“Here she comes!” Hayley squeaked excitedly as the black London taxi pulled onto the street. Sophie fidgeted nervously in her loose dress, forcing a smile on her face as she prepared to hold up the banner that she and many of her friends had spent the previous evening making.

“Everybody ready?” One of the two identical ginger-haired Scottish women asked, smiling as everyone nodded affirmatively.

“On three,” the other ginger-haired Scotswoman said. “Ready? One, two, three…”

“This one’s for table six,” my colleague Saffron says to me as she places two hot cups of coffee on my tray. I take the opportunity to stealthily straighten my tight miniskirt before grabbing my tray and taking it over to the young couple at the corner table.

“Ah, thank you!” The young man says with genuine gratitude as I hand him and his girlfriend their drinks. “Can we also order a plate of chips to share, please?”

“Sure!” I enthuse. “What flavour would you like?”

“Let’s try the chilli and cheese,” the young woman says with a devilish grin.

“Ow…” I moan as my eyes slowly open and my body shivers in the cold December air. I glance over at my phone, which reveals that the time is 8:05am and today is Monday- which causes me a moment of panic before I remember that today’s date is the 18th of December and we broke up from college a week ago, meaning I’m under no obligation to get up early today- or at all, if I don’t want to. As I lay in bed, memories of exactly why I’m this hungover on a Monday morning come flooding back to me- and put very conflicted feelings in my heart.

I let out a happy sigh as I wake up in my warm, cozy bed to discover that during the night, Kayla’s arms have wrapped themselves around my body- and mine have wrapped themselves around hers.

Andy took a deep breath as he stepped through the front door of the imposing building. He’d never before done anything even remotely like he was about to, and didn’t mind admitting to himself how nervous he was, even if he tried his best not to show it as he approached the reception desk.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist- a slender woman in her early twenties- asked.

“Hi,” Andy replied. “I’m- I’m Andrew Moore, I’m here for the interview today?”

“Okay,” the receptionist replied. “Do you know who you’re here to see?”

"Have fun," Janet said with a smirk as Ellie headed out the front door. "And don't stay out too-"

"Bye!" Ellie said with a smug smirk, before closing the door behind her. "Don't wait up!"

"-Late," Janet sighed, before allowing herself a quiet chuckle. "Kids..."

"My power flurries through the air into the ground," I sing as I dramatically glide across the stage, my ice blue dress flowing around me with every step I take.

"My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back, the past is in the past..."

"Let it go, let it go," I sing, my lungs feeling like they're going to break under the strain.
"And I'll rise like the break of dawn,
Let it go, let it go,
That perfect girl is gone.
Here I stand,
In the light of day,

"See you tonight!" Janet said with a smile as Ellie, Kacey and Monique paid for their purchases and waved goodbye to her.

"Bye!" Ellie replied with a giggle that warmed Janet's heart.

It had been almost four months since Ellie had moved in with Janet, and in that time, a lot had changed for both women- mostly for the better.

“God, I always feel so out of place every time I come here…” I moan as I step into the vast dance studio, surrounded by my friends.

“I really hope that’s NOT because you feel uncomfortable wearing THAT!” Lauren teases, making me giggle as I stare down at the short-sleeved black leotard and baby pink tights that are covering my body.

“Hell no!” I reply, making my friends giggle and cheer. “It’s just- you know? You girls are all so good at ballet, and I’m still just a beginner… Not to mention the fact that everyone here is, like, famous!”

Janet tried her hardest, but she couldn't prevent herself from breathing a sigh of relief as she pressed her employee pass against the scanner, officially ending another week of monotonous work. As Janet quickly discovered, though, she wasn't the only one feeling relieved.

"At. Last!" Rebecca- one of Janet's colleagues, a woman in her early thirties- giggled as she and a handful of her colleagues walked alongside Janet to the vast supermarket's locker room. "Dunno about you ladies, but I am in a mood to unwind!"

“Thanks for letting me swap my shifts again,” I say as I switch off the shop’s lights and step outside, allowing Dean to lock up the shop.

“Yeah, like I’m gonna let you work on your eighteenth birthday,” Dean says with a snort of laughter. “You have a good one, mate. See you a week tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” I say, waving goodbye to my supervisor before climbing onto the back seat of Rob’s car, where my girlfriend- or, to be more accurate, lover- greets me with a long kiss.

“Hey, sexy!” Chloe giggles, before giving me another kiss.

I let out several shrieks of laughter as the loud music pulses inside my head, mixing with the alcohol and the hot, sweaty atmosphere of the nightclub to create a strong sense of euphoria. This euphoria is, of course, helped by the short, tight black dress I’ve squeezed my fledgling curves into, the thick make-up on my face and the extra-high heeled shoes attached to my feet!

Ellie smiled as she woke up on her comfortable single bed. It had been one of the most turbulent weeks of her young life, if not THE most turbulent, but it had finally ended, and for once, Ellie had a reason to feel positive about her future, all thanks to one person- the woman who was, unsurprisingly, already awake when Ellie emerged from her room, glad only in a knee-length t-shirt.

"Good afternoon," Janet teased, chuckling as the teenager rolled her eyes. "Can't blame you for wanting a lie-in though, the week you've had. You've definitely earned it."

“You know,” I muse as I grab my morning coffee and relax on the plush, soft sofa in my father’s living room, “it may have been in a student shithole, but I miss our old sofa, you know? The whole flat, even.”

“I know precisely what you mean,” Ophelia says, reclining as far back into the sofa as her extra-tight corset will allow. “But we shall return to London soon, and our new flat shall be even better than our previous one!”

“Free at last,” Lee says with a snort of laughter as I meet up with him, Rob and Neil at the end of another long week of college. “You got much work to do this weekend on your course?”

“Umm, not much,” I shrug. “Been getting a good head start the last few weeks.”

“Smart man,” Rob says with a chuckle.

“Just had plenty of free time lately,” I shrug, leading to an awkward silence as all of my friends know exactly why I’ve had so much free time lately.

“Urgh…”I groan as I’m awoken from a blissful slumber by a loud knocking on my front door. “Stop fucking banging…” I grab my phone to check the clock, only to roll my eyes when I discover that it’s gone 11am. Fortunately, today is Wednesday, meaning I’m not at uni today, but that also means that none of my friends are either, as I discover when Ophelia (who has obviously already been up for ages) opens the door.

“Helloooo!” Katie giggles loud enough for me to hear in my bedroom. “Flying solo today then, Ophelia?”

July 6, 2017

"Perfect way to spend a birthday," Paige giggled as she walked through the vast Mall of America, hand-in-hand with her new fiancée. "Is this really the largest shopping mall in the states?"

"Yep," Jessica said with a sense of pride. "Both in floor size and number of shops. It's not usually THIS busy, though... Did you HAVE to have been born on the 5th of July?"

"Blame my parents, I had nothing to do with it," Paige giggled as she stuck her tongue out at the American woman.

I let out a long, tired sigh as my alarm clock wakes me from a dreamless sleep. It’s been a long summer holiday, but the time has finally come to head back to school. The only difference is that today’s ‘first day of school’ will be my last ever.

I fidget in my seat, trying to get comfortable as the train rushes through the French countryside to our destination. It’s not my clothes that are making me restless, of course- my pleated white miniskirt and loose patterned tank top feel perfect against my smooth, hairless skin. It isn’t even the disapproving stare of my father at my long, slender legs that makes me uncomfortable. The source of my restlessness, for once, is my three younger sisters- or rather, the thing that’s also making them restless!

“Okay,” the brown-haired flight attendant whispered as they slipped on their fitted royal blue jacket, fastening the one single button at the front. “You can do this.”

“You ready?” The flight attendant’s mentor, a 22 year old blonde woman named Abbey, asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” The brown haired flight attendant replied with a nervous giggle.

“Wake up!” I hear a voice shout, startling me out of my slumber.

“Huh?” I ask, blinking my eyes to try to focus them in the glare of the late August sun.

“We’ve still got plenty to do,” My husband says softly, waking me further with a gentle kiss before helping me lift my bikini-clad body off the sun lounger. “You know most 25 year olds DON’T spend their free time dozing off in the garden?”

“Nervous yet?” I ask my best friend as we may our way through the college to the vast lecture hall for our official ‘welcome’.

“A little bit,” Ophelia replies. “Yourself?”

“Shitting myself,” I confess, bringing a brief smile to the teal-haired girl’s face.

“Perhaps a thong was not the best idea today, then,” Ophelia muses.

“Actually…” I say as I look around at the countless unfamiliar faces, all of whom look at me and see a girl- but some of whom clearly see something behind the ‘façade’. “It was definitely the RIGHT idea.”