ALICE Ch 328

“It would be better if it was cold,” Sun maintains, although even Glynda knows sake is supposed to be warm. She doesn’t have a strong opinion about sake; it’s perfectly drinkable, but there are loads of better options.

One would not know that from the other women in the tub. Sake isn’t very strong, but Julieta can’t hold her liquor at all, and Sun has no body fat. Lotte isn’t shy about downing cup after cup, and that only leaves Glynda, Ingrid, and Aki as bastions of good sense. Luckily for everyone, drunken stupidity is nigh impossible when nobody can move because they’re wedged in with hardly enough room to breathe.

Julieta is very, very red. Everyone’s overheating, but no one seems to care.

Lotte whispers something in Julieta’s ear, and the French woman nods, eyes shining.

“Lotte,” Aki says, and there’s a hint of warning in her voice.

“It was her idea,” Lotte replies.

“You just initiated it. We all saw that,” Sun counters. “Don’t try to gaslight us in front of Glynda.”

“Just feeling nostalgic. Remember when we made Lara do the thing at the Lodge?” Lotte asks casually.

Aki looks tired and Sun grins. Ingrid appears quizzical for a moment, then realization seems to dawn.

Glynda is well aware that she should have gotten out of the tub some time ago, and probably that she should have banished these idiots to their rooms. She certainly should have drawn a line at the drinking. However, she’s begun to wonder if being so tightly wound isn’t part of the problem. She’s been painstakingly trying to do everything correctly and it’s all gone to shit with FUTA Racing, so a change of tack seems warranted.

“I’m lost,” she admits.

The girls all look at her. Sun speaks first. “At FUTA, there was this girl called Lara.”

“Beth had just dumped her,” Aki says, looking thoughtful. “Because of what she did with Ela.”

“Then she tried to flirt with Riley and Adella threatened to beat her up. That was funny,” Sun says, downing another cup. “Then she tried to flirt with that coach, and Riley threatened to beat her up. But she wasn’t afraid of Riley, so Adella had to threaten her again.”

“That was hard on her ego. They were all so mad about Riley and Adella staying together. They wanted somebody to cheat so badly,” Lotte says wistfully. “My most selfless act.”

“Shut up,” Sun says, splashing her.

“I am still confused,” Glynda says.

“Oh. Right. So we were at the Lodge, getting fucked up on…” Sun turns to Aki.

Aki takes a deep breath, looking deeply embarrassed. “Fireball.”

“Yeah. And Lara was the only one in the room who, you know.”

“Know what?” Glynda prompts.

Julieta says something excitedly in French. Glynda knows that word.

“She was the only one with a…” Glynda extends a finger.

“Yes. And nobody really liked her, but it was the Lodge, and there was alcohol. You understand.” Sun shrugs.

“That was a strange night because you had clothes on,” Aki says.

Sun sighs. “I had a rash.” Several of the women react to that, including Glynda. Sun gives them a look. “It was eight years ago! I don’t have one now!”