Sixth Street ✓

Tuesday 3rd December

"It's five o'clock in the morning, and school starts in three hours. We're going home." Penelope demanded, sliding between her and Joe. Kirsty blinked, slowly.

"Is it really that late?" She asked wonderingly, throwing a hand up in the air.

"Yes," Penelope snapped. "You're such an idiot. You're never getting up for school."

"Neither are you!"

"I'm completely sober, and I'm an expert on surviving with no sleep. I'll be fine, but you won't. Say bye to your boyfriend and let's go."

"Bye!" As she was dragged stumbling from the party by Penelope, she reached round and flung her arms around Joe's neck, planting a pink lipsticked kiss on his cheek. She had forgotten her mood of just a few hours ago, when she had first started drinking after several of Joe's kissing attempts. The whole dating the Dawson twins thing had been going on for about two weeks now, and she knew Joe was frustrated that two still hadn't shared a kiss. But Kirsty's first kiss was something pretty special to her, something she was holding on to until she found someone she actually liked. She wasn't even sure why Joe was still going out with her; she suspected he viewed her as nothing more than an interesting challenge. Boys like him were never up against a challenge.

The club where the party rooms had been privately rented out was only a couple of streets away from the apartment block. Sally meandered slowly down the street across from the well known club, her puppy Walter - an adorable creamy pug - on a lead several paces out in front of her. She knew when the dog had been given to her on her last birthday she was expected to do nothing more but proudly view him as a pedigree pet and shower him with affection every so often. The housekeeper would, of course, do all the boring stuff such as feeding him and picking up his poop. But Walter was possibly the only thing in the world she actually loved, the obligatory love she felt for her family exempt, so she did everything for him.

Including getting at five o' clock in the morning and walking him in her faded blue tracksuit and run down Nike shoes. If anyone from Sixth Street saw her, she would be ridiculed. But nobody was out at this time of the morning.

However Sally was proved wrong, as she saw Kirsty stagger out of the club, a grim faced Penelope supporting her. They were extremely lucky it was only Sally saw them - anyone else from school would have wreaked havoc on their social standing - but suddenly something in Sally just snapped. She whipped her Samsung phone out, the latest model of course, and snapped a picture of the girls before putting it away. You never knew when leverage might be needed on the queen of Sixth Street.

***

Becca strode out of the school gates purposefully, her chest burning with a weird kind of emotion she usually didn't feel. Hayley was staying to hear the results of the auditions after school with Tyler, and for the first time since school had started they weren't heading to Starbucks to get their daily dose of caffeine and attempt to make a start in their homework but really end up chatting. It was a ritual that had become almost sacred, and immensely precious. Even in the days when the four of them had been best friends, it had been a strictly girls meet-up only. And after, when Tyler was detached from them at the whims of Alyce, Becca had firmly told Justin he couldn't come either.

It had never particularly bothered either Justin or Tyler when dating the girls; boys all seemed to get along so much better even with particular friendships. They'd always be willing to go watch a game of football or play the Xbox with each other. Penelope would laugh in her face if Becca asked her to get a coffee with her.

But now Becca was all alone. She had lost her boyfriend to a wifi-less backyard tent and her two best friends to each other. She wondered if that's what Hayley felt like when she and Justin were dating; an awkward third wheel. But even if Becca had unknowingly left her out at times - which she was quite sure she never really did - she had never ever cancelled their Starbucks date. Ever.