Amy Dem and Stacy Turnhell had been inseparable ever since kindergarten. They had known each other since seemingly forever and both girls had been lucky enough to be able to always go to the same school.
Unlike Gary, his sister had always received good grades, and had even passed the 11 plus. It was a test one did when reaching the age of 11 to determine whether or not the student could enter a grammar school.
Those grammar schools were state funded and were exclusive for the best of the best, those that the state believed had the most potential. This came as a blessing to the Dem household as it meant, everything would be paid for. Their mother was very happy when she found out that they would not have to worry about school supplies or lunch or any other things Amy might need for any club she might have chosen to join.
Gary hadn’t even come close to passing his test, but Amy and Stacy had both managed to place relatively high, allowing them both to choose which school to attend. Although not the most prestigious one, Amy had chosen to go to Slough’s only all-girls grammar school, so her family wouldn’t have to worry about her.
Now that she was in high school, she and Stacy were the only ones who had passed the test from her old school, making the two friends naturally grow closer to each other.
When Amy had come over, Stacy had told her that they would be doing something very special today. After putting on the black dresses the latter had prepared for the two of them, both went out of the house.
“I really don’t feel comfortable in this. Are you sure this makes me look slimmer?” Amy complained, as she walked. The dress felt far too tight to her skin, something she just wasn’t used to. Originally, Stacy had also prepared some high heels, but this was as far as Amy would go. She had tried to slip them on and felt like her toes were constantly being squeezed to death. She didn’t understand why other girls put themselves through such torture.
“Come on, it’s just for today!” Stacy encouraged her, pulling out some red lipstick and a mirror, as she masterfully applied a thick coat on her lips, making them seem bigger than they already were.
Stacy was am unnatural blonde haired girl. In the past she used to be quite shy, but ever since she had entered high school she had begun to become far more outgoing. Amy didn’t know what had caused that seemingly sudden change, her best guess was that Stacy might have just wanted to create a completely new image in a new school.
At least when it was just the two of them alone, Stacy still acted like always, so Amy hadn’t addressed the change. For all she knew people changed as they got older. Her brother and his green hair were a perfect example of that.
However, lately Stacy had become far more interested in fashion, make-up and lipstick, and it showed. She had applied it well onto her face, as if she had spent hours upon hours watching video tutorials to learn it. It was scary, how Amy could see her best friend turn a few years older with a couple of steps.
Both of them were merely fifteen years old, Amy was just one younger than her brother, and usually parents wouldn’t let girls out so young, but for some reason, Stacy’s parents didn’t seem to care as long as her grades weren’t affected. As for Amy’s mother, with how busy she was with work, it had been ages since she had last seen Stacy, probably still thinking of her as the shy little mouse she used to be.
“Here, let me help you out a bit.” Stacy offered as she came over. With surprising expertise she applied some of her make-up and lipstick onto her best friend. At first Amy had wanted to reject but she found it hard to say no when looking at her happy friend. She didn’t want to ruin the mood between the two of them.
“Done, you look amazing. You really should start wearing this stuff more. Just say the word. I got Mum to buy me new ones after I aced that last test, so I will be happy to share my old ones. It really brings out your looks.”
Stacy held out the mirror for her best friend and Amy barely recognised herself. The one who looked back at her appeared to be a young and very pretty university student. It was definitely something she could get used to… though she would still rather wait a few years for such a change to occur naturally.
The two girls hailed a taxi, something Amy was thankful for. Walking the streets, especially at this late hour and dressed up like they were, seemed to be a guaranteed recipe for trouble.
“Why do we have to dress up, anyway? I thought we were just going to karaoke?” Amy asked.
“Yeah, but we’re meeting someone today. Shoot, did I forget to tell you? Oh, I’m so sorry, I was so excited that I thought I told you already. My boyfriend’s going to be there and he also invited some of his friends. Who knows, maybe one of them has green hair like your brother.” Stacy teased her best friend.
Now, Amy wasn’t feeling so great and it wasn’t just because of what Stacy insinuated. She had thought it was just going to be the two of them, like it always had. Stacy had mentioned her ‘boyfriend’ a few times recently, but Amy had believed it had just been something she had made up to look better compared to the girls of their class.
At their age, their only chance of meeting boys was through school, yet at an all-girls school that was impossible. Most of their male teachers were up there in their years, but even the youngest one was easily more than double their age. She hadn’t seen Stacy hang out with anyone around school, so just where had she met him?
“I mean…at least we’ll be in a public place, so I guess it’s going to be okay.” Amy mumbled, still a little worried.
Eventually, the taxi pulled up on the main high street of Slough. It looked different at night with all the lights, but it was considered a relatively safe area. The general public believed it was due to the mayor, who had promised that the town centre was the one place that he would guarantee all of their safety.
Another reason why Amy thought it was okay to be here, until she got out of the taxi with Stacy. Immediately Stacy ran up, and hugged someone that was more than one head taller than her. The ‘boy’ wore a grey beanie with his hair sticking through slightly. He also had both his ears pierced and his bottom lip.
He wasn’t alone either; he had brought along two friends, one of which was currently smoking. Seeing this sight, alarm bells were screaming in Amy’s head, but the main reason was due to Stacy’s boyfriend clearly being older than them. The three of them had to be either in their last year of high school, repeaters or most likely university students… unless they worked somewhere else, of course.
“I’ve been sooo looking forward to this! I’m glad that we finally get to meet!” Stacy greeted him.
Hearing this, Amy just wanted to slap her forehead. The two of them hadn’t even met?!
‘Stacy please don’t tell me you actually met him over Binder or some other app! Oh, who am I kidding, given the age difference, where else could they have met? I bet she lied about her actual age and that’s why she was so adamant to put on that make-up.’ Amy believed to have seen through the situation.
The next second, she saw the two of them holding hands, and Stacy turned around.
“Come on Amy, you’re a great singer! You’re always hogging the mike when it’s just the two of us, so let’s show them what we got!” Stacy invited her best friend.
Every bone in the high school girl’s body was advising her not to go inside, yet Amy couldn’t leave Stacy alone with those strangers. If she were to suddenly make up some excuse like her stomach hurt, then who knows what might happen to her best friend. Three young adults with one naive little girl…
‘What if they do something to her? … No, I can’t leave her alone. She must have known that it would be dangerous alone, I’ll just have to try to convince her to go home early.
‘Who knows, maybe it’s all just in my head. There’s always the chance that they might be decent guys… but if not, I’ll just have to tell them that I got a sudden stomach ache or something. She shouldn’t mind too much if this is their first meeting.’
Amy thought about what to do in this situation. The police would be too slow to respond, they had too much to deal with in Slough. Who knows how fast they would react even if it became an emergency.
Just in case of anything she typed in a text, noting her current location. She didn’t send it out to anyone yet, but it would only require a click to send it to the one person she trusted most.
*****
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