Drift

By Sophie Overett

Hest's life is stagnating, until a levitating housemate arrives. Is Sam for real? A story by the talented writer Sophie Overett about the ups and downs of contemporary life for young women.

Sophie Overett is an award-winning writer and cultural producer. Her stories have been published in

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spineless Wonders Publishing Pty Ltd
• Release date: Jul 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781925052503

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Drift

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Drift

So they pour another drink, something sweeter this time, blush pink and syrupy that’ll sit thick on their teeth by morning. Hest grimaces at the taste before leaning over to try and swap it out for Annie’s beer. It’s no good though – even dead asleep, Annie’s grip is tight.

‘I kind of like it,’ the New Girl says, snapping her lips and wiping the dust from the shoulders of the bottle. They’d found it somewhere under Hest’s bed, in a forgotten pile of crusty knickers, ripped-off dress tags and sun-bleached receipts. She can’t remember where she got it from, or even when, which probably isn’t the best sign. She hasn’t drunk this sort of thing since high school.

‘I feel like I’m drinking some Alice potion shit, y’know?’ New Girl continues. ‘Like it’s about to go all Wonderland up in here.’

‘The potion doesn’t take Alice to Wonderland,’ Hest replies, sighing when Annie yawns and rolls over, taking the beer with her and spilling it all over their ugly carpet in the process. ‘It makes her tiny, and then she almost drowns in her own tears.’

New Girl seems to consider this, turning the thought over in her thoughtful head. Not that Hest knows if she’s thoughtful. Not yet anyway. She only moved in two days ago, and Hest and Annie’s luck with social-media-tree roommates hasn’t exactly been great. At least New Girl had paid two weeks in advance and didn’t give off a totally drug-fucked vibe.

‘Do you watch anime?’

Hest squints in New Girl’s general direction.

‘What?’

‘Anime. Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Dragon Ball.’

At Hest’s look, New Girl continues.

‘There’s a subgenre of it, right? It’s called Magical Girl, and it’s like, transformative, you know?’

A car drives past the window, briefly lighting up the room, casting an eerie glow across the two of them, and it almost makes Hest want to snuff the candles. To let all this light swallow her whole right before the darkness does. Or maybe she’s just trying to play at romantic. Make this dimness a choice, instead of a result of not being able to pay an electricity bill. Her eyes slip shut. She