Duds

Beth was on the edge of her seat. Total silence in the empty classroom except for her film on the screen. Nicola had turned the volume right up so that anyone in the building would hear it, much to Beth's embarrassment, and Nicola's face as she watched was as usual, unrevealing. Occasional she sniggered, though Beth suspected mockery.

Once the screen faded out, Nicola looked at Beth with incredulous eyes and said, "Is that it?" Her voice was full of accusation, and it hit Beth hard. "This has no impact. You've used none of the conventions of the horror genre. I watched it and felt nothin. It needs to make me jump."

"I spent ages on it," Beth defended herself. "Like, my whole weekend."

Nicola shook her head, clicked into the middle of the tape, and pressed play. She laughed. "The music sounds like someone's about to have sex, not get killed. And when there's action, it doesn't feel like it. Beth, it's a horror film. I need to be shittin meself when I watch this."

"So what? It's just shit then? I should quit?"

Nicola just looked at her and said nothing. Beth was sure she was enjoying this. There was a glint in her eye.

Nicola's stomach growled. Beth had caught her just before lunch, Nicola had made a point of telling her. "Oof," Nicola complained. "God am hungry. Some nerve, you've got, makin me do this before eatin. Look, you've got two days til the videos and paperwork get physically picked up for external markin, so you're really pushin it."

"Physically?"

"Yep. Saturday they get picked up. The external markers are really pissed off about coming in on a Saturday. The things this department has done for you late comers, it's ridiculous."

Beth folded her arms. "Well there's no way I can pass this."

Nic looked right at her. "Maybe if you'd turned up to lessons yer could've had more time, but now we've gotta work with what we've got." Got, she said spitefully, as if Beth's work was complete trash. She stopped, noticing Beth's face. "Are ye upset?"

"No," Beth said, her voice cracking. "I just...if I fail this year, I have to stay on and redo the year and..."

"Ya really don't wanna do that, do ya?"

Beth wouldn't admit that. Not to her.

"How do ye think ye did in the exam?"

"Fine. Exams are easy."

Nicola snorted. "A lotta smug students talk like that. Then they end up not where they wanna be."

"I've always found them easy."

"Well what if you're wrong?" she raised her voice. "Ye need to pull through. And tell Amber to get her act together too. The two of you have been buggerin around all year, and I blame you for that. You might think you've done well in the exam but I spoke to Amber and she does not. Stop holdin her back, Beth. Yav got til Fridee, and ye better turn ye work in early, cos am not stayin all night."

"I'm gonna cut it out. I'm gonna cut it all out."

"Ye think you're the only one in this mess? In me office there's a file with these late bugger's work in it. The department looks shit because of this. It reflects on me worst of all."

Beth gritted her teeth. All about you isn't it, bitch.

Greewwwlll. Nicola put her hand on her stomach. "Oooh. Reet, I need to stick a jacket potato in the microwave." She stood up, She then took out her keyset, fiddled with the long silver key. She looked down at Beth and flashed her a smile. "I hope this was helpful for you," she said.