Previously…

“That girlfriend of hers just really pisses me off! Bette’s acting like a little puppy when it comes to her!”

A petite brunette approached their table as they continued their rant against Alex.

“Hi. I’m sorry to disturb you.”

Alice and Marina both looked up at the girl standing in front of them.

“I saw you guys play last night at Route 168 and I thought you guys were amazing! I am now declaring myself as a fan.”

“Wow. Thank you.” Marina smiled, clearly liking the attention.

“What’s your name?” Alice asked.

“I’m Jenny Schecter.”

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It was just after sundown the following day. When Bette arrived at the rehearsal studio, Alice was already there sitting on the front steps, smoking a cigarette. Bette sat down beside her, not even bothering to say hello.  It took a couple of minutes before Alice spoke up to fill the awkwardness.

“Hey, Bette?”

Bette turned to face Alice. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“Oh. “

“I didn’t mean to be so hard on you. I just don’t like what she does to you.”

Bette took a while before answering. “I know, Al. It’s just that I really want to try to make this work. I really like her.”

“I know you do. I won’t bring it up again but you have to promise me that you won’t let her step all over you.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“So, we’re okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay.”

Alice gave Bette a tight hug and at that moment, Bette felt grateful to have a friend like Alice. They’ve known each other since the first day of college when a big-haired girl with glasses opened the door for a perky blonde in pigtails and helped her carry her things to her dorm room. It turned out that they were going to be sharing living quarters for the next semesters to come. They clicked instantly with Alice’s free-spirited personality complementing Bette’s almost uptight take on life.

They spent most of their free time together in their own little world. Alice majored in advertising while Bette took Art History.  When the two graduated, they moved to West Hollywood to figure out what they were going to do for the rest of their lives. The answer didn’t come as easily as they thought it would. Both girls spent many nights consuming endless amounts of alcohol to try and forget that they were failing miserably at what they set out to do.  They were just another one of those bright-eyed kids who became jaded as their plans of conquering the world turned into far-away dreams.