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.
On the way in to Abscond, Tal started to freak out.
'D'you guys think there were cameras in the car park?' she asked nervously.
Kath was utterly relaxed. She'd had two glasses of wine over dinner. 'It's not the end of the world,' she said. 'It was just a scratch. Forget about it.'
The girls found Cole and his mate at the door. Izzy apologized to them both for running late. When she relayed the story of what had held them up, Cole laughed out loud at Tal.
'Where d'you get your licence, anyway?'
Tal was not in the mood for jokes, she was stressed already, and they still had to make it past the bouncer without ID's.
'Relax,' Cole said, taking Tal by the hand. 'Follow me,' he winked at Izzy and Kath. 'I've got this.'
With as much confidence as they could muster, the girls followed Cole. As they stepped up into the club, a burly looking man at the door paused, looked them up and down and then leaned forward unhooking the rope that blocked their entrance and let it fall to the floor.
Izzy dropped her gaze, her heart beat heavy in her chest, as she stepped over the rope and into the darkened hall.
Still holding Tal's hand, Cole led her to the bar to get a drink, trying to soothe her along the way. Izzy and Kath kept close. It was packed inside and hard to see more than two feet in front.
'I think you all should catch an Uber home tonight,' Cole suggested, looking to Izzy for confirmation.
Izzy nodded in agreement.
Tal decided to call her dad. When she explained what had happened, he wasn't too concerned about the ding but agreed they should leave Tal's car in the car park overnight and catch an Uber home to Izzy's place later.
'Goody! That means you can drink with us,' said Kath hugging Tal. Tal didn't seem as pleased as Kath did. She put her head down on the cool surface of the stone bar and breathed out a long sigh.
'C'mon, cheer up, hun. It's not all bad,' said Izzy. 'My dad will drop us off tomorrow to pick up your car. Seriously, it's not a problem.'
The night picked up quickly after that. Dom had gotten into the club early and hijacked a booth for them all. The lights were dim lending the effect of luxury to the place that went someway towards alleviating the heady scent of alcohol and sweat. As soon as the girls sat down Dom started handing out a round of shots he'd ordered previously. Izzy threw hers back doing her best not to squint. The liquid was sweet and melon flavoured with the kick of a whiskey liqueur.
'Check this place out, man!' Dom said to Cole. 'Half of the world is here. Joey's boys. Pymble ladies. Everyone...'
'Pity you have to be on your best behaviour,' Izzy said, laughing at Dom. 'Your spies are out.'
'Oh man Iz, I miss Em already,' Dom said. 'It's going to be a long summer.'
'Me too. Hey, speaking of..., this is Kath - Kath, this is Dom.'
'Yes, Hi,' Dom said, looking over at Kath. 'Abbotscraig. Is it?'
'Yeah. Nice to meet you,' Kath responded, blushing. Dom seemed to have that effect on most girls.
Pretending not to notice, Dom turned to Izzy and Tal. 'Hey, did you ladies speak to your folks about coming up the coast for New Year?'
'I did,' said Tal. 'I'm good to go. My mum just asked how much? She'd like to reimburse you for the accommodation.'
'Don't be silly. You're guests. I invited you. Besides I've got an 'I owe you' outstanding with Iz,' Dom smiled and winked briskly at Izzy. Dropping his voice, he asked, 'What about you, Iz?'
'My mum said it's ok too,' Izzy responded, 'but I must get your mum's number. Is that okay?'
'Sure, gimme your phone?' Dom said.
Izzy punched in her code and handed her phone to Dom. 'Her name's Bec,' said Dom tapping at the glass. 'She'll be happy to talk to your parents. She's good like that. You won't need to worry. She's a dead-set mumma hen, she'll look out for you.' Dom handed the phone back to Izzy and she returned it to her clutch bag.
A thought suddenly occurred to Izzy that it would be great to take Attila, her little dog, with her on the trip up the coast. He loved the beach. Her family usually went to a beach-side destination every year at Christmas, but they had decided to cancel their holiday this year. She decided to bite the bullet and ask Dom if he could come with.
To her surprise, Dom didn't hesitate. He laughed and said, 'of course, the more, the merrier!'
'Yay!' Tal said. 'Everyone loves Atilla.'
Dom smiled.
Izzy didn't like to get her hopes up, there were still two sets of parents to convince that it was a good idea, but she appreciated Dom being open to the idea. He seemed to be making a real effort with her lately. She looked forward to telling Em they'd been getting along well.
It was getting loud, and the lights had dimmed, replaced by strobes. Tal and Cole disappeared in the direction of the dance floor. Kath bent over to pick her bag off the floor before following them. Dom mouthed the word 'hot' at Izzy, nodding towards Kath and laughing. Izzy rolled her eyes at him. 'Even if I wasn't here to keep an eye on you,' Izzy said. 'She's out of your league, Sac. You've got buckleys.'
Dom laughed. 'We'll see. Let's dance!' he said grabbing Izzy by her hand enthusiastically and following in Cole's footsteps. The group formed a circle on the dance floor, where they partied the night away until they were sweaty and exhausted. Though Izzy offered to pay for drinks, it seemed like Cole was on a mission to impress Tal and wouldn't take any money. They all should have been spinning with the amount they drank throughout the night, but they danced so much it kept the lid on their intoxication.
When it was getting close to curfew, Izzy organised an Uber for the girls, and they all walked outside the club together. They hugged Cole and Dom goodbye, knowing they likely wouldn't see each other until after Christmas. Dom promised to call to finalise plans for the trip at New Years.
The girls collapsed into bed back home, with Kath on a mattress on the floor between Izzy and Tal's beds. Izzy leaned over the side of her bed and blew her a kiss. 'I'm so happy you're here,' she said. 'I miss you so much!'
Kath smiled. 'Me, too,' she said. 'Sleep well loves.'
Staring up at the ceiling, Izzy felt her head start to spin. She was so exhausted. It had been a long semester, and she was pleased to be home in her bed for the holidays.
Assoon as she settled, she felt Attila hop onto the bed. She lifted her doona,and he snuggled down beside her. Her last thought was of what Mia's horrifiedexpression would look like when she discovered Attila in her bed in themorning. Izzy didn't care, now that she was home, he was the happiest littledog on the block, which made her happy.