When Storm Clouds Hover

20: Izzy - Friday night

It was super busy at the RSL on Friday night, but Izzy barely noticed the dinner rush. Tal had texted to say she was outside with Kath in the car park. Izzy could hardly wait for her shift to be over, it was so exciting to be going out. They hadn't been together like this for ages, she only wished Em could have been there too.

Bang on nine o'clock, Izzy rushed to the bathroom to change. She was sweaty from her shift but didn't have time to shower again. Pulling on her jeans and heels, she dashed outside into the cool night's air, scanning the car park for Tal's silver Golf. She would change her shirt and do her makeup in the car. In one sense, she was happy that she hadn't been free for dinner, as it was, she'd had to borrow money from Mia for tonight and would have to pay her back when her pay came through on Tuesday.

The girls chatted animatedly on the way to the club. Kath was already tipsy, and Tal was high on anticipation. She'd finally connected with Cole at dinner. He'd walked them to the car and was now heading to Abscond to meet Dom and wait for the girls to get there.

A series of beeps from her phone distracted Izzy. She'd just put it on after her shift, and a bunch of messages and selfies were coming through from Em at the airport, mostly to say goodbye.

'No point texting her back,' Tal said, catching Izzy's eye in the rear-view mirror. 'She'll be in the air already. Dom saw her off.'

'Do you know if he's meeting us tonight,' Izzy asked.

'Yep. He told Cole, he'll see us there.'

As they were underage, getting past the bouncer was sometimes tricky at Abscond. Tal was rushing tonight because Cole had organized for his friend to meet them at the door to help the girls get in.

Izzy had a stick of mascara in one hand and a small handheld mirror in the other and was doing her best to steady herself as Tal manipulated the car into the only space they could find outside the club. Then, suddenly, her hand slipped, smearing black mascara on her cheek, at the same time, they all heard a gentle crunching sound.

'Oh my God, I think I just hit that car,' Tal said.

Izzy leaped out from the back seat to check for damage. She made a face at Tal through the window.

'How bad is it?'

'A small ding on your bumper and a scratch on his passenger door.'

'Is it heaps noticeable?' Tal asked.

'Not bad, but noticeable, yeah.'

'Oh my God, my dad's going to kill me,' said Tal, putting her head in her hands.

'I think we should get out of here,' said Kath, who'd joined Izzy in assessing the damage.

'You'll need to leave a note,' said Izzy.

'Just forget it,' said Kath, tapping her foot on Tal's bumper. 'This could be anything. Tell your dad you bumped a lamp post.'

'Y'rekon?' Tal said sceptically, walking around the back of the car to check the vehicle she'd hit. She licked her hand and rubbed the scratch on the door, which seemed to fade somewhat.

'Just leave it,' Kath said impatiently. 'Let's get out of here. Time's a wasting.'

The girls all leaped back into Tal's car, giggling as they backed out of their parking spot. Izzy tried to fix her mascara which had smudged a deep dark line across her left cheekbone. Rubbing her skin frantically, she slapped some more concealer over the grey mark and ran a lip-gloss across her lips. She wished she'd had more time to dress up like the other girls, as it was, she'd have to check her face in the club bathroom as soon as they got in and hopefully before too many people, she knew from school spotted her.