"You've known all week that I'm staying out tonight." Ada called from the hallway, shrugging on her old, oversized jacket over her hoodie. Her mother was home and wasn't happy with the notion of Ada going out on a Friday night. "I even reminded you this morning."
"No you didn't." Her mother argued from the top of the stairs, struggling to coax Freddie into the bathroom. "Besides, you can't expect me to remember all of your plans on top of my own, let alone drop everything I'm doing to run you around."
"I did." Ada sighed, exasperated as she put her backpack on, ready to leave. "Look, it's fine. I didn't ask you to drive me anywhere, I don't mind walking."
"Well, if you insist on going out do you at least know what time you'll be back tomorrow?"
"No, mom, I don't. I'm only at Zoe's, Layla is staying over too, but I haven't seen them in ages so I don't want to rush off in the morning." Ada explained, impatiently. She was already running later than she expected and didn't want to keep her friends waiting. "Can I go now, please?"
"Fine, whatever." Her mother caved, dismissing her with a wave. "But you're walking home tomorrow too. Don't expect me or your dad to come get you."
"That's fine with me!" Ada called, opening the door and putting in her earphones as she stepped outside into the rain. "Bye Fred, see you tomorrow. Love you and be good!"
"Bye Ada, love you!" Freddie called as she closed the door behind her.
Ada pulled up her hood and clicked shuffle on her music app, drowning out the patter of rain and the bustle of cars as she began her walk to her friend's house- the happy tune a stark contrast to the bitter February rain that had already begun to soak through her jacket.
'Rise up this morning, smiled with the rising sun
Three little birds pitch by my doorstep
Singing sweet songs of melodies pure and true
Saying, "This is my message to you-ou-ou"'
She stuffed her hands in her pockets and quickened her pace, cursing herself for not grabbing an umbrella and praying that everything in her backpack would stay dry on the short walk down the road.
'Singing, "Don't worry about a thing
'Cause every little thing is gonna be alright"'
Despite the cold, Ada enjoyed the walk. Her music was loud enough to drown out the world around her, and as one song finished and the next started playing, she found herself hoping that solitary journey would last a little bit longer. In a house as busy as hers, she hardly got a second to herself. But when she was walking, earphones in and her music turned all the way up, she felt quiet. Peaceful.
The short winter day was already drawing to a close and the street lights flickered on as Ada rounded the corner onto the slightly nicer part of town. As she drew closer to Zoe's house, she turned at the sound of a car slowing down next to her, headlights casting a shadow up her friend's driveway. The window rolled down and Vinnie, Zoe's father, stuck his head out.
"Ada? What are you doing out in the rain, you silly child?" Vinnie scolded affectionately, parking up and getting out of his car.
"Hi Uncle. Good day?" Ada laughed off his concern, falling in step with him as they approached his house.
"Never mind that, why did Zoe not tell me you were walking here? I would've picked you up." He continued, unimpressed. "It's not good to be walking out in the dark. Especially not when it's cold and raining."
"It's okay, it's not Zoe's fault. I didn't tell her I was walking. But I'm here now." Ada shrugged, fiddling with the straps on her backpack. "A little damp but I'm in one piece."
"Next time, you tell Zoe to call me and I will come and give you a lift." Vincent insisted and Ada nodded along, knowing full well she would never dream of asking someone else's parents to go out of their way for her. He opened his front door, the smell of fresh spices and home cooking flooding out as Vincent stepped in and he called out to his family. "I'm back! And I brought home a stray!"
"Hey." Ada called, following her Uncle into the house and kicking her shoes off in the hallway. "He found me wandering the streets."
"Ada?" Zoe's mother called from the kitchen and Ada followed the sound to greet her Auntie with a smile and warm hug. "How have you been, darling? I was just asking the girls when you'd be here. Are you hungry? I've made lots of food for you all."
"I've been good thank you, yeah. Sorry, I was meant to be here earlier but got caught up at home. You know how hectic it can get at my house." Ada half-joked and Rani shook her head.
"Where's your mum? Is she not popping in to say hello?" Rani peered out the kitchen window in search of Ada's parents' car. "Or did your dad drop you?"
"She walked here." Vinnie interjected, voice laced with annoyance. "In the rain."
"Yeah, I walked. To be fair it was my own fault for not bringing a proper coat or an umbrella." Ada continued with an unbothered shrug as Rani's face crumpled in displeasure and she gave another firm shake of her head.
"Next time you call us. It's dark out and it's not safe to be walking the streets on your own" Her auntie pointed a strict finger at her as she spoke. "I'll send your Uncle to come and get you."
"I already told her this-"
"Do you ever come here to see me or do you just come down to chat with my mum?" Zoe interjected as her face appeared around the kitchen door.
"Obviously I'm here to see my Auntie Rani," Ada deadpanned at her friend and the older woman swatted at her affectionately. "Sorry I'm late though. Couldn't get away."
"Don't worry. We can't decide on what films to watch tonight so you can pick." Zoe beckoned her out the kitchen and Ada waved goodbye to Zoe's parents as she followed the younger girl upstairs to her bedroom.
"Please pick something normal." Layla, their other friend, groaned from where she lounged on Zoe's bed without looking up from her phone; listening in to their conversation as they entered the room. "Nothing that's going to hurt my head to follow or bore me to sleep."
"Why would you even agree to let me pick when you know you guys don't like anything I like?" Ada chuckled, depositing her bag on the floor and hanging up her jacket to dry before making herself comfy on the end of the bed. "We never end up watching the films we put on anyway. You two just talk over it."
"No we don't!" The pair spoke in unison, and Ada shook her head with a laugh.
"Just pick something, please." Zoe insisted. "Otherwise we will be going in circles all night and end up not watching anything."
"Okay sure." Ada said, searching up a list of films on her phone. She read through it for a few minutes, considering the type of films her friends would enjoy too, until she found a title that peaked her interest. "What about that 'Love, Rosie'? That looks like a cute film."
"Ooo yeah." Zoe agreed instantly. "I saw the trailer for that a while back but never got round to seeing it."
"Layla? That okay with you?" asked Ada, turning to the girl glued to her phone.
"Yeah. Sounds good to me." Layla nodded, but Ada wasn't sure the girl knew what she had agreed to.
"Okay, cool. We will go eat now, then we can set up our beds in the living room. Mom and dad said we can have the big tv so we can sleep on the sofas tonight."
Zoe lead her friends back downstairs to join her family for dinner. The evening grew late as the girls chatted and ate and shared easy laughs with the family that was hosting them, and when dinner was over, they dutifully helped put everything away. With the table cleared and the dishes clean, the three girls got changed into their pajamas, set up their make-shift beds for the night, and settled in to put on the film that they had agreed on.
Before they knew it, the credits were rolling and the living room was lit dimly by the muted TV and the faint blue haze of phone screens. It was now past midnight and the three girls lounged on the couches swamped under their many blankets and chatted light-heartedly.
"Ugh, Shannon is such a slut!" Scoffed Layla dropping her phone in disgust.
"Shannon Gordon?" Ada asked, confused, taking the discarded phone curiously. "She the girl from the sixth form at your school who thinks she can sing?"
"Yeah that's the one." Layla grumbled, snatching the device back and bringing up said pictures on her screen "Why would you even take photos like that in the first place?"
Ada was confronted with a picture of the girl she vaguely recognised in shorts and a bra; cleavage on show and posing in her bathroom mirror.
"I don't have the confidence to wear something like that, let alone take pictures." Ada remarked before turning her attention back to her own group chat where she and her school friends were trying to arrange a trip to the cinema. "But each to their own I guess."
"Lemme' see." Zoe piped up from the chair opposite. Layla tossed her phone and Zoe caught it with ease.
"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows in mock horror. "Where is her mother?"
They all chuckled as Zoe threw the phone back.
"112 likes already! It was only posted half an hour ago."
"It's probably been in every boys group chat by now."
"Why do either of you care?" Ada shook her head, genuinely confused as to why this girl's photos was worth them getting worked up over.
"I don't!" Layla protested, "She should just have some more respect for herself."
"She's 18 right?" Ada asked and Layla nodded. "So she can post what she wants. No one is telling you to do the same. Let her live."
Layla grumbled something Ada didn't quite catch and continued scrolling.
"I've got a shit load of homework to do this weekend," Ada groaned, trying to change the subject. "and my Geography coursework isn't even finished. That's due in a couple of weeks. Plus everything I missed today that the teachers will make me catch up on."
"My mum still makes me and Sara come in from school and do our homework the day it gets set." Zoe commented absentmindedly, not taking her eyes off the TV. Ada rolled her eyes and buried her head under the duvet- sometimes she wished her parents were stricter so she wouldn't have to manage her own responsibilities as much.
"Do you really think we will be going back to school with everything going on?" Layla asked hopefully.
After the incident at Ada's school that day, there had been rumours that her school would be shutting its doors indefinitely. Zoe and Layla's school, Landley Secondary, had been closed since the start of the week to help contain the spread of this virus, even though the news coverage insisted that school closure wasn't a necessary precaution the country needed to take yet.
"I hope not, the last few days have been like a ghost town." Ada replied. "Did you hear about what happened at my school today?"
"I know yeah, everyone has been talking about it. Proper nasty stuff that." Zoe grimaced. "Do you think it's anything to do with that virus thing that's going around?"
"I don't know. Probably." Ada shrugged with a shake of her head. "I don't know why else Callum would attack the teachers. He was a nice boy really, even if he was a bit loud. Must have been something that made him act like that."
"There's nothing to watch." Layla sighed, not addressing the serious conversation the other two girls were having.
"We could put another film on. What about that sci-fi one that your dad told us about? The one about the dinosaurs on the spaceship?" Ada suggested, taking off her glasses to rub at her tired eyes.
"Hmm it's quite late. There wouldn't be much point starting it if we fall asleep halfway through. I actually wanted to see that one, it looks good." Zoe interjected.
"What time is it?" Ada yawned, readjusting the pillow under her head.
"Just gone one o'clock." Zoe yawned too, pausing her game and burying under her own duvet. She picked up the remote and began channel surfing.
"The news is probably on one of the channels. Put that on and see if the local stuff says anything about what happened at school. I want to know if everyone's okay." Ada replied, rolling over to face the couch "I'll be asleep soon anyway. I'm shattered."
The tv flickered as the news began with the increasingly concerning headlines about this unknown virus.
"What a load of bullshit." Layla grumbled again, glancing up from her phone. "The media can't help but glorify everything..."
She looked down at Ada for agreement, but her breathing had already evened out and she was fast asleep. Zoe still had the remote in her hand, but her eyes were closed.
Sighing, Layla switched off her phone and lay down onto her pillow, closing her eyes. Just as the tv signal failed, she slipped into sleep, filling the room with the sound of soft, even breaths and the dull hum of static.