Chapter 7

March 15, 1996

At school on Friday, Melanie tried her hardest to apologise to Selina, but the latter was having none of it.

"I just want to apologise-" Melanie started to say.

"You are a nothing but a bitch and I don't want to hear your lame attempt at an apology!" Selina snapped, cutting Melanie off.

"But..."

"Rack off, Melanie!" Selina snarled before storming off.

When she saw Jerome come out of the men's bathroom, Melanie attempted to apologise to him too.

"Jerome, I'm very-"

"Save it, Melanie." Jerome said, glaring at his ex-girlfriend. "I'm not interested."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Melanie said.

"Too little, too late." Jerome shouted. "Do me a favour and get out of my face!"

Jerome then walked away. Now completely alone, Melanie sat on the stairs and started to cry.

"It's going to be okay now." a voice said.

Melanie looked over to find Stephanie standing next to her.

"Oh hi, Stephanie." Melanie cried.

Stephanie sat next to Melanie and comforted her.

"I know you did the wrong thing, but I guarantee that Selina and Jerome will forgive you once all of this is over." Stephanie said.

"They will never forgive me." Melanie continued sobbing.

"Give it time." Stephanie said.

"I feel really bad." Melanie sobbed.

Stephanie looked at Melanie with a sad expression.

"Come here, Mel."

An inconsolable Melanie hugged Stephanie.

Meanwhile, Tiegan was getting out her visual arts diary when her mobile went off. She looked at it and the screen said 'private number'.

"This better not be a prank call!" Tiegan said before answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Tiegan, it's me." a female voice at the other end of the line responded.

While Tiegan was talking to this unknown female, Shannon and Selina were talking.

"Can you believe Melanie?" Selina asked angrily.

"She's just desperate for attention." Shannon replied.

"I know." Selina said.

"So, are you and Jerome still going to Space Place tomorrow?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah. It is going to be awesome!" Selina replied, her face blushing.

"Anyway, thanks for calling me." Tiegan said. "We'll talk soon. Bye."

Tiegan hung up before throwing her mobile into her bag.

"Problem?" Selina asked her.

"One of my old friends at Hartley High wants me to go to her birthday party!" Tiegan responded, looking rather annoyed.

"When is it?" Shannon asked.

"Tomorrow."

"But you already have plans with Steph tomorrow." Selina reminded her.

"I know." Tiegan said. "I'll let her know when I see her in class."

Tiegan ended up telling Stephanie in their Ancient History class.

"What time is this party?" Stephanie asked her.

"7:30." Tiegan replied.

Stephanie looked at Tiegan before saying, "I suppose we can hang out in Yabbie Creek until late afternoon."

"I'm really sorry about this, Steph." Tiegan said. "My friend always leave things at the last minute."

"It's okay." Stephanie said, smiling. "Oh, Melissa's coming too."

"Who's she again?" Tiegan asked.

"She's the one that works at the diner three days a week." Stephanie responded.

"Oh yeah. I know who she is now." Tiegan said.

"I ran into her after school yesterday and she asked me what I was doing on Saturday. So, I invited her to come along." Stephanie said.

"I just hope she's nice." Tiegan said.

"She's really lovely." Stephanie said, reassuring her best friend.

"That's nice." Tiegan said, smiling.

After school that afternoon, Selina waited for Jerome near the lockers. They were going to go to the Bayside Diner and have a meal straight after Jerome finished rugby training. While Selina was waiting for him, she could hear voices inside one of the classroom.

"Miss Brennan, are you sure this is safe to use?" a male voice asked.

Why would Miss Brennan still be here? Selina thought. She normally leaves after 3 o'clock.

"Trust me, Pete." Joanne responded. "It'll be safe."

Selina sneaked over and listened in to Joanne and Pete's conversation.

"Chloe Richards is hooked on this stuff." Joanne told Pete.

Selina gasped in shock. What is Chloe hooked on? she wondered.

"So, give me some." Pete said.

Selina peeked over and saw Joanne give Pete some tablets. Selina was livid. Miss Brennan, the school secretary, was selling drugs to students after school.

Now it makes sense. Selina thought. Shannon kept hearing that slag Sonia Hammond gossip about Miss Brennan calling her a drug dealer. So, Sonia was right after all.

As soon as she heard footsteps approaching near the door, Selina quickly raced to the lockers. Luckily for her, Pete just walked off without seeing Selina at all. Not long after, Joanne left the classroom.

"What are you doing here, Selina?" Joanne asked her.

"Just waiting for my friend." Selina replied through thin lips.

"Fair enough." Joanne said before walking away.

Yeah, keep walking you cow! Selina thought. If I find out that Chloe gets hurt from those drugs you gave her, you'll be very sorry!

NEXT TIME...
- Tiegan and Stephanie's day out leads them to the city, where Tiegan attends her friend's birthday
- Selina and Jerome have their first kiss