"Ahhh, I'm so excited for tonight!" squealed Sophie wrapping her arms around me as she brushed past me into the hallway, her eyes darting around excitedly. "Hey Sophie, how longs it been? 8 hours?" joked my Dad as he playfully ruffled the thick curly nest of hair that topped her head in a messy bun. It was true Sophie was over last night for "homework". I am sure we've never spent more than a day apart, since Kindergarten. Sophie's my best friend, she's the outgoing, happy, smiley one that doesn't care what people think and we've been inseparable since we met.
"Plans for tonight?" I asked her as we sprinted up the stairs to my bedroom. She winked at me and raced ahead, diving onto my bed. "Well, I brought Jaws and The Grudge, and a load of sugar," she added spilling the contents of her bag out. I grinned at her and we started planning our night, nails, hair, popcorn, movie and an all niter. "Hey girls, sorry the lounge is taken, tonight looks like an early night in your room Piper," said my Mum leaning against the doorway. "Why?" I moaned slouching down against the wall. "Carpets getting replaced tomorrow, sorry girls maybe another night," she replied walking out. "The tent!" I said excitedly. "YES!" Sophie replied standing up and gathering armfuls of blankets and pillows.
After we had set the tent up, with mattresses, pillows, duvets and fairy lights we settled in just as the sun was going down. The clear night sky stretched to the corners of the universe, the stars and the moon painting the clear, black sky in a dotted array, and we just lied on the grass in a peaceful trance.
The rest of the night was spent gossiping, eating and laughing. We fell asleep in a sweaty heap, drained of energy after a groggy sugar low. I remember waking up with an urge too pee, I rummaged around for the torch, that I discovered was obviously lost in the array of pillows, sticky food and blankets. Glancing over at a silhouette of Sophie who was oblivious to my obnoxious rummaging, I stepped over her and methodically unzipped and re zipped the tent.
The moon was concealed by clouds and the sky a black canvas. The grass was wet and damp on my bare feet, I could make out the apple tree five meters ahead and scurried across the open lawn. I squatted behind the tree and as I sprouted back up, I heard the faint sound of footsteps. The hairs on the back of my neck stood, up and tiny goosebumps crept up my arms. Ignoring the creepy sensation, I dove back into the tent and fumbled for the torch.
