"Are you sure you've got everything love?" asked Sally for the twentieth time that morning as Sophie unloaded her backpack from the back of the car.
"Yes mum, I've still got everything." groaned Sophie as she lugged the heavy bag on to her back, pulling a face as she took the weight of it.
It was the summer holidays of 2012 and Sophie had signed up for six weeks away in Spain with her college. It was going to be weeks of activities with fellow students and what she hoped would be a lot of fun nights out getting into a paralytic state caused by copious amounts of alcohol entering her system. Her and her friends had been planning the trip for months and now it was finally here, she couldn't wait to get out of Manchester and enjoy some sun and relaxation away from her nagging family. There was around fifty students going on the trip and as Sophie wasn't exactly the social butterfly she had hoped, she only spoke to a handful of the attendees.
"Well better safe than sorry, that's my motto." stated Sally, giving Sophie a broad smile as they stepped away from the vehicle.
"And you've got your passport and ticket?" asked Kevin, locking the car as he joined his wife and daughter.
Sophie rolled her eyes, "Yes, I've got them. I'm eighteen years old Dad, not eight."
"Okay okay." said Kevin, holding his hands up defensively as he picked up Sophie's hand luggage and walked with her to the check in desk.
Sophie hated flying. Not because being in the air scared her or anything like that. It was merely the struggle you went through to get on to the actual plane and how much of a pain it was going through all the security and bag checks. Needless to say she was relieved when check in was over and she was ready to go through the gate to meet her friends at the other side.
"Be safe love, don't do anything silly while you're there." said Sally sternly causing Sophie to roll her eyes once again.
"Don't roll your eyes at your mother. She's right, make sure you're sensible and don't go anywhere by yourself. You and Katy have to look after each other." added Kevin.
Sophie opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by her mother once again who was adamant she'd not leave out any information she felt was vital her daughter should know. Sophie stood rather impatiently, her arms folded across her chest as she waited for Sally to stop ranting about drugs, drink spiking, predatory men, mugging and knife crime.
"I'll be sure to watch out for predatory men with knives and drugs who want to spike my drink and then mug me Mum, don't worry." stated Sophie dryly.
Kevin rested his hand on his daughter's shoulder, "Just be careful Soph, that's all we want. Have fun, but stay safe. You're still our little girl and we worry about you. Try not to do anything Rosie would do."
Sophie snorted at her father's comment. Her sister was notorious for getting herself in to rather odd situations such as ending up passed out in a nightclub due to one too many shots.
"I'll try to do the exact opposite of anything Rosie would do, don't worry." chuckled Sophie.
"Alright Soph, have fun, I'm sure you'll have a brilliant time." Kevin outstretched his arms, enveloping his youngest daughter in a hug before releasing her and resting his hands on her shoulders, "Let us know you've got there safe okay?"
Sophie nodded in response, smiling widely at her father, "I'll give you a text when we get there."
"I'll miss you love, have a great trip." gushed Sally, pulling Sophie in to a tight hug that seemed like it would last forever.
Sophie patted her mother on the back a few times, a little uncomfortable before Sally eventually pulled away from her and stood back, beaming at her daughter.
"Okay well I guess I'll see you guys in six weeks. Try not to miss me too much!" joked Sophie as she pulled her boarding pass out of her bag, giving her parents a final wave before turning and walking through the entrance to the boarding area.
"Thank fuck for that." muttered Sophie as she started to walk in the direction of the gate she'd be departing from.
"SOPHIE WEBSTER THERE YOU ARE!"
Sophie chuckled as she heard the voice of her best friend Katy who was quickly skipping towards her. "Alright Katy, calm yourself."
Sophie barely managed to get the words out before she was engulfed in a bone crushing hug from her friend who seemed more than a little excited about the trip away.
"Jesus, I feel like I have a sign on me asking for hugs, I'm feeling the love today." chuckled Sophie as Katy eventually released her friend from her clutches. "Where's Sam?"
"Getting an energy drink. Apparently 8am isn't a good time for her to be awake, dressed and in an airport." stated Katy, looking mildly amused.
"I'm inclined to agree with her." said Sophie, looking down at her watch briefly as if she'd forgotten it was so early and had to double check. "How long till we board?"
"Errrm …" Katy checked her own watch and frowned for a second while she did the math. "Twenty minutes."
"Cool." stated Sophie simply as she started walking with Katy towards the terminal to sit in the waiting area. "So who else is on this trip then?"
"You don't even wanna know." laughed Katy as they entered the terminal.
Katy watched as Sophie did a quick scan of the waiting area, taking in all the faces that were present.
"Why are some of these people even here? Won't they be afraid they're gonna snap a nail or something." Sophie frowned at some of the girls who were sat around, gossiping amongst themselves excitedly.
Katy laughed a little louder than intended which earned her a few strange looks from the other students. She quickly put her hand over her mouth and sat down as Sophie laughed at her behaviour, sitting beside her on one of the cold metal chairs.
Sophie turned in her seat as she felt someone sit beside her and couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her lips as her eyes fell on her other friend Sam.
"Fuck me sideways you look rough." teased Sophie as Sam raised her hand to give her friend the finger.
"I had to get up at 5 o clock in the morning Webster, of course I'm rough." groaned Sam, taking a large gulp of the can of red bull in her hand. "And I can't go for a frigging cigarette anywhere in this bloody place which is putting me in a right foul mood."
Katy leant forward in her chair so she could see Sam, "I'm so glad you're coming mate, right little ray of sunshine you aren't ya?"
"Just gimme a couple hours kip on this plane and I'll be an absolute delight." stated Sam as she leaned her head back on her chair and closed her eyes.
Sophie shook her head at her friends behaviour, mildly amused by how moody she could be so early on a morning.
"Have you seen who just came in?" whispered Katy, leaning in towards Sophie and nodding her head in the direction of three girls who had just entered the terminal, exchanging hugs with a few people who were already present.
"What are they doing here? Doesn't exactly seem like their cup of tea." muttered Sophie, not taking her eyes off the new arrivals.
Katy shrugged, "They're probably thinking the same about us. Seems you have to be popular to come on this trip from the look of things."
"They won't be wondering why I'm here. Bit of exercise and outdoor activity. Be right up my street being a lesbian." joked Sophie earning her a smack on the arm from Katy.
"Okay yeah … you're probably right." giggled Katy.
"They're probably too dozy to read through the itinerary properly and thought this would be all nightclubbing. Can you imagine those girls going … oh I don't know, paintballing for example?" a smirk instantly formed on both girls faces as they tried to imagine the scenario.
"Not at all." laughed Katy.
The girls who had just entered the terminal were by all means, the most popular girls in the whole college. All the guys wanted to date them and all the girls wanted to be them. That was, all girls except Sophie, Katy and Sam who had nothing but resentment for them. The girls were Tina, Kerry and the leader of the group, the one Sophie despised the most, Sian Powers. Being the only out lesbian in school had resulted in Sophie receiving a lot of teasing from fellow students but no one had made her life more hell than Sian. The blonde would mercilessly make fun of Sophie and, being the most popular girl in school, she usually got most people on her side. She'd also managed to convince most of the school that because Sophie was a lesbian, she obviously fancied Sian. Sophie couldn't help but feel she'd rather swallow glass than go anywhere near the blonde.
That was in school and now the girls had matured slightly and were in college, the endless teasing and name calling had ended to some extent. However, the rivalry remained and both girls stayed out of one another's way and had no intention of spending time together.
"If you keep glaring at her like that Webster she'll burst in to flames." chuckled Katy, watching as Sophie narrowed her eyes in the direction of Sian.
"Good." hissed Sophie, finally looking away from the blonde who'd made her life misery for so long and looking back at her friend.
Katy rested her hand on Sophie's knee and smiled warmly, "Just stay out of her way mate, she's not worth ruining your trip."
"Oh I'm not gonna let her ruin my trip, don't worry. I'm hoping to get a few shots in at paintballing. Preferably right in that smug little face of hers." stated Sophie, smirking back at her friend.
Sam shot up from her seat, having startled herself awake and only catching the end of Sophie's sentence. "Are we talking about Powers?"
Katy laughed, "Who else?"
The girls were forced to stop their conversation as the head of their year clapped his hands together, shouting for the attention of the group as he stood at the front of the terminal.
"Okay guys, if everyone could pay attention please. We're going to be boarding in five minutes so you all need to listen to what I have to say so it can all go smoothly." started Mr Maddison. "Right … First things first, all make sure you have your passports and boarding passes ready, we want this to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible. We're due to arrive in to Mallorca at 10:35am local time. Please make sure you all have your seat numbers so you can get on to the plane easily and you know where you're going. We're going to meet up at luggage claim when we arrive at Mallorca airport so no one wander off until we're all back together. We'll do a head count and then move on to the shuttle bus that will be taking us to the hotel. Once on the bus, we'll be doing another head count before we head off. I'll run you through everything else once we're on the bus. Does anyone have any questions? No? Brilliant, lets get going then."
A few people cheered as an announcement sounded stating the plane was ready to board and everyone stood up excitedly, grabbing their hand luggage and queuing up to board the plane.
"Mallorca here we come!" squealed Katy, high fiving Sophie and Sam enthusiastically.
As Sophie turned away she caught Sian's eye and for a brief moment they maintained eye contact, both of them scowling at one another before turning back to their friends and eagerly discussing how much fun they were going to have once they arrived.
…
Upon arrival to the hotel, everyone was completely overwhelmed by their surroundings. Most girls letting out loud squeals of excitement much to Sophie's annoyance whilst others just stood open mouthed and gasped at how hot the weather was and the sheer size of the building they'd entered.
"We're not in Manchester anymore are we?" chuckled Sam as they stood at the reception desk, waiting to be assigned their rooms.
"Look who's perked up after three cans of red bull, two cigarettes and a couple of hours sleep on a plane." teased Sophie, slapping Sam's arm playfully.
"How could I not perk up? This place is frigging amazing … the caffeine and nicotine helped though." joked Sam, grinning from ear to ear.
Sophie's attention drifted from Katy and Sam who were now gushing over how beautiful Spain was as she heard the annoyed voice of Sian from the head of the queue at reception.
"How is this fair?" screamed Sian, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot as she eyed Mr Maddison up with utter disgust.
"Sian, there's nothing we can do, you're next door to your friends, just calm down. You'll only be using the room for sleeping so there's nothing to worry about." stated the older man calmly as he tried to reason with the blonde.
"So they get to stay together and I'm by myself? This is a fix and you know it, you're just trying to keep me separated." grumbled Sian.
Sophie turned back to her friends, a feeling of immense pleasure washing over her at the fact Sian was unhappy.
"What's with the grin Webster?" asked Katy.
"Oh nothing." stated Sophie nonchalantly as she threw her arms around Katy and Sam's shoulders. "Just think this is going to be the best six weeks of our lives."
