Downstairs, the dining room had been transformed into a pirate themed rave that was in full swing. The curved arches of the roof were hanging with sheets dyed to look like sails, ropes and one unlucky first year.
The twins had the Trinski flowing freely and Bianca and her rude girls had managed to get 39 crates of beer from the local supermarket without even setting an alarm off.
Bianca grabbed as many bottles as she could carry out of one of the crates and walked over to Zoe, Roxy, Lucy and Celia. She handed out the beers and realised she had two spare still in her hand.
"Oi, where's Chels and Fritton?" she shouted over the band at Zoe. Bianca tutted loudly at the shrug she got in response. "Massive help you are, Dracula" she muttered, but the insult was lost in the noise. The group finished their drinks and decided to go dance, they climbed up on some tables easing the eco warriors who had been dancing there on to the floor. As Roxy moved to the music she caught a glimpse of Annabelle walking in with Chelsea. She saluted smoothly to get her friends' attention and beckoned them to come join her.
As Annabelle and Chelsea ambled through the mass of bodies to their friends the twins appeared and handed them concoctions that they claimed were 'Trinski cocktails'. When they reached the others the girls felt hands pull them up onto the table and they were able to see the whole crowd beneath them. Realising how behind they were glasses were clinked and drinks were downed, Chelsea struggled with the taste while Annabelle celebrated being the quicker drinker. Their glasses were immediately whisked away and two bottles of beer handed to the latecomers, they started to dance to the band.
Chelsea spotted the posh tottys across the room and signalled to Annabelle she was going to dance with them, as she jumped down off the table the head girl turned around and realised there was only her and Roxy left.
"Where have the others gone?" she shouted over at the rock chick. The blonde mouthed 'what?' and motioned at her ears. Annabelle leaned in to shout in her ear over the noise and felt Roxy wrap her arm around her hip placing her hand in the small of her back.
"Where have the others gone?" the head girl repeated. Roxy leant in to her, she could smell the alcohol on her breath as it caressed the side of her cheek and tickled her ear.
"Lucy went to check on her stocks, I ain't got a clue about Celia but I'm pretty sure Bianca and Zoe have gone to the same place!" she yelled. She giggled clumsily and leant further into Annabelle, who tried to support the blonde bombshell, she was deceptively heavy. Annabelle started to feel fuzzy. She looked up at Roxy who held her gaze deeply before glancing to her left then spinning round and dragging Annabelle off the table with her.
It took all of the head girl's reactions and balance not to fall over and crumple into an undignified heap, she was ready to explode at her inebriated friend for nearly breaking her neck when Roxy explained her actions.
"Too many people watching us" she muttered in her ear. She found them a quiet corner just inside the kitchens and closed the door, dulling the ruckus outside. In the blur of movement Annabelle hadn't fully taken in the situation. She had her back against the kitchen wall and could feel the cold tiles through the lacy sleeveless cardigan and black bodycon dress she was wearing, the flower headband she'd been sporting had been lost getting dragged off the table so her hair was now partially covering her face. Roxy placed a hand on the wall above the head girl's shoulder and leant in closer, brushing the dark waves of hair behind her ear. She pressed her body against Annabelle's and touched her cheek against the head girl's.
"You were incredible today Annabelle Fritton," she whispered in her ear. "I've been watching you since the start of the year but the way you handled yourself today...powerful, dangerous and fearless." Roxy's words danced into Annabelle's ear and made her knees go weak, but deep down she knew she wasn't any of the things Roxy had just said. Especially not now when she was letting herself be carried away in a moment with someone she had never had feelings for.
Roxy tilted her head to look straight into the brunette's hazel eyes, she gently pressed her forehead against her companion's refusing to break the electrifying contact. The head girl was hypnotised, her limbs had turned to concrete. She closed her eyes as Roxy moved in to brush their lips together, but before contact was made a face flashed through Annabelle's mind. Perfect ivory skin with just the right amount of flush in the cheeks, her deep hazelnut eyes framed by thick lashes, raven hair styled perfectly and those lips. Plump, thick lips coated generously in knock-out ruby red lipstick.
Annabelle realised she was making a terrible mistake, she'd fallen hard for someone and she was about to hook up with Roxy. She wished she was with that person right now. She wished she was with Kelly Jones.
She pulled away just as Roxy drunkenly pushed her mouth forward, their lips brushed but the head girl's cheek took most of the action.
"What?!" Roxy questioned Annabelle's move. "I thought you'd be up for this, Fritton. I thought you were kick ass after the performance you pulled off today" She straightened up and looked at Annabelle for an answer. The head girl looked at her feet timidly, she hadn't wanted to tell Chelsea earlier and she felt like she could trust the posh totty. Roxy was much more unpredictable, she could blab to the whole school.
"I'm sorry, I just got carried away. I don't like girls." she looked at Roxy apologetically and was met by a smirk.
"What?" It was Annabelle's turn to question her opposite's actions.
"You, don't like girls?" she scoffed. "I'd better tell Kelly not to bother coming back then." She turned and scanned the kitchen, spotted a bottle of Trinski in the corner of the room and went to retrieve it.
Annabelle couldn't move. This wasn't happening. She swore she'd always been good at keeping her emotions in check, yet two people had read her like a book in one night.
"Stop panicking Belle." Roxy called from the other side of the room. She dug two mugs out of a cupboard and wandered back to the head girl, who still hadn't been able to move. She plonked the mugs and vodka down and seated herself on one of the steel preparation tables before pouring two generous measures. Annabelle had managed to shuffle over to the table and silently took the cup from the rocker.
"Jesus, Fritton! Say something." Roxy lowered her head to meet Annabelle's eye line, she was staring blankly towards the floor. It looked like she'd just been told her dog had died.
Roxy clicked her fingers and managed to get some recognition from the head girl. She patted the table next to her and took the mug off Annabelle so she could hoist herself up.
"Belle, seriously. You're not the first girl to fall in love at St Trinian's and you're certainly not the first to fall for Kelly Jones." a thoughtful look spread over her face as she looked glassily into the distance at something clearly only the rocker could see. She turned with a grin. "You though. You're different in one way." Chuckling she threw an arm around Annabelle's shoulder and leaned in closer.
"How?" the brunette mumbled quietly.
"Because you seem to have caught Kelly Jones' attention as much as she's caught yours. Never in all my years have I seen that girl look twice at anyone in this place. Then you showed up." Roxy took a deep drink from her mug then refilled it from the bottle.
Annabelle couldn't believe what she was hearing, surely this was just drunk talk. She tried to take a sip of the clear liquid sloshing around in her mug but the events of the day were too much for her. Tipping the mug up she drained the contents completely, regretting it immediately but forcefully keeping the moonshine in her stomach.
Roxy nodded in approval and refilled her mug, the head girl motioned to finish her drink again drawing a ninja like reflex from the blonde to stop her.
"Don't be silly" she chided. "It's hard when you first realise you're feeling something different but it'll get easier, that weird feeling like you're doing something wrong will ease up when you become comfortable with it. It's part of who you are Belle, and it's always been there. The sooner you accept it, the better you'll feel."
"God Roxy, I think I'm in love with her" Annabelle couldn't help herself. She felt tears fill her eyes, the alcohol wasn't numbing the pain in her chest like she'd hoped. In fact, it was making the situation worse. The blonde took the head girl's mug away, she'd clearly had enough. Roxy jumped off the table and helped the brunette down, scooping up the Trinski bottle with one hand and taking the brunette's arm with the other, she led her to the dorm for some well earned rest.
"Easy does it." Roxy struggled through the dorm door with the brunette and the vodka, stepping over another early casualty to reach a spare bed.
"This isn't my room." Annabelle slurred out a mild protest as Roxy let her flop down and pulled the cover over her, she got her a glass of water and placed it on the floor beside the bed.
"I know genius, but you're not as light as you look and we wouldn't want you to spoil your ridiculously flowery sheets would we?" the blonde bombshells quip was lost on her inebriated friend so she resorted to reassuring her to sleep instead. Roxy stood over Fritton and looked down at a very drunk shadow of the stunning beauty who had led the school so valiantly earlier in the day.
Christ's sake Kelly Jones. You always stick you're claws in the pretty ones, it's about time someone left their mark on you.
She turned and walked out of the room swigging from the bottle, the school party would be dying soon as the Trinski took it's toll. Time to play out in the village then. Roxy concluded and went in search of an after party.
Chelsea stumbled back into the dorm on her own, the rest of her tribe had passed out in various locations downstairs. She stumbled over an emo's coffin and tried not to laugh uncontrollably at the hiss she'd drawn from it.
She looked across the room and saw Annabelle tucked up in bed. Gossip had quickly flown around that her and Roxy had snuck off together, she was glad to see nothing had happened.
She wandered over and sat on the bed next to her friend who, she noted to her amusement, looked absolutely wrecked.
Chelsea stroked the hair out of the head girl's face and felt her heart go out to her, she realised her own life had been so easy in comparison. It was tradition for the ladies of her family to attend St Trinian's so she was honoured to be here, Belle had been dumped unceremoniously by an arsehole of a father. She'd heard rumours of what had happened to Annabelle's mother but she'd never asked for the truth in case it was difficult for the head girl to talk about. When Chelsea arrived it was with a whole class of first years, Annabelle had struggled to find her place when she first arrived and she was singled out as the new girl.
And now you're faced with more confusion she mused. Chelsea had found she was comfortable around boys when she hit 14 or 15, she knew she liked them and they liked her, back then it was just a way to get what she wanted. Annabelle had probably grown up with traditional images of a husband and kids and now, out of nowhere, Kelly Jones had appeared and messed everything up. She still didn't know if anything had happened between the two of them, she admired Kelly Jones as much as the next Trinian but she hoped, for Annabelle's sake, the former head girl hadn't broken her friend's heart.
Her attention focussed back on the current head girl as she stirred in the sheets, Chelsea knew there was only one reason she'd wake up in her current state. Clambering across the room to where the first years were piled up, the blonde grabbed an empty bucket (for once the youngsters hadn't needed it after a school party, they were learning!).
Annabelle groaned and tried to sit up unsuccessfully.
"Don't sit up babe, just roll over." Chelsea had been through her fair share of bad states so she knew how to handle this. She managed to get the head girl hanging over the edge of her bed enough to be in firing range of the bucket, and tied her hair back as neatly as possible.
It wasn't long before the bucket came in handy, Chelsea handed her friend a wad of tissue paper and encouraged her to sip the water she'd been left with.
Tears were running down Annabelle's face, Chelsea chuckled. If she could see herself now she'd be totally mortified. The brunette began shaking in her bed and, when Chelsea was convinced she was finished using the bucket, she climbed in next to her and held her until they both fell asleep.