In Over Her Head by Elsie Russell - Parnasse.com

A leopard canvas futon strewn with fashion magazines and fake
fur pillows dominated the living room. Next to it rose an impressive
stereo system with a whole wall of shelves devoted to CD's and DVD's.
A plasma screen filled the other wall.
Penny sat on the futon between magazines, her knapsack at her
feet. Maia whisked a butt filled ashtray teetering on the sofa arm into
the kitchen, and came back with a stick of incense and a clean ash tray.
She picked up the fashion magazines and dumped them on an African
stool, then sat down on a fur ottoman to unzip her stiletto boots and
wriggled out of her steaming sweater, revealing a red lace bra. Picking
up a towel from the floor, she patted her dripping curls.
"Oof!" She offered Penny the towel. "We made it. Look at you!
Not even wet, how do you do it?"
"Gore-Tex, the hi tech wonder fabric! Could I use the
bathroom, please?"
"Oh, yes, the beer. After, I will put up the pretty window glass!"
Maia showed her the toilettes, a small round room in tiny turret with a
single window angled into a conical limestone ceiling. The window was
covered with a matron sized 1920's satin teddy. The bowl had an
ancient teak seat, and a high cistern for water, activated by a carved
wooden handle that hung at the end of the long brass chain.
When Penny came out Maia was standing in the door with the
transparency from the Sainte Chapelle. She tore the teddy down and
tossed it in the wastebasket and stuck on the transparency,
transforming the tiny gothic room into a prismatic time capsule.
"Let's put on some music until they return."
After lighting the incense, Maia went through her collection.
"What do you like? I have some lots of World, folk songs, West
African instrumentals, Central African percussion, vocals. Shanghai,
Indonesian and Classic rock, Japanese rap, real rap, (Snoop Doggie
Dog, Eminen, Puffy, classic R and B), Allyah, jazz, (fusion jazz, Cuban
jazz, Brazilian jazz, Samba.) French pop, Air, more Rave, I have a lot, I
mean a lot of Techno—"
Penny cut in, "How 'bout some Techno?"
"Fantastic, I will put water on the gas for tea, and you can look.
Are you cold? I am. I will turn the heater on, brrr."
"Where did you get all this, on the web?"
"Max burns them, he never labels them, only with the date. I'll
put this, British, 6-9-01, there." Maia strode into the kitchen.
"Have you shown Ula these world CDs?"
64