Elysian

Tuesday, November 12

3pm

“Blue moon... You saw me standing alone without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own. Blue moon… You knew just what I was there for. You heard me saying a prayer for someone I really could care for.”

“Noey!” Jorja called, attempting to follow the sweet, soulful sound of Billie Holiday’s voice.

"Noey," she called out for her sister yet again.

"I'm in the studio," Noëlle called back, her eyes never leaving her project.

Soon enough, Jorja made her way toward the back of her sister's small, three-bedroom apartment. Following the steps down to the studio basement and opening the door to her right, she saw Noelle kneeling in a chair, hovered over the table.

"Hey," Noëlle greeted with a smile, her eyes still glued to her drawing.

"Wow," Jorja smiled, sneaking a photo of her sister at work. "Noey, this looks amazing."

"Thank you," Noëlle smiled. "It's not finished just yet, but it's growing on me," she nodded, finally looking over at her sister.

"You ever think about entering that competition 'Dula was telling us about? I think you'd have a good chance of winning," Jorja spoke honestly.

"You think so?" Noëlle sat up, admiring the work she'd done so far.

Jorja nodded, "I do."

Noëlle shrugged, "I don't know. I might check it out," she smirked. "So, what's up?"

She sat the white colored pencil she'd been using down and walked over to hug her sister. Jorja shrugged.

"Just thought I'd stop by and see you, maybe grab a bite to eat?" She smiled, slipping her phone back into her purse.

"Yeah, sure," Noëlle nodded. "What were you thinking about?"

"Mm," Jorja hummed, "I'm not sure yet. It's been a while since we went by Nadine's," she shrugged.

"Ugh soul food," Noëlle rolled her eyes, "I'm in," she smiled. "Just give me about twenty minutes to freshen up."

"Sounds like a plan," Jorja nodded, "I'll wait in the car."

"Okay," Noëlle nodded. "I won't be long, I promise."

"Better not be," Jorja called over her shoulder, "I'm starving," she chuckled.

Cleaning her area, Noëlle chuckled at her sister's comment before retreating to her bedroom to freshen up and find something decent to wear.

Entering the bathroom and stripping out of her green jumpsuit, she turned the shower on, waiting for the water to run hot, just how she liked it. Humming the jazz tune from earlier, she pulled the shower cap over her curly mane and drew the shower curtain back, letting the steaming hot water scorch her golden brown skin.

It wasn't too long after she began scrubbing her body with her favorite body wash, that she was exiting the shower and drying herself off. Grabbing the small tube of coconut oil off of the bathroom counter, she wrapped the towel around her body and retreated to her master bedroom. She sat at the edge of her bed and rubbed herself down in oil.

Finally deciding on a brown long sleeved dress and some heeled ankle boots, she fluffed her slightly damped curls before rubbing Vaseline and coconut oil on her lips and exiting the room soon after turning off the lights in her bathroom as well as her bedroom.

Within thirty minutes, she was out the door, keys, phone and purse in hand. Making sure to lock up behind her, she jogged downstairs, slipping her arms into her hooded coat and met Jorja outside of her complex, in the parking lot.

"Ready?" Jorja questioned buckling her seatbelt.

Noëlle followed suit, nodding.

"Whenever you are."