Charlie's Web (A Romantic Comedy)

Prologue

There's a catfight afoot.

In fact, to describe it like that is an affront to cats, because they would not conduct themselves with as little dignity as these two girls are now. The arguing has turned to screaming, the screaming has morphed into a bit of hair-pulling and scatching and now . . . weapons are being brought into play.

A wine glass, which was until mere minutes before filled with Australia's finest, goes flying across the room and with a loud smashing noise, it explodes against the wall.

The shattering noise which ensues stuns the girls, who finally seem to realise what has just happened. They stare at one another in horrified silence, unable to find the words. Eventually one of the girls breaks the silence. By turning around, storming out of the room and slamming the door so hard the entire flat shakes, seemingly to its foundations.

The other girl, still silent, still struggling to catch her breath, drops down onto the couch, her entire body trembling, Whether this is down to fear, a rush of adrenalin, or simply anger, it's difficult to tell.

This may be all a bit of a mystery to you. Why would two best friends be at each other's throats like this, I hear you ask? Well . . . this is not the beginning of the story. This is the conclusion of weeks of deception. Of lots of little mistakes looping together in seemingly incongruous ways to create a catastrophic chain of events. Of one small lie that snowballed into something greater.

Confused? Read on . . . and maybe it will start to make sense . . .