The Main Character
Chapter 3

Karen, a journalist of high ‘popular’ standing, was waiting for MC at a coffee shop in Sector 6. Sector 6 fit Karen perfectly and she hardly ever left it. It was filled with what MC called ‘stepford busy-bees’. What she meant was vapid yuppies. Karen of course laughed at this, as she thought she was the exception. Not entirely true. She wrote for a bi-weekly magazine that vehemently avoided any actual substance. To be fair however, Karen’s column was by far the most readable part and for that reason she was very popular. Neither MC nor Karen could remember how they became friends, but Karen was adamant about staying that way. MC suspected this was because her close relationship with Quinn Colmes and Rémy, but that was another issue entirely.

Karen was sitting at a table outside a coffee house reminiscent of a French café smoking a flavored cigarette in between sips of her iced black coffee. Ironically, she drank it through a straw to ‘save her teeth from staining.’ Her red lipstick was left on both the cigarette and the straw. She was outfitted in all black, as per usual. She felt it helped he looks slimmer. She had gained a notable amount of weight after moving out of her parent’s despite becoming a vegetarian. In the past four years since then she had also dyed her hair black and committed to a daily mask of skin correcting makeup. As ridiculous as she was as a person, she was a good friend to MC when she wanted to be.

MC appeared at the table in a long green dress holding two drinks that she had gotten from the bar on her way in. One, a cup of cold milk which she had seasoned with vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The other was mug containing 3 shots of espresso topped with whipped cream. She enjoyed the hot and cold back and forth though generally ran out of the espresso first. Karen was used to MC’s eccentricities and did not comment, though she was the first to speak.

She didn’t say hi, there was no need. She got straight into what was bothering her. “Rémy and I were so close. He was one of my best friends. I loved him. He was like, my best friend. I can’t believe he’s gone.” Karen was always loud, but this time in particular MC felt like she was being shouted at. She retreated a bit in her chair.

MC knew this was only half true. Karen and Rémy’s relationship was more akin to a lovesick enabler and ambivalent addict than that of two friends. Her and Karen’s relationship as friends really cemented once Karen realized how close to Rémy she was.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m so upset. Will you have a sleepover with me? We can watch that new Rom-Com that what’s-her-face is in.”

“I don’t know,” MC tried to come up with an excuse, “You know I hate sleepovers...and Rom-Coms. How about a scary movie instead?” She did hate sleeping over at Karen’s and Romantic Comedies, but those reasons were not and never had been good enough to excuse her from spending the night at her friend’s.

“Ew, no. You know I can’t stand those. At least come over for dinner and some drinks, then we’ll see about a movie. I don’t want to be alone.”

For no particular reason those words resonated with MC. I don’t want to be alone. I feel the same way but also want to be left alone. We’re all always alone really… It was a snippet from a conversation she had had with Rémy when she first realized how defeated and depressed he was. However, the words were her own.

“MC,” Karen screeched, breaking her train of thought.

“Have you ever thought about how lonely it is to be just one person?” MC breathed her response like cold air escaping an ice chest.

“MC, what? Are you hungover? My friend Finch said he saw you at a bar last night with Quinn. You’re saying nonsense. I always say you sound like your brain is oatmeal the day after you drink. I told Finch. He thought it was funny. We were having brunch and I was telling him about Rémy and he said he saw you at a bar afterward.”

MC vaguely remembered Finch from some chance encounter with Karen at a party. She hadn’t noticed him at the bar though. He was an ornithologist, on the shorter side, dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, and mature for his age. MC was in her early thirties, and so was Rémy, and Quinn, though most everyone else she knew was in their mid or early twenties. Finch and Karen included.

“Oh. Finch...right. How was brunch? Wait, where did you go?”

“Nice I guess. Finch always knows what to say to me to make me feel better. But are you going to come over tonight? Come on. MC?!” Karen wasn’t going to be distracted from her main point for long. She demanded companionship.

“Sure, but I need to go home first,” MC lit a cigarette with her jackelope lighter. She was confused. Finch was not from Sector 7, so unless he was from sector 6 there’s no way he could have bought brunch and drinks ‘abroad’ as they say. You can only get four things outside your sector a day. That was the rule. He did not seem like the typical Sector 6-er.

“I can’t believe you still have that. I couldn’t keep a gift from an ex, let alone use it daily…”

MC said nothing in response at first, there was no need. ‘He wasn’t an ex, we didn’t break up,’ she thought agitatedly. Snapping out of it she said, “Maybe you should invite Finch for the movie too. You’re right, I’m not the best company when I’m hungover. It may be better with more people.”

“I’ll ask him.”

MC could see a look of self-satisfaction creep across Karen’s face as if some big plan of hers had come together. Karen had a habit of trying to pursue guys in a way that was meant to seem accidental but never was. Karen called up Finch and he agreed to meet up that night.

The three made an odd-looking group. MC looked like an old man professor in her oversized knitted sweatshirt with suede elbow pads, a low messy bun, and Oxford shoes while Karen and Finch looked like her unruly students. Karen was in black leggings and a black T-shirt that should have been thrown out years ago, had a bun on top of her head and a cigarette or beer can attempting to occupy her non-stop motor mouth. Conversely, Finch, though dressed well in tweed pants and a short-sleeved bird patterned button-up, was so distracted by his new camera that he was absolutely no use to have a conversation with. Karen did not seem to notice that no one was paying particular attention to what she was saying though. MC was lost in her thoughts the whole night. She still could not reconcile what had happened. Not just the night before. She could not quite understand why people in her life kept dying. Her sister, Jack, Frances, Gocool, Keeler, Karine, so many of her friends from art school, and now Rémy too? She felt like the angel of death. Was there something so terrible about life that no had bothered to tell her about? She felt like giving up all the time. Everyone does. Maybe the difference was that she was just too scared?

All night, MC sat quietly in Karen’s apartment while her mind got lost in a storm of dark thoughts. She was secretly glad that she had agreed to stay over. Being alone with her thoughts could have been much worse. At least this way she had people around to pull her back to reality when she got too far lost. In fact, being near people was a comfort for all of them. Even Finch, an otherwise lone wolf. And they needed comfort once they saw the news report. The coroner had ruled Rémy’s death a suicide.

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