{"id":890,"date":"2012-02-07T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T14:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=890"},"modified":"2013-10-01T12:38:43","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T19:38:43","slug":"season-5-episode-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=890","title":{"rendered":"Season 5: Episode 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mia cracked her neck and rubbed her temples. She sipped gingerly on a sports drink hoping that the electrolytes would be a miraculous cure for her hangover. She couldn\u2019t remember ever having one this bad. The headache that had been ceaselessly pounding at her temples since the alarm went off this morning had amplified as the day wore on. At least she\u2019d stopped vomiting. At times like this, you had to be thankful for small mercies. Going shot for shot with John\u2019s English backpacker buddies until 3am this morning, when she had to get up again at 6am to get to work, was not the best decision she had ever made. Not to mention the joints that had been liberally making their way around the room. Since when did she even smoke?<\/p>\n

\u201cMia?\u201d<\/p>\n

Felicia poked her head around the corner of the break room, trying to hide the shock of seeing Mia\u2019s blotchy pale skin and the huge bags under her eyes. Mia always looked so\u2026 healthful. She was the one with the glowing complexion and boundless energy that everyone always envied. But now? The change had been gradual, over the last month or so, and Felicia wasn\u2019t the only one who had noticed. Mia looked worn out all the time. For weeks now she had been consistently late for work, and when she was here she seemed like she was somewhere else. On more than once occasion she had smelt like stale booze. Her behaviour was erratic, at best, and it had got so bad that several clients had complained. Felicia had spoken to Mia about all of this and Mia had seemed genuinely apologetic and embarrassed; like she hadn\u2019t known how bad she was. Obviously it had fallen on deaf ears though.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia nodded. She just needed to get through the rest of the shift, get home and sleep. She did not need a concerned pep talk from the owner of the studio who wanted to get all in touch with her emotions and shit. She smiled – grimaced really – and nodded her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cMia\u2026\u201d Felicia took a deep breath – were those cigarettes she could smell? – She closed the door behind her. \u201cI thought that we talked about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d Mia said as calmly as she could. Why wouldn\u2019t this woman just leave her alone?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you are,\u201d Felicia said, her patience starting to wear thin. \u201cBut at this point its more the reputation of the studio that I\u2019m concerned about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you just roll your eyes at me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Mia said sheepishly. Oops.<\/p>\n

\u201cMia, we\u2019ve tried to be supportive to whatever it is you\u2019ve got going on, but it\u2019s apparent that you don\u2019t want any help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you keep saying. But the fact remains that you need to pull your socks up or I\u2019m going to have no choice but to let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words were like a slap in the face. They were going to fire<\/em> her?\u00a0 \u201cNo, please, you can\u2019t do that!\u201d<\/p>\n

Felicia sighed. \u201cI don\u2019t want to. You\u2019re one of the best Pilates instructors I\u2019ve got but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be better,\u201d Mia pleaded. \u201cI\u2019ll be on time and I won\u2019t be\u2026 tired all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felicia nodded and turned to leave the room. \u201cOh and Mia? You\u2019re 2 o\u2019clock is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Mia closed the door behind her and leaned against it, relieved\u00a0 to finally be home. What a day! She walked to the kitchen, dumping her bag unceremoniously on the bench, and opened the fridge. She automatically reached for a half full bottle of white wine and was just about to pour a glass when she stopped.<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

Today had been a wake up call.<\/p>\n

She begrudgingly put the wine back and pulled out chilled water instead, surveying the contents of the fridge for some dinner inspiration. When was the last time she\u2019d eaten anything remotely healthy? Lunch today had been half a packet of chips and her normal dinner for the last few weeks had been toast and a bottle of wine. Things had to change.<\/p>\n

The fridge was disappointingly bare. What with Willow away and Sarah working so much, no one had done any shopping. Mia missed the days when Ana lived here and they\u2019d take care of each other; taking turns to cook dinner, sitting around and gossiping about the day. And the dinner parties, with Tom and Johnny.<\/p>\n

Mia sighed.<\/p>\n

Oh, Johnny. She\u2019d barely even let herself think about him for the last month.<\/p>\n

At first she was furious, vowing that she wouldn\u2019t even answer the phone when he called to beg her forgiveness. But he never called, and soon the anger gave way to a sad realisation that it was over. Before it had even begun. At least she hadn\u2019t properly fallen in love with him or anything silly like that.<\/p>\n

But the past was the past and now was not the time to dwell on it. Not when she had a cracking hangover and an empty stomach. She heaved her body off the kitchen chair and flung open cupboards, looking for anything that could be used to concoct some kind of nutritious meal.
\nShe put water on the boil, rinsing some red lentils and cooking them quickly so they were still firm. She added a few spoons of capers (they never went off did they?) and some slightly floury dried cranberries, smothering the whole lot in a rich, spice-infused dressing.
\nShe was about to put a spoonful in her mouth, when her phone rang. It was English John. There was a lot of background noise. He was at the pub. Again. She felt a wave of irrational anger towards him. It was his\u00a0 fault that she had become the way she was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at the pub,\u201d he shouted over the noise.<\/p>\n

No shit<\/em>, thought Mia.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome down!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u2026 I\u2019m too hungover,\u201d she said. That was a far easier explanation than I\u2019m reassessing my whole life and I\u2019m not sure that the pub fits into my plan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

His reply was drowned out by a loud cheer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d shouted Mia into the phone. \u201cI cant\u2019 hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come over then,\u201d he shouted back.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He had hung up before she could respond.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you poor thing,\u201d John cooed as Mia opened the door to him. He pulled her into a hug, slipping his hand under her jumper and feeling the smooth skin of her back.<\/p>\n

\u201cUgh, you stink like beer,\u201d Mia said pushing him away.<\/p>\n

John frowned. Since when did Mia care about that? He followed her into the lounge and plonked on the couch next to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought you wine and chocolate\u201d he said, holding up a bag. \u201cThought they might clear that hangover?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want any bloody wine or chocolate,\u201d Mia said through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n

He held up his hands in defeat. \u201cWas only trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you\u2019re not helping.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is wrong with you tonight?\u201d he said. \u201cYou seem really cranky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019ve just had enough,\u201d Mia snapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough of what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf this!\u201d<\/p>\n

John looked hurt, but not surprised. \u201cOf me, you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia didn\u2019t reply and picked at a loose thread on the couch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to Melbourne for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never asked you to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but\u2026 I thought that you were starting to really like me,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, we\u2019ve had fun, haven\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d She sighed. \u201cI do like you John, it\u2019s just\u2026\u201d she trailed off. How to explain?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s someone else, isn\u2019t there.\u201d It wasn\u2019t a question.<\/p>\n

Mia shook her head quickly. \u201cOf course there isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

John uttered a small laugh. \u201cI kept telling myself that you didn\u2019t like him, but you do, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia\u2019s stomach flipped, the lentils suddenly not feeling so great. \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat other guy,\u201d he said. \u201cJohnny.\u201d He spat out the name.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous!\u201d Mia exclaimed, putting her hand on John\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

He shook her off. \u201cYou know Mia, it\u2019s one thing to string me along if you\u2019re trying to figure out your feelings when you know I\u2019m in love with you, but it\u2019s another thing entirely when you\u2019re in love with someone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you\u2019re wrong, I\u2019m not\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He held up his hand. \u201cThe only reason you\u2019re with me is because you don\u2019t have him. That is just\u2026\u201d he shook his head sadly. \u201cThat is just cruel and cowardly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that\u2019s not\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t having a bar of it. \u201cI thought you were better than that. Goodbye Mia.\u201d<\/p>\n

He got up and left, pulling the front door closed behind him.<\/p>\n

Then, quite suddenly, the realisation hit her. John was right.<\/p>\n

She was still in love with Johnny. Completely head-over-heals, bonkers, crazy in love with him.<\/p>\n

Shit<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mia cracked her neck and rubbed her temples. She sipped gingerly on a sports drink hoping that the electrolytes would be a miraculous cure for her hangover. She couldn\u2019t remember ever having one this bad. The headache that had been ceaselessly pounding at her temples since the alarm went off this morning had amplified as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=890"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1292,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions\/1292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}