peajaythompson
L (grey) & P (teal) had been BFFs since they were 12—sisters, more like. After college, considering the shocking price of housing in Los Angeles, they moved in together. That way they got a fun duplex on Venice Beach, a block from the famous boardwalk, with a sheltered yard out back. They had a blast, work drones by day, punk/new wave girls on the weekends, going to music shows all over LA. The Whisky on the Sunset Strip and Madame Wong’s in Chinatown were favorites, as well as Club 88 in West LA, but there were many venues, many weekends, and many great acts. They assiduously scanned the gig section of the LA Weekly for the weekend’s entertainment. Iggy Pop, Oingo Boingo, and X were sure bets, especially if they played one of those Hollywood or Chinatown dives, though L & P did love many bands that never really made it super big: Wall of Voodoo, the Brainiacs, the Twisters, the Cramps, the Dead Kennedys… It was a long list. Two years into their co-tenancy L’s boyfriend C moved in and they all got along and liked each other. L & C, along with their friend F, rented the garage in the back of the duplex for an art studio. P tried desperately to finish a novel, but always got short circuited somehow. About a year into this happy phase of tenancy, P started experiencing sleep paralysis syndrome, night terrors, and her personality went through a disturbing change. She was filled with sorrow, with unpredictable rage, and lost many friends. She couldn’t blame them. But L & C stuck by her, as did F who had also become a good friend. Later, L & C got married and moved into their own place, and P was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After surgery and radioactive iodine therapy she felt much better. The rage and sorrow, sleep paralysis and night terrors, went away. She managed to finish eight novels eventually. F moved to Portland and they gradually lost touch, but L & C remained her closest friends. The family she created for herself.