[TW: Drug use] Ex for a reason

With a smile, she pressed "post". The photo was sent to Instagram. Smiling, Ariana leaned back in her office chair for a moment. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment of peace. The sunlight shone gently through the window of the room and illuminated her face. It was a wonderful pleasure, a few rays of sunlight. However, her moment of enjoyment was rudely interrupted by her phone, which vibrated to life. Irritated, Ariana opened her eyes and looked at the caller. It was Jason, her ex-fiancé. It was not fair how she had said goodbye to him, a short letter saying that the arranged marriage had been dissolved and she was going to a school somewhere in England. Ariana remembered her hashtag on her Instagram. That had given away that she was in London. "Damn" Ariana muttered. She knew there was no point in having them call, so she picked up her phone. She greeted Jason. His voice sounded heated: "Ariana. I've been trying to get hold of you for days. Are you in London? Are you alright? Should I come to you?" Ariana rolled her eyes and picked at her nail uninterestedly as Jason asked things of her. "No, Jason. I'm doing fine. I am indeed in London." The waterfall of words continued. What university was she at? Did he have to come and get her? Had her parents forced her to go to this university?

The conversation with Jason lasted half an hour. Half an hour in which Jason had been talking most of the time and she had finally managed to shut him up by saying that she had a lecture. Ariana knew from the tone of his voice that he didn't believe her. By now it was getting towards evening. She rested her elbow on the desk and rested her chin on her palm. Her eyes stared out as she thought about why she had come to London. To become a lawyer, that was the first reason. But also to escape her dull existence in Canterbury. To escape the arranged marriage. So was her trip to London a great escape? Sometimes you heard that people went away to discover who they were, but that was not the case for Ariana. She knew very well who she was and what she was capable of. But being alone in a big city was her escape. She thought back to her time in Canterbury. Of the sneaky parties in places where the whole community knew they existed, but which were turned a blind eye. Suddenly, she jumped up. She was now in a much bigger city, it was Saturday night, what was she doing sitting here in her chair?

Two hours later, she was done. Her room was littered with eyeshadow palettes, make-up brushes and various types of clothing. She would clean that up later. Ariana looked in the mirror and liked what she saw. The dress, short, but not too short. Her heels, high, but not too high. The purse contained everything she needed to have a nice evening. In her purse she had found a small envelope from her last party in Canterbury. Maybe she needed it, maybe not. Her phone beeped. Her Uber driver had arrived. Time to party. Quickly she grabbed her coat, it was winter after all, put it on and left her room.

In the Uber, she stared her eyes out. London was amazing at night. There were crowds of people walking the streets, ready to have the time of their lives. As she rode in the Uber, the driver told her all about London. How long he had lived there, what kind of work he did, and Ariana listened enthusiastically. After twenty minutes, they stopped in front of a club called Club 369. According to the online reviews, this was a great club. Ariana got out, gave the man a huge tip, and then got in line to go in. Once inside, she went straight to the toilet and locked herself in one of the many cubicles. She fished the white envelope out of her bag, picked up a little bit of the white powder on the back of her fake nail and then sniffed it. She repeated this with her other nostril. Excited, Ariana walked out of the booth and towards the bar to order a skinny bitch (vodka with soda and lemon). This was going to be an unforgettable evening, right into the deep and late hours.