“Hey! This is Lindsay from work, just want to let you know that Steve said you’ll have to cover for me tomorrow, seeing as how him and I are going on a dinner date. Make sure you’re there or you’ll be on cleanup duty for the next 3 months! *Bzzrt*” The answering machine ran as Heather continued to change out of her work clothes in a state of agonized defeat. It had been a busy Wednesday at the Target she worked for, and it looks like her week wasn’t going to get much better.
Now stripped to her underwear, she entered her bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror as the rest of her messages ran off in the other room. Removing the contacts from her hazel eyes, she began the process of wiping off the make up she had been wearing for work. As the blush began to rub off on to the towel, her dull pale skin began to show through, contrasting with her messy black hair. The slightest hint of crow’s feet were a worrying sign of her being a college grad student, but as everyone else were facing similar struggles she did only the bare minimum to hide them.
Stepping back outside into her bedroom, Heather’s spirits were brought slightly up by the voice of her friend Veronica. “Hey Heather! So guess what? Laura cancelled for this Saturday so now our group’s got an extra ticket! So I said why don’t we invite Heather, and the rest of the group was like sure! Call me back as soon as you get this! Bye!”
“*Bzzrt* You have no new messages,” the answering machine concluded, finally shutting down. Heather, still in her underwear, couldn’t believe her good fortune! The tickets for this Saturday had been sold out for months, and when she had found out that Veronica and some of her other friends had managed to snag them, Heather was certain she’d be out of the loop for years to come. Picking the phone up off the handle, Heather quickly dialed in Veronica’s number.
~~~~~~~
Arriving in the parking lot a good half hour before they were actually going to be let in (as per the instructions given by Veronica), Heather got out of her car, her black blazer going well with her gray shirt and jeans. The last remains of a winter wind sent a slight chill up Heather’s spine.
Standing outside of a large ornate gate stood a circle of about 5 other people. Heather immediately recognized most of them. There was Veronica, her best friend with her blonde hair tied back in a pony tail; Echo, the quiet asian girl whom Heather often did her studying with; Susan, Veronica’s friend since middle school with flawless ebony skin; Spencer, Veronica’s boyfriend; and…
“What is she doing here?!” Lindsay shouted upon locking eyes with Heather's eyes.
“Now c’mon Lindsay, the rest of the group agreed that Heather should get the spare ticket.” Veronica said, giving Lindsay the stink eye.
“Yeah, but I said she shouldn’t, and I though we were only going to give it to someone we all agreed on!”
“We did, but in the end Heather’s the only one a majority of people said yes to, so she got the extra ticket.”
“*hmph* If I had known she was coming along I wouldn’t have even put money into buying the tickets.”
“If you had done that, you probably wouldn’t even be here right now,” Spencer shot back, effectively shutting Lindsay up as she pouted deeply.
“Sorry Heather, I would have told her earlier if I knew she was going to act like this.” Veronica whispered in her ear.
“No problem, i’m not going to let Lindsay ruin my night.” Heather responded back.
Once the time listed on their ticket rolled around, the group was a little shocked to find that they were still the only ones standing outside the gate.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Susan asked.
“This is the place it said on the tickets,” Veronica said.
Suddenly, the sound of screeching metal could be heard as the gates in front of them began to open. As they began to part, the group were excited to see…
Choices are:
1) A unique theme park experience
2) A Terrifying Haunted House
3) An imaginative science fair