Chapter 2
Enjoying Life To The Fullest
With her sight glued to the TV screen, Bayley furiously mashed on the buttons of her controller. This was the fifth time she had to restart this boss battle, this time she was determined to beat the boss of this last level and finish this game. She managed to strike the boss a couple of times, his health bar was coloring red more and more. Much to Bayley's luck, her character dodged the boss's attacks many times; she could taste her victory on the tip of her tongue. But unfortunately, this attempt to complete the game failed, just like the previous attempts. The boss struck her character, killing it instantly.
'Argh! Dang it!'
The young woman tossed the controller next to her and let out a frustrated sigh. Ugh, she was so close! She had read many reviews on the Internet of how hard this boss was when she looked for strategies to defeat him and well, those people weren't lying. It was so frustrating, it wasn't even fun anymore. Bayley decided to call it a day and quit the game.
She had recently turned twenty-five years old and over the past eighteen years, she had grown into a pretty, happy woman. Despite her mother's tragic death in her childhood, she managed to remain that same bubbly child throughout the rest of her childhood. Yes, it was hard to go on without her mother, but luckily she had her father, who had always been there for her whenever she needed comfort the most. He gave his daughter all the love she needed, making sure she wouldn't lack any support. Also, she had her friends at school and in the neighborhood, who helped her forget about her sadness by playing with her, inviting her to sleepovers and birthday parties and being overall great friends. Bayley had learned from her father to give her mother's death a place in her heart, she was still young and had a whole life in front of her.
But what about that shadowy figure she saw on the night when her mother died...?
Bayley believed her mother whenever she told her that monsters didn't exist. There was no way they could possibly exist, they only appeared in scary stories and horror movies. Bayley was still a child, it was very likely she could've just imagined it. She had a very vivid imagination when she was young; she enjoyed playing outside in her backyard or in the woods behind her house with the other children, pretending to have escaped the clutches from a children-eating giant. It sounded silly, but back then, Bayley and her friends absolutely loved it. One child had to play the giant, who had to go search for the 'victims' who were hiding in the bushes, up in the trees or behind a little hill. Besides, Bayley also had a really bad fever that night, and combined with her childish imagination, it was very likely that the 'shadowy figure' was yet another product of her imagination.
Monsters didn't exist.
A few years after graduating from high school and working three part-time jobs, Bayley finally was able to have a place for her own. Immediately after taking a look at the apartment in the big city, the young woman knew she wanted to live here. It had a lot of space and she had a good view on the beach from the balcony; it was perfect! However, there was only room for one person to live in the apartment, but she didn't mind it. The job she had was enough to pay the monthly rent, so money was not exactly a problem. Bayley still had good contact with her family, she had made a couple of friends while living in the city and had a comfortable home.
Bayley had the best life a young woman could ever wish for.
Too bad there wasn't anything too interesting to watch on TV. Bayley zapped from channel to channel, but it was one of those times where there was nothing good that caught her eye. She only had dinner an hour ago and she didn't have any other plans for tonight; Bayley hoped this night wouldn't become boring.
Suddenly, the ringtone of her cell phone made her snap out of her boredom. Checking the screen, Bayley recognized the phone number of her best friend Alexa. She picked up and pressed the cell phone against her ear.
'Hey, what's up?' she asked.
'Hi Bayley!' Alexa answered on the other side of the line. 'Do you have any plans for tonight?'
'Um, well... no, why?'
'A new bar has opened this week, so I wondered if you wanted to come along with me to have some fun!'
Bayley couldn't help but softly chuckle about this. Yup, that was Alexa alright. One day when Bayley went to work out in the local gym, Alexa joined her on the treadmill next to her. They had a little pleasant chat with each other and after that moment, the two girls became best friends. Alexa had a lot of things in common with Bayley, but she only had one interest that Bayley didn't have; going out drinking in bars or clubs every single weekend. Bayley wasn't the kind of girl who would go out every night to drink, she was fine with going out once in a while or so.
And heck, tonight would actually be a nice night to go out with Alexa. It was summer, it wasn't that dark yet and, like her father always said, you have to enjoy life while you are still young.
'Sure!' Bayley replied. 'Where exactly is it?'
'It's not too far away from where you live, it's near that tanning salon.'
'Oh yeah, now that you say it, I might remember it now...'
'By the way, do you mind if I bring someone along with me? It's a guy I met at the gym a while ago, he's really nice, I think you two might get along really well!'
Again, Bayley chuckled. Alexa had always been nagging about the fact that she had been single for months now, which is why she always tried to hook her up with some guy she knew from the gym or a club. But who knows, maybe it could be fun meeting this guy. It was always great to meet new people.
'Sure, bring him along! At what time shall we meet?'
'How about nine o'clock?'
'Is fine with me. Alright, see you later, Glitter Girl!'
'Bye bye, Huglife!'
Bayley would always give Alexa a big hug when they met each other, which is why she gave her that nickname. And since her friend loved wearing clothing with glitter on it, Bayley called her 'Glitter Girl'. Hey, if your friend gives you a cute nickname, you should give one to her as well!
Bayley hung up and got up from the couch. Well, right now she would have enough time to change outfits; nobody with the right mind would go out wearing a slightly oversized 'Adventure Time' t-shirt and blue and pink checkered sweatpants. The young woman went to her bedroom and opened her closet, studying the contents. She was a little bit indecisive at first, but finally managed to pick a nice outfit that would fit perfectly with a night like this. Bayley traded her current outfit for a light brown summer dress with triangle patterns, a black bolero jacket and leather sandals. She brushed her long brown hair, tied it into a pony tail and put on one of her favorite headbands. Throughout her life, Bayley had collected all sorts of headbands; she had always loved them, ever since she was a kid. No matter how old she would become, she would always wear one.
Fifteen minutes later, the young woman left her apartment, closing the front door behind her.
You always have to enjoy life while you can.