As Sarah Jane and Tom were having their first encounter with the mysterious Mr. More, Violet Kingston Price was already in the university building, making her way across the hall and trying to avoid the many students who clearly couldn't keep their eyes away from her bare legs. A while ago, it had been both this and smoking in that old hag Livingston's face that had drawn people's attention to her, giving them not only the impression that she was the sexiest girl on campus, but also one of the most rebellious, something which had always given Violet pleasure. However, for some reason, she didn't like being seen as only one or the other. As her sister Harriet liked to say, a girl who's simply pretty often comes across as shallow and weak, while a girl who only rebels comes across as unpleasant and butch. However, combine the two traits, and you got a girl so irresistible that every bloody boy in the world will want her.

"Hey there, little gal," one boy called out to her. "If you're interested, I always like leaving my dorm unlocked at night. Me, as well as three other blokes here, will happily let in any lonely first year girls who are looking for a late night adventure." He then winked at her and laughed.

"If I were you, I'd much prefer to keep my dorm to myself," Violet responded sharply. "Otherwise, you'll be drawing in the attention of all the professors and deans and will most likely find yourself expelled rather than getting your hands into some girl's knickers."

Upon hearing this, several students who were listening in whooped and whistled, while the boy was left looking insulted. Violet ignored all of this and strolled off to her dorm, giving the door a frustrated slam and then letting out a heavy sigh, leaning against the wall and taking out a cigarette pack out of the pocket of her cardigan, which had been left hanging on her chair along with three of her blouses.

As the youngest of five siblings in a wealthy political family, Violet had been showered with attention ever since she was born. At first, it had been on account of her cuteness. Inheriting the family's trademark blonde hair and aqua blue eyes, her pictures had often appeared in high society magazines and periodicals, which always featured an article on her playful personality, her early love for singing and dressing up, and how no one could enough of how adorable she looked.

However, by the time she was five, it had also become obvious that she'd inherited the family's hot temper and stubbornness. This was first noticed after her nanny, a plump and well-meaning war widow named Catherine, had quit working for the Prices after claiming that Violet had started throwing shoes in her direction and calling her all sorts of dreadful profanities all because she'd refused to buy her a doll she'd recently seen at the toy store. Three more nannies had followed, and neither of them lasted longer than three months due to how Violet flat out refused to follow any of their rules, being as rude and difficult as possible whenever she was around them. Mrs. Price then had no choice but to look after Violet herself whenever she was home from school, meaning that Violet would then spend much her time around fancy department stores, posh parties, and exclusive social gatherings where Mrs. Price and her wealthy friends would play card games, smoke, and gossip while Violet sat in a plush chair, taking all this in and letting her spoiled attitude and narcissism continue to grow.

At school, Violet's attitude was often worse. Schoolwork was often easy for her, and she made sure everyone knew this by always blurting out answers as her teachers would start writing up answers on the board and waving her paper around in the air whenever she got an excellent grade. And when it came to her fellow classmates, she'd make sure to have them under her thumb whenever she had the chance. If they were pretty, smart, and cool enough, she'd let them be her friends. If they didn't have one of these traits, coming across as ugly, slow, or just plain weird, she would make fun of them whenever she got the chance, making sure that everyone in the class was aware that they should stay away from those she considered freaks or loonies or else risk becoming one of them and not being allowed to be her friend. This early hierarchy had worked very well for Violet at first, and she was able to have almost exclusive control over all her classmates, making them either love her or fear her.

But from the start, there were two students who had always caused issues for her. The first was Sarah Jane Smith, who in Violet's mind, fit the very definition of a strange girl. She was often sweet around her teachers and even a bit clever; there never seemed to be an end to all those polite questions she had ready when lessons were concluded. However, she had some very weird habits, like talking to herself when she thought she was alone, claiming to see or hear things that weren't there, and then having what their teachers called "episodes", which often involved randomly falling asleep in class or going completely still for a while and then arousing without any issues. All this, and the fact that her mother was often going about how the Smiths were such a peculiar and problematic family during her social gatherings was enough for young Violet to immediately label Sarah Jane as a loony, and because her word was law, she immediately became an outcast.

And then there was Andrea Yates, daughter of a business attorney and almost as difficult to deal with as Violet was, although she got more kicks out of challenging authority than she did from having full control of people. At the start, she'd been one of Violet's friends, in large part because of how she'd been able to stand up to their year one teacher when she'd ordered all the students to put their toys aside for their arithmetic lesson, calling the teacher a no-fun hag and refusing to hand over a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. This had automatically drawn Violet's attention, and Andrea became part of her exclusive group of friends.

However, Violet soon learned that Andrea loved defying her friends just as much as did her teachers. Upon seeing how much disgust Violet showed towards Sarah Jane Smith, Andrea would often laugh at Violet, telling that if she really believed that Sarah was so sick, then why wasn't everyone in their class at hospital by now. Then, seeing how Violet told all her friends not to say a word to Sarah, Andrea just walked up to Sarah one day and said, "Hi, Sarah! How are you doing today?" all while directing a wicked smile towards Violet. Sarah, of course, had been so happy to see that someone was finally speaking to her that she immediately answered Andrea back, instead of remaining silent and looking away, as she usually did when Violet or one of her friends started making fun of her.

By Year Two, Andrea had started secretly seeing Sarah Jane during summer holidays, and then started spending time with her during classes, often making sure that Violet and the rest of the group were able to see that she was deliberately spending time with the girl they deemed as the biggest outcast in the school. And by Year Three, she officially considered Sarah to be her friend, even telling Violet that if she had a problem with that, then she would gladly leave her ridiculous little group for good. "Just admit it, Violet; the majority of us only became your friends because you found it so easy to control us and we were too afraid to get on your bad side," she'd told when making her declaration. While Violet never made it official that she was out of the group (what she'd done had shocked her too much to think of the best way to get back at her for it), she and Andrea never spend any time together after that. Now, whether Andrea had ever truly liked Sarah or if she'd just become her friend to upset Violet was something she was never able to find out. Despite being close to Sarah, Andrea would still call people she thought were weird "loony" and engage in activities like gossiping and eavesdropping whenever she got the chance. Just like Violet, Andrea was very good at obtaining what she wanted, and if it involved deceiving someone who was lonely in order to get back at someone she disliked, she would probably have done it without the slightest hint of guilt.

And then in the summer of 1964, all this changed for the worse. It all started when Violet and her friends planned to walk out on a class trip and go over to a coffeehouse. Andrea was somehow able to hear about their plans, and had somehow convinced Sarah, who was such a goody two shoes when it came to following the rules, to do the same as them to show that they could break the rules just easily as the others did. On the day of the trip, Violet and her friends were able to find Andrea and Sarah walking around the coffeehouse where they were hanging out. In an attempt to mock them, Samantha Osmond (to this day, Violet was so thankful that it was Samantha that had made the suggestion that caused the tragedy and not her, because otherwise, the rumors of her involvement would have been much worse) told them that they planned on walking up to the piers, something that was really dangerous and which adults around the city were always warning children against doing. Andrea responded by saying, "Oh, really? And who do you think will be able to make it first: all of you who are just sitting around drinking coffee and eating crepes, or Sarah and me, who have been on the move since we got away from the class?" Then, turning to Sarah, she said, "What do you say, Sarah?" Do you think we can make it there before they do?"

"Do you really believe she's going to say yes to you, Andrea? Sarah's all about playing it safe and staying out of trouble. Before you know it, she may just walk out on you and get back with everyone else," Violet had told her.

"Actually," Sarah then said, "You all should think about this. There's clearly signs all around the piers warning about how dangerous they are, and if we just stick around the city, there's so much else we could do instead…"

Violet was about to tell her not to be so stupid because Samantha was just joking; there was no way they were really going to walk out into their pier and put their lives at risk, but Andrea spoke first, saying, "Sarah, you can't be serious! Do you really want them to beat us every single time we want to do something important? Let's be the ones who make it first for once! You hate them all just as much as I do, and this is our chance to prove to them that we can be just as bold and cool as they are!"

And unfortunately, Sarah bought into this, telling Andrea, "All right, Andrea. Let's go ahead and beat them to the pier!"

What happened next was a little hazy in Violet's mind for some reason. At times, she recalled leaving the coffeehouse along with her friends, and then being startled by an ear shattering scream. The majority of her friends were so startled that they refused to even walk away, and Violet ended up being the one who followed the direction of the scream, which led her to the pier where Sarah was lying down, looking as if she'd just had one of her episodes.

At other times, she remembered hearing a strange noise at the coffeehouse, and her friends asking her what was wrong when she asked them if they heard it, with Samantha wondering if she was starting to go as crazy as Sarah Jane Smith. However, Violet ignored what they were saying, and ran out of the coffeehouse to find out what was going on. As before, she was led to the pier, but this time, she found Sarah kneeling down and holding unto Andrea, who was at the point of falling into the ocean. Violet then called out both Sarah and Andrea's names, and as Sarah turned around to see her, Andrea lost her grip on Sarah's hand and started falling, screaming as she leapt unto her death. When seeing what happened to her friend, Sarah collapsed, and Violet ran to her in a panic. In both of these scenarios, the police showed up after some witnesses had called 999, finding Violet with her arms around an unconscious Sarah Jane Smith. Violet had been trembling with fear, and her eyes were full of tears as she and Sarah Jane were escorted unto an ambulance. When the police started asking her questions, she told them that Andrea had fallen down the pier, and that Sarah Jane had been trying to save her, having fainted upon seeing that her friend was gone…

Violet soon heard a loud knocking on her door. She immediately threw out the cigarette she had been smoking, stomping on it to put out the smoke which was still running through it.

"Who is it?" she called out in an annoyed voice. Seeing how she'd left sixth form with maybe only one or two close friends left (not counting Sarah Jane Smith, whom Violet had been pretty much forced to have as an acquaintance once she lost the majority of her old friends), she wondered who could possibly want to see her.

"Vi, you left some of your stuff behind in the car," a high pitched voice called back cheerfully. It could only be Lizzie, who was the second oldest of Violet's sisters (Harriet was the oldest of the three sisters, and Fred was the oldest all the siblings) and had recently married the son of a wealthy real estate agent. In a month, she would be off to Santa Barbara for her honeymoon, and knowing how carefree both Lizzie and Danny Williams were, they were most likely going to stay there for a whole year, taking advantage of all the luxuries California had to offer and giving little thought to working or settling down for good. Violet often had to walk out on their silly musings on future happiness and their love for one another, sometimes believing that she preferred to hear her brother Ronald, who was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, berating everyone he worked with than putting up with Lizzie's shallow nonsense.

"Just leave it at the door, Lizzie," Violet said impatiently. "I'm perfectly capable of getting it all in myself."

"Are you sure? I assumed that because you were in such a hurry to get out of the car that you were too busy to do this all on your own. Why, I remember when all the others started getting ready for university and how they were in such a panic over…"

"For God's sake, Lizzie, can you keep your bloody mouth shut for just a damn second?" Violet complained, taking what was her box of records into her room, stepping unto some of the socks and knickers she'd left lying around the floor. She could already see the look of horror on Lizzie's face as she took in how messy the room was, shaking her head in disgust as she found a black sock getting stuck on her high heels.

"I'd surely appreciate it if you didn't go around leaving a bloody mess when you've just been here for two hours!" Lizzie yelled, finally letting her old bad temper loose. There was nothing like a messy room to get her to let go of the sweet young wife act. "And what makes you think you've got to cuss at me for when I never do anything to you? God, you're almost as bad as Ron sometimes!"

"Maybe I'd be nicer to you if you hadn't gone ahead and married a complete phony," Violet grumbled. As far as she knew, Danny was just a more civil version of their more outspoken political family members. He may have always smiled and remained polite during family dinners, but if he was taken out of these more hospitable settings, he was unbearable. He insulted everyone from his in laws to the servants, always making it come off as harmless jokes when speaking to Lizzie, but sounding a lot more disdainful when speaking to one of his immediate family members or old friends from university. When it came to politics, it was worst, with him often stating his support for Middle Eastern imperialism, the American involvement in the Vietnam conflict, and the Northern Irish Protestant movements for domination in the growing conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland when speaking with Mr. Price or anyone else in the family. He also never hesitated to tell Violet that rock music, along with drugs, was complete rubbish and destroying their generation (despite the fact that he was always listening to the Rolling Stones and the Kinks when at home and his love for enjoying luxuries without having to work a day of his life). Also, whenever he was around other women and Lizzie was out of sight, he always liked complimenting them a little too much while petting their hair, shoulders, or faces. He had once attempted to caress Violet's cheek when they were alone as he was telling her how nice she looked, but had failed after she had slapped his hand and threatened to tell Lizzie.

Lizzie responded to Violet's remark with a dark glare. "Listen Violet, if you go on talking badly about Danny, I'll tell Mother that you've spend half your time at university playing hooky and sleeping around with boys. I won't have you ruining my happy marriage just because you're jealous of the fact that I now have a man who will love me for life while you're all alone, without a boyfriend or friends!"

"Fine!" Violet yelled. "If you want to waste your life away with a complete bastard, then go ahead! Let's just see how far you can play the role of the happy young wife when you realize the act Danny has been putting on himself ever since he met you."

"Oh, grow up, Violet!" Then, kicking aside the cigarette Violet had been smoking with a grunt, she started making her way out. "Nice to see how grateful you are for all the help your sister was willing to offer you," she said before slamming the door in anger.

"Yes, I'm very grateful indeed," Violet mumbled through clenched teeth, opening the door once more to put in the two remaining boxes which Lizzie had brought in. She often wondered whom she despised the most: her unbearable family or all the girls whom she had managed to escape from during university. Samantha Osmond had become the ringleader of the crusade against her by spreading rumors that Violet had been the one who planned to pull a prank on Andrea and Sarah which would result in them falling off the pier. These rumors resulted in questioning from the headmistress of the school and even the local authorities (who all ended up getting paid by Mr. Price to keep his daughter's name from being released to the press). Violet denied everything, and to her relief, so too did Sarah when she was questioned on the incident. This resulted in an end to Violet's days of bullying her, and a rather uneasy alliance formed between them, which lasted for the rest of their years in school together. Although Sarah still creeped her out in many ways, Violet felt that she owed her after what had happened to Andrea, who had been one of Sarah's only friends (that was if it was indeed a true friendship), and she knew that this would have to continue during university.

So, if Violet had been able to survive constant insults and threats for five years, she figured she could survive anything else, including her sister's marriage to the intolerable Danny and her time at what seemed to her to be a pretty uptight university. Seeing how things often tended to take a turn for the best after making major changes during life, perhaps this was her chance to start over.

Next, how will Violet react to seeing Sarah Jane once again? Will their alliance continue, or will Violet's attitude get in the way, and will she receive Tom Marsh well when they first meet? Also, we'll be returning to Mr. More and finding out a little more of how he knows so much about certain people he barely knows personally.