The November project 2019, part 10

She was a friend of a friend. One clear and warm August night, me and Gustav went to Mother’s Cabin, a bar and restaurant with an incredible outdoor area during summer, and a tight but cozy indoors in winter. The outdoors was half roofed, half under the stars, but no matter where you sat, there were string lights with large bulbs in red, blue, green and yellow hanging above your head. The tables were plain, the beer cheap but not too watery, the sound level could get high but everyone was friends with everyone here. This was our second home.    Tonight was quiz night. Gustav had brought a gang together, or at least invited me and Noor, a buddy from his workplace, and Noor had, in turn, brought a friend none of us others knew, but who apparently would be a killer at quizzes. Heidi.    She had a tattoo of a lizard right above the back of her hand. And one on her neck. One on her ankle. Each finger on her right hand had a lizard tail. On her lower back she had a crocodile instead. Or so she told me, but I had no reason to not believe her. Her hair was long, dark, straight and shone like in a commercial. It might have been because of the sun, but it looked incredible. Around the dark but mischievous eyes was an eyeliner drawn so far that the late 00s emo culture would have been impressed. She wore a minimal cropped tank top, a black leather jacket and high-waisted pants; “I actually wanted low waist, but that’s impossible to find anywhere these days.”    There was something spellbinding about her. The eyes, surely, but also her long fingers and the way they gripped the glass or removed a string of hair away from the face. Every move she made was slow, controlled. Same with how she talked; slow, well-articulated, quiet. As quiet as was possible in the buzz among the other guests, of course. There was a certain calmness about her that was so powerful, it made you respect her instantly.    When it came to the actual quiz, she wasn’t that much better than us others. We all made an equal effort, except Noor who was unsure about almost everything. Maybe that’s why he had brought Heidi, because he thought about her as excellent even though me and Gustav were at the same level. I didn’t mind though. The fact that she didn’t know every answer made her somehow more human, more relatable. I she had known everything, I’d be even more sure that she was an alien.    There was a break after ten questions. Gustav became the designated buyer for the next round, and Noor went to the bathroom.    “So… lizards, huh?” I said, for lack of something better.    “Mhm. Best animals in the world. I have two geckos at home.”    “You do?”    She showed me some pictures of them in her phone. “Lotus and Magnolia. You may meet them sometime, if you want to. Or, if you prefer, I could give you a tarot reading?”    “You know how to do that?”    “I should, considering I’ve been doing it for four years. I usually charge, but for you, I’d do it for free.”    “What an honor. I’d love that! Just tell me when. But hey, why reptiles of everything? Like why are they so great?”    Maybe that was a question she had gotten a hundred times before, but she didn’t seem to mind, in fact it seemed like the opposite. She’d gladly talk about what makes reptiles so great, the story behind every tattoo, about how Lotus and Magnolia were her favorite flowers and that’s why she named her pets after that. Eventually Gustav and Noor came back and the quiz continued. The noise from our gang was higher now as well, even from Heidi, even if she still had control.    At question 17, we couldn’t settle on an answer. Blueberry pie, I claimed confidently. Rhubarb, Heidi assured. I said no, I’m sure it’s blueberry, but Heidi put her hands, softly but assertive, on mine, looked deep into my eyes and said: “I’m a 100% sure it’s rhubarb. Should I be wrong, I will buy the next round. How does that sound?”    Her touch sent a shock through my entire body; suddenly it was all so intimate. “F-fine, it sounds fine.” And please don’t remove your hands. lizard