Veronica, February 2009
"How did I ever let you talk me into this?" I asked Kate when we walked up to the Claremont Tavern. High school was always meant to be that institution we escaped from after six long and tortuous years but somehow Kate had convinced me that attending our ten year reunion was a great idea.
"I wanted to see you." She says with a coy smile on her face that tells me that's not the real reason why we're here.
"I could have flown to New York and had an entire week just with you and the kids." I point out the flaw in her cover up of the truth. I know when Kate is up to something, sixteen years of friendship has taught me how to read her well and the Kate I know wouldn't just throw herself at the mercy of the bitches who made her last year of school absolute hell when they discovered she was pregnant. "Why are we really here?"
We step inside the empty elevator and I push the button for the function room. The doors close and Kate leans back against the wall, all the confidence knocked out of her, revealing a scared and frightened woman to me.
"Petra and her air headed gang used to tell me, in detail, how I'd destroyed my life, how I'd never amount to anything." Kate says in a tiny voice, her eyes welling with tears as she recalls the past.
"Kate, you are one of the most successful people I've ever met, running your own business that you built from scratch, in New York." I remind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I know and you're also a successful business owner who now lives in London and has traveled the world." Kate replies, giving me an insight into her plan. "I did some digging on Facebook and found out that Petra never left Claremont, she got a dead end job as an office clerk in a government agency, got married, had two kids but is now divorced.She also sells Avon and is gunning to become the top sales rep in her region."
We erupt into a fit of hysterical laughter, Petra had spent our teenage years kicking us down with her idle gossip and cruel taunts. She was the stereotypical bitch that every high school has, making those around her feel worthless and there was nothing we could do about it, that was just the social hierarchy we'd fallen into back then but once high school ended then so did Petra's false sense of power over us.
The elevator doors open and we both straighten our outfits, ready to face the self proclaimed queen bee and there she was, sat behind a table that was covered in name tags and a pile of forms, with her faithful sidekick, Kristen by her side.
Gone was the slender girl, who liked nothing more than to comment on my own weight, in her place was a chunky, large woman with tragic 'mum' haircut, dressed in clothing that looked like it was purchased from a store aimed at elderly women who dress more for comfort, not style. Petra's entire look gave off the impression that she'd basically given up trying whereas Kristen could not be more opposite, her long hair bleached platinum blonde and straightened, her nails neatly manicured, her make up looked like it had been professionally done and the mid-drift top she was wearing was what I'd expect to see on a teenager, down at the mall.
"Veronica." Petra greets me warmly as if we're friends. Coming out from behind the table and throwing herself around me. Her cheap perfume almost suffocates me with how potent it is. I cough, trying desperately to breathe in air that doesn't reek of dying flowers. She pulls back but holds me in her arms, looking me over as if conducting an inspection. "It's so wonderful to see you again Roni, is Sam with you?"
"Unfortunately Sam has a full week of football commitments so he was unable to come with me." I explain, completely jealous that he had a plausible excuse to bail on this event because Kate wouldn't accept any of mine. "I'm here with Kate though, she managed to take time away from her extremely popular children's clothing line just to come and attend this little shindig you've thrown together."
