(Note - all Da Loop stock in the old adventures is no longer available for purchase.)
“You must be
soooo relieved that your Mum approves of Dave” puffed Sam as she broke through
the pain barrier on the jogging machine, thankfully wearing her comfy Adidas
running shorts purchased earlier at Da Loop. Gypsy and Sam were sharing a few hours with
the marvellous staff and machines at Fitness Life Studios Aldgate. The original purpose was to silence Gypsy’s
Mum, but the visit was proving most enjoyable in itself.
“Yes, well
you know my Mum – she doesn’t stand for any nonsense. The fact that Dave has a pronounceable name,
an apartment, a job, and a family with which to eat Christmas dinner (and none
of them with two heads), starts him high on the scoreboard.”
“Poor
Traeger”, responded Sam in
understanding. “He never stood a chance,
did he? He was too much the Mystery
Man. But I was still surprised when he
up and left without warning.”
“Yeah, me
too”, nodded Gypsy. “That whole
‘mechanical assistant drifting from town to town” story didn’t fit him at
all. We’re talking someone who liked to
book restaurants a week ahead and used the probability theory to explain why I
like sunflowers.”
Gypsy adjusted
her Running Bare crop top and Slazenger pants (both bargains at Da Loop) and swapped
from the exercise bike to a rowing machine.
“And he pretended to shun society, but
actually he constantly asked me about all my friends – what sports they played
and who grew up with who and who got drunk at which party… it’s like he wanted
to join in, but when it came down to it he always had an excuse for
non-attendance at parties and family gatherings. I just thought he was a bit self-absorbed,
you know? And who wants to settle down
with someone who’s full of himself, or someone with some weird identity crisis,
for that matter?” She sighed, and
flopped onto another piece of gym equipment.
When she couldn’t establish its purpose within five seconds, she gave up
and kept talking.
“I shouldn’t
compare, but it’s so easy with Dave.
Everyone loves him, even Mum’s bloody cat, who hates everybody. Tonight we’re going to a How To Host A Murder
party with some people he randomly met while queuing at the pancake van at the
local footy one day – can you believe it??
Ha ha – he’s going to look so hot dressed in the 1920s gangster outfit
that the invitation instructed! He’s
wearing braces on his trousers and under that I’m making him wear…”
Sam gave her
a sideways glance and cut her off.
“Yeah, yeah, spare the detail and the drool. You gave me enough hints last week to answer
any questions I might have about his sexual prowess. I don’t need a visual. Come on, I’ve had enough of getting fit,
let’s go down to Da Loop and see if there’s any work going. It’s been pretty bloody inconvenient having
no income through all this flooding. I
know you’ve been occupied with dinner dates and movies and all that cutesy
stuff, but I’ve been bored out of my brain.”
The girls
got changed and headed to Da Loop. Sam
was interrupted by a phone call from Janet, her mum, asking that she pick up a
parcel from the post office before five, so she waved Gypsy goodbye and they
parted.
Gypsy wasn’t
surprised to find the shop door open and a foot of water lapping at her feet,
even though Aldgate had only seen a brief downpour. For
Chrissake! She thought. This
workplace is soooo dysfunctional!
Suddenly a figure moved toward her from behind the door and she felt something cold press against her temple.
“SIT!!” said a gravelly voice. She sat. She felt the water rise past her knees and start lapping at her waist.
“WHERE are the
BLUEPRINTS?” the voice continued.
“Um… what?”
asked Gypsy.
“The
BLUEPRINTS that ANDREW showed you! WHERE
ARE THEY?”
“Andrew
who?? Sorry, I think you have the
wrong…”
“YOU KNOW
WHO I MEAN!”
“No, I…”
“TRAEGER.
ANDREW. Whatever you want to call him!”
“What?!”
Gypsy exclaimed, quite confused, and quite wet, as the water was now rising
toward her armpits and outside the rain had started falling again. “Are you telling me that Traeger’s real name
is ANDREW?! Christ, Mum would have a
field day if she knew that!” Gypsy stole
a glance at her assailant – a tall man in a black hat, loud surf shirt, G-Star
RAW jeans (all also available at Da Loop), and dark sunglasses.
“Don’t MESS
with me, SISTER!! If you aren’t going to
tell me where those blueprints are, I’ll make your boyfriend bring them
straight to me! Hope you’re good at
holding your breath!”
The man took
out his phone and dialled.
What the f… is going on?? Why is Da Loop flooding after a seemingly
normal rainfall event?? Why is there a
strange man in the shop? Why did Andrew
pick such a dumb name as an alias? What
are the blueprints? Which boyfriend is
he talking about? And wouldn’t it have been more practical if Gypsy had changed
into the hot pink Seafolly swim skirt instead of the Stella dress (dress $14 –
bargain!)??
Tune in next time for
the answers to some of these intriguing questions…
And come down to Da
Loop for some post-flood shopping. xxx
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