everybody needs somebody

 "Let's go out," It felt settled already in Donna's voice.

"Why are you calling so early," Fan winced. She was in a bare mattress on the floor of her bedroom. She'd slept last night in her yoga pants and black tank. "It's way too early."

"Tonight, stupid." Donna's voice was gruff, she was smoking on a cigarette. Fan knew her best friend very well.

"What time is it?" Fan wanted to move, but her body was stiff. But slowly she realized on her alarm clock it was practically noon. Good thing she didn't have work today, but she did tomorrow. "I can't. Got work."

"We won't be out that late," Donna assured her.

"Well, you don't like going out until after the late-night news," Fan yawned. She never knew what she might get into with her bar-hopping friend who was a Keno player and loved to shoot pool.

Donna was the kind of friend who liked to drag Fan along because the fact was Fan was cute but Donna was alluring. She'd look good in a trash sack. Fan knew Donna didn't have to worry about what she ate or even did. Fan was small and worried about her weight and now her blood sugar even if she hadn't had any test lately. But her mother was diabetic so it was best she stayed away from Donna and the bars. Warm mugs of SleepyTime tea and relaxing music was the life for her, but Fan knew Donna would just laugh at that kind of life-change.

She listened to Donna go on about one fellow and somebody with a motorcycle for quite a bit. It was as if the COVID thing hadn't changed Donna's ways one bit. Of course, Donna was getting a government check for not working these days, but still, that was ending for a lot of folks.

"No, I need to stay focused. I don't want to go out," Fan told her as she headed toward the bathroom.

"I'll be over at nine," Donna clicked off.

"Shit," was about the only answer Fan could manage as she put down her phone and went to pee. 

Why was that woman even her friend? She yawned once more and wondered why she was so stiff and sore and then she looked at all those boxes in the livingroom. Maybe going out with Donna wasn't a bad idea after all.