to make myself heard over the shrieking girls but Cassie catches my words.
“Lauren! Hey, how are you? I’ve been trying to call you!”
She looks pretty concerned about me, so I smile to try and put her at ease. She seems genuine, so I guess I can give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Hey Cassie. I’ve been, well, I’ve been just trying to sort a few things out. Sorry I haven’t returned any of your calls.”
“Don’t worry about it! As long as you’re ok. I think we’re off to get some food before hitting town properly.”
“What? Dressed like this?” I exclaim. “You haven’t seen what’s under this coat! Plus, there is no way I can order red wine with Serena sat anywhere near me, I always spill it on people in white!”
We both start to giggle and I manage to relax slightly. There are some women from Chambers sat near to the driver’s end of the car, but I think I’ll wait to see if they speak to me before starting to worry about what they might say.
Serena is talking about the wedding. This in itself isn’t particularly surprising, but from the sound of it, she now appears to have spent a small fortune on a twelve-piece orchestra to play at the church.
“I heard a sample of their music on the Internet and I just had to book them!” she exclaims. “They’ve played at all the big celebrity weddings, so naturally I wanted them.”
“They must have cost a fortune!” exclaims Jodie, Ewan’s sister.
“Yes,” agrees Serena, “But I’m totally worth it!”
I actually have a great time in the restaurant. I sit between Cassie and Serena, opposite Dianne and their cousin Lynne. The girls keep me in stitches with stories of Lynne’s new boyfriend who refuses to, well, get intimate with her unless Boyzone is playing on the stereo.
“What about Westlife?” Serena howls.
“Nope, no can do,” Lynne replies, her voice muffled through the napkin stuffed into her mouth to try and stem the laughter.
My sides hurt and I’m doubled over; my head is practically on the table as I shake with giggles. Through my drunken haze and underneath the hysterics coming from around me I can hear a conversation taking place further up the table.
“I know!” says a female voice, “I can not believe that she had the gall to come tonight!”
The emphasis on her words is clear. I keep my head down and feel a cold prickling sensation run over me. It has a strange, oddly sobering effect.
“And would you look at the state of her!” says another, unidentified, yet familiar voice. “She’s really let herself go. Why, having clearly put on a good few stone would you pour yourself into that?”
“And the best bit,” the first woman says, struggling through laughter, “The absolute best bit, is given the Telephone video, that she’s come dressed as, dressed as, practically a convict!”
The two women begin to laugh and I sit up abruptly. Serena catches my arm.
“What’s up?” she’s still laughing and all thoughts of running over and throwing something over my former colleagues are forgotten. I can’t ruin her night. I smile and pat her on the arm.
“Boyzone, eh!”
We end up, as planned, in a club called Zeus. I used to come here when I was about 15 and from the look of it, that’s still the average age of the clientele. Fueled by cheap sugary drinks and far too many shots of tequila, we are dancing like crazy ladies on the stage, watched in either admiration or horror by a group of boys young enough to call their mums to demand a lift home.
I keep forgetting that I’m not wearing my usual sophisticated drinking ensemble and shocking myself when I catch sight of my reflection in the mirrored walls. I’ve managed to steer well clear of anyone connected to Chambers, save for Cassie and Serena and refrained, admirably so, from accidentally punching one of the bitches from earlier and passing it off as a dance move.
Serena has insisted on paying for everyone’s drinks all night and is now somewhat worse for wear. She’s managed to lose most of the tape that protects her modesty and has flashed at most of the people in here. Oh well, at least she’s having a good time.
I’ve discovered that no matter how much I drink I don’t seem to be getting any drunker. That being said, I know that this is going to hurt like hell in the morning. Sebastian tried to call me earlier, but