Chapter 25 - section 25

About this time, both girls have reached a Point of No Return. Too many toxins now course through their veins, livers and brains, and music turned up deafeningly loud has spun them into confusion; from here on out, memory fails them. Come the next day, there'll be no accounting for anything.

Which is probably why, when Georgia steps on a bottle laying on the floor, stumbling straight into Molly and being helped to stand right again - she fails to tug her sleeveless crop top down, letting slip that gap of mid-waist skin that she'd always been so worried about being seen. Molly, knowing that Georgia couldn't notice it in the first place with those double-D's in the way, subtly points it out. But Georgia comprehends nothing, just stares at Molly and blows air out her mouth. Vikky appears before anything else can happen. She's about as juiced as Georgia. They rollick off to get beers again, and then Vikky gets this great idea. 'Shots!' she calls. Then Georgia gets an even better idea. 'Wait,' she slurs, 'lemme get s food first Im starving.' So they go arm-in-arm to the food table where Georgia collects a random assortment of junk - she couldn't even care what anymore - and conducts an "official search" for Ruby. Who'd been on her way to the food, anyway, craving more pizza rolls. Ruby looks groggily up as the three of them meet and laughs. 'Wha u doin here?'

Georgia puts the assortment of food into Ruby's hands without even asking. 'Here take this.'

Vikky drawls, 'Those look so good!' and takes a handful of pizza rolls for herself. 'Mmmm. Damn. So good.'

'I kno-o-ow.' Ruby's eyes roll, leaning on the table for support. Mesmerized by the vibrancy of the red cloth, she bites on her own pizza roll. Then looks up all of a sudden. 'Hey!' she slurs at Georgia through a full mouth. 'Why aren' yu eating too? Look at us, me and wh- wha's your frens name here again sorry im so sorry Vikky is it sorry? Is Vikky right?'

Vikky nods, bleary-eyed, then sags where she stands, her knees bbuckling. 'Holy... what the- ' She stands back up. 'Ca we sit down?'

Ruby points at a nearby L-shaped lounge with her half-eaten pizza roll like an excited kid. 'There!' cheeks full.

The three of them move over, walking as if on a balancing act and fall back into softness and warmth. Slobbering all over two pizza rolls at once, Ruby looks at Georgia again. 'Wha! Whad the fug, G? Why'd yu dump all this food in my hands then don eat any yourself! Why yur not eating as well!'

'Yeah!' Vikky laughs, joining in, oblivious to the full variety of factors at play here.

Georgia scoffs. 'Yeah fuk yu too Ruby-'

'Come on eat as well!'

'Wha.'

'W hy not.'

'Coz.'

Swaying all over the couch. 'Cuz wha-a-at! What - what - what!'

'Cos I don't wanna.'

'You mean cuz you don't like it, you're like, weird hey, like bulimic or some shit ha-ha.'

'Fuc you huh! I'm not bulimic I can eat as much as you, what ar u on about I can eat way more than u-'

'Yeah I know you can.' Ruby states with a straight face, as if suddenly sober. Then bursts into laughter, doubling over, clutching her stomach. Vikky once again joins in, oblivious to what these two are talking about.

Georgia flies into a rage. 'Godammit Rubi why! Fuc u then I'll show you I can eat more than u-'

And with that, gets up, barrels over to the food table, gathers a pate's worth of anything she can pick, then falls back into the lounge and has her way with the food.

'Yeah thaz right,' Ruby laughs. 'Eating now that ur all angry ha-ha. Ur always zo mad. But yur actually shit hey, ha ha, bet you couldn't eat any more than what u got there - hey Vik, yu reckon she could eat any more than that?'

'Doh man, I dunno, I mean-'

Really flaring up now, Georgia squeals and stands up for a second time to get even more food. But this time she fetches two plates, one for herself and one for Ruby, piling them high with food. So much that bits topple off - a muffin, a dim sim, a chocolate bar - to be squashed underfoot.

'Got enough there?' calls a guy in cadet uniform. She turns around and goes, 'Hu?'

'You've taken like half the table with yer there...'

'Yeah well,' upstart with drunkenness, 'that's cos we're gonna have it all.'

'Fark. You serious, you actually gonna? Hey guys!' he turns around and announces to those nearby, 'These guys are gonna have a food competition!'

'Food comp!' someone echoes. Thus begins a chant. "Food Comp! Food Comp! Food Comp! Food Comp!"

A what now?

Every head in a five meter radius swivel in on the three friends as if drawn to a magnet. 'Hu?' she says again, 'a food comp?' Who does this guy think he is to call shit out like that? Feeling hot at the base of her neck, Georgia spits, 'What ar u on about we aren't doing nothing like that.'

But it's too late. The pressure has been applied, it is very real.

Within barely a minute, a little audience of ten or so have gathered around Ruby and Georgia, while Vikky watches amazed from the sidelines as they battle to scoff down the pile of food on their plastic plates before the other does.

Ruby only wins by a margin of one dim sim. Opening her mouth to show the audience no hidden food, she receives a booze-fueled roar of applause. Georgia finishes her own pile with a sneer curling her upper lip. She gets a few consoling pats on the back.

'Ay!' someone calls out in a speech tone of voice. 'Everyone! Listen in, I reckon that these two are ready for the real test! Waddya say to tha-a-at!'

Another full throated cheer and something is initiated.

'Wha the F@CK izzat?' Georgia says. But she gets no response, and Ruby doesn't seem to give a sh!t about anything right now. She's too wrapped up in being told that none of the audience have ever seen a chick do the "Whole Hog Food Comp". Again Georgia asks what "Whole Hog Food Comp" is, but no one tells her anything straight.

Twenty minutes later there's commotion at the door and in comes like the holy grail four pizza boxes steaming and already seducing them with a grip on their tongues.

At this point, their level of intoxication has shot them off into limbo, all pain turned into numbness, its bite taken away like a toothless hound. Georgia keeps slapping herself for fun across the cheek to see how delayed the sensation is. What this means is that any sensation of fulness is also numbed and delayed. Georgia has no idea that her stomach has taken on the shape of an egg, and neither does Ruby, who can't figure out why it seems so hard for her to sit forward anymore. But nevermind - here comes those four pizza boxes.

'Alright maggots,' proclaims the self-proclaimed proclaimer in a hardline American accent. 'Listen up!' A few others had started to gather at the fringes of the audience to see what the commotion was. 'We all know the Full Hog Food Comp! But never before have we seen two ladies give it a solid crack. Now let's have a round o' applause for our two brave contestants!' Which is duly had amid roars of cheering.

The self-proclaimed proclaimer turns to Georgia and Ruby. 'Rules are: well... hey, there aren't really any rules. Except eat the pizzas - two each. First one eats everything wins first prize. Last person gets second prize if they still finish. Give up before finishing, you get N.O.T.H.I.N.G. Okay. Ready. Set-'

'Wait,' Georgia yells. 'Hu... Wha's first prize?... Wat'sa segond prize?'

The self-proclaimed proclaimer laughs. 'Booze! And more food! Okay now. Three-two-one-go!'

Ruby, unable to lean and dive for her pizza, as such, merely flails for it and eventually hooks it towards herself with sugary fingers. Georgia does the same, her way of leaning forward obstructed by a distended abdomen. Both lids are up and both girls hold a slice of pizza to their mouths, chomping bite after bite.