It's the sickness that makes us stay glued to the book and our imaginations.

*

"Wow." I rush to her bed when I saw the suit she placed on it. "This is superb, extra…."

Marli slapped my hand away when I made it to take the suit up from the bed. "You're going to make it dirty and rumbled." She scolds.

"Sorry, ma." I smile apologetically. " I was just carried away by the well-made, beautiful suit."

" Before you get carried away, love, you need to go and take a bath. I can't allow you to go without taking a bath." She looks at me in disgust.

" Are you trying to say, am dirty?" I frown at her.

Sniffing my armpit to make sure am not smelling, I tilt my head confused.

" No, I'm not. You're not smelling honey, but I want you to go take a bath to smell fresh and beautiful."

" Am I not fresh?"

Aside from reading a book, I've not done anything since morning, nothing to make me smell at all.

I've always smelt fresh and pretty.

"I need you to have an out of the bathroom scent around you. You get that now, or do you want me to elaborate further?"

"No, I think I get it now." I wave at her, "I am going to go take a bath, you can bring my suit and the entire get-up to my room?

I'll be there waiting."

" Okay. I'll be there soon." She waves me off as she starts packing the things she'll need.

*

Taking the first hurried bath I've ever taken since high school, I dry my body and walk to the room to see Marli currently lounging on my bed.

"Shit!" I tightly held on to my towel to prevent it from slipping.

I won't want her to see the unseen.

"As if." She scoffs, standing from the bed, she gives me a look, "don't worry, I'm not your husband, neither do I have what he has. I don't see any reason why you should be modest around me."

" What are you trying to say?" I frown at her, my hand tightly clutching to my towel as if my life somehow depends on it.

" You can be naked for all I care. I have no mind of taking another man's husband. Moreover, your husband will have my head if he hears we had an affair." She shivers.

" As if he'll care. Sly won't care about this, all he'll care about is his image, and how the news might affect it."

" If you say so. " She points to the suits, wipe yourself clean and get dressed, I'll be back when am sure you're ready."

"Okay, ma." I mock salutes.

*

" Makeup? Why will you make me up?" I look at her in horror.

" Come on love, no one will notice, moreover you're putting on a mask, I don't think anyone will care at all."

And at last, I allow her to take me up. Scrunching my nose up, I try not to look into the mirror for fear of what I might see.

Who knows, I might be scarred by my looks.