There was a bang and June jumped as the toilet door swung open. She hurriedly pulled her knees up to her chest so whoever it was wouldn’t see her feet under the cubicle door.
“My god, that was awkward,” said a voice that she recognized as Becky.
“Well, it’s hardly a surprise. She always was a weirdo at school,” said Tara. “Remember how she followed Gayle round in our first year like a lovesick puppy?”
One of them turned on a tap and there was the sound of gushing water.
“I wonder why Gayle invited her,” Becky said.
“She didn’t. Apparently June begged Gayle’s mum to get her an invitation.”
“No way, that’s so tragic. Can I borrow your lippie?”
“Sure.”
There was silence, and June held her breath.
“I wonder why she didn’t just lie and pretend she’d done some of those things,” Becky said after a moment. “Do you think she’s really a virgin?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“God, imagine being twenty-eight and never having done anything. I wonder if she’s got many friends.”
“Well, she didn’t have any at school, so I doubt it. Do you want a spray of perfume?”
“Yes, please.”
A strong floral smell filled the air, and June held her nose so she wouldn’t sneeze.
“Do you remember her mum got sick when we were doing our A levels?” Tara said. “I heard she died while we were at uni.”
“Did she?”
“I’m sure I heard that. And I don’t think June has any other family.”
“Man, that’s grim. Shall we get back out there?”
“Yep. Did you see what Alicia’s wearing? She looks so...”
June heard the door close and the voices fade away. She counted to twenty before she unlocked the cubicle and stepped out. The perfume still hung in the air, sickly sweet and cloying at the back of her throat, and for a moment June thought she might be sick. She stared at her reflection in the mirror: mascara streaked down her cheeks and her hair wild around her head, like some demented clown from a horror movie. There was no way she could go back out there and face those awful women with their pitying smiles and laughter. She had to get out of here, now.
June picked up her phone to call Linda for a lift, before remembering that she’d gone to visit her daughter for the weekend. Sighing, she started to put the phone back in her bag when she saw a text message on the screen.
Alex Chen
Hope the hen do is fun—say congrats to Gayle from me! x
As she read the message, June felt a flood of relief so strong that without thinking she pressed dial and held the phone to her ear.
“Alex, can you talk?” she said when he answered. Her voice came out as a raspy whisper.
“Of course. Are you all right?”
“No. I’m...” June felt a sob building and tried to stifle it.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Alex’s voice was full of concern.
“The hen... it’s terrible...” was all she managed to get out.
