Gail recognized the familiar sound of Traci's footsteps tapping across the tiled floors as she walked farther into the boarding school's semi-communal shower room. Gail slid the shower curtain open and yanked Traci into the cubicle without a word.
"What the hell?!" Traci squealed in surprise as she threw a hand out to steady herself.
"Gail, what the-"
"Shh!" Gail warned as she covered Traci's mouth with her hand to silence her. Traci raised her eyebrows in confusion but obliged with a nod, causing Gail to drop her hand in satisfaction. Traci's eyes wandered around the rest of the small shower cubicle. Confusion etching deeper on her face as she saw Andy and Chloe crammed in the corner fully clothed with mischievous smiles adorning their faces.
"Look," Traci began in a whisper, "as flattering as this is, I am going to have to decline whatever freaky sex orgy you all are about to get in. I don't do orgys" Traci said resolutely. "Or women" she added with a pointed look towards Gail.
"Oh shut it Nash" Gail snapped, ignoring the snorts of laughter from Andy and Chloe. "We don't want to have an orgy. I'd rather dive head first into smouldering lava than see any of you three naked".
Traci bit her lip to contain her smile. "Ok, so what am I doing here then?"
"Gail switched out Holly's shampoo for bright pink hair dye. She's in the third cubicle down from us. We're all waiting for her reaction when she sees it" Andy replied in excitement.
"Gail" Traci sighed in disapproval. This was the third year of Gail's ongoing vendetta of playing pranks on Holly. Traci didn't understand Gail's -or any of their other friends- fascination with continuously pranking Holly year after year. Traci could admit that the first year of pranks was fun and she was even a willing participant of them. Traci didn't think she had ever laughed so hard then when they finished shaving Holly's cat to make him look like a disproportionate lion. Or after they had successfully moved everything in Holly's dorm room six inches to the left, causing Holly to limp around for a week completely flustered. But after the first few pranks she quickly stopped. No matter how funny it had been, seeing Holly so upset time and time again made the pranks lose their appeal. Traci couldn't understand how Gail could be so immune to her own cruelty sometimes. She wished her friends would have grown tired of these petulant pranks by now. Or at least picked another victim and left Holly alone. But sadly after three years, it seemed that they were still in full force much to Traci's disappointment.
"Everyone quiet she just walked out of the shower!" Chloe whispered in glee much louder than she should have as she pointed towards the mirrors.
"Quiet down Mary Poppins" Gail spat before turning her head in the direction Chloe was pointing. Everyone followed Chloe's finger and watched as Holly leisurely made her way up to the mirrors. One towel wrapped tightly around her body and the other drying her hair. Even from a distance everyone could see the tint of pink in Holly's hair. Andy and Chloe sniggered for the inevitable freak out Holly was about to have. Gail silently slid the shower curtain open further and crouched down into a running position, the whole time never moving her eyes off Holly.
It was only a moment later when Holly's scream pierced the room. Gail, Andy, and Chloe tripped over each other laughing hysterically as they ran out of the room. Even after the door had shut Gail could still hear Holly's threat echo in her ears.
"Gail Peck you are so dead!"
Gail just laughed harder as she, Andy, and Chloe quickly made their way down the stairs towards the cafeteria for breakfast. A few celebratory donuts were definitely in order after their success. None of them noticed Traci was still in the shower room attempting to calm down a very upset Holly.