GirlsQuad ~ A Best of Friends Series: Book One

Chapter 7 - Carla

"Group hug everyone," I say with as much gusto as I can. I'm really excited about this new idea of Clarissa's, but what the hell is wrong with Brenda? She's not being very supportive of her best friend, so I really don't know what the deal is there. GirlsQuad is a unique and amazing name, in my opinion. I think it's great.

All four of us join in a cuddle, then we start jumping up and down, chanting "GirlsQuad, GirlsQuad, GirlsQuad," then we stop and fall about laughing and out of breath. It feels really good and I'm excited about what's on the horizon for us, prospects and a bright future are all I see.

"I'm going to make a drink, anyone want one?" Brenda is halfway back through the door, she needs a caffeine fix.

"Yes, please," we all say and then watch Brenda as she walks away.

"What's wrong with Brenda?" I ask.

"Is there something wrong?" Davina asks, but she's still reeling at the realisation of what our new salon name means.

"I don't know," says Clarissa, "but she was in an amazing mood this morning, she couldn't wait to tell me about date night with Simon and she was grinning like a fool."

"A fool who was fucked six ways from Sunday," I say with a smile.

"Oh God, you and that foul mouth of yours," my boss says, but laughs with it.

"Six ways from Sunday?" Davina repeats.

"Oh for God sake, Google it!" Brenda shouts from the kitchen. I forget that tiny room is just off the back door in the corridor of Clarissa's salon, she's probably heard what I've just said. She appears after a few minutes holding a tray with all our drinks on it.

"You're very snappy, what's up?" I ask Brenda, but I shrink back in fear of getting my head bitten off.

"Nothing, why?" Three of us look bewildered at Brenda. We finish our drinks, while Brenda smokes another fag and then we all go back inside.

The encounters from last night and this morning are still weighing heavy on my mind. I'm absolutely positive there was someone outside my house, I heard a series of bangs around 2am and when I peeked around the curtains to look out the window, there was no one there. I got an eerie inkling; it's like that feeling when you can sense someone watching you. That's exactly how it felt. I am absolutely certain there was someone following me this morning, but again, when I turned around there was not a soul in sight. I'm getting worried, but could it be my overactive imagination? I try to forget what happened on both of those occasions, but it's hard to let go. I don't want to worry or burden my friends with this either, but I know Clarissa would be the one to worry about me the most. The others, not so much, unless I tell them how I feel about it, but I'm sure they've shrugged it off already, just like I'm trying to.

An hour later and I have done all I can in the salon. We sell quite a number of exclusive hair products, such as shampoo, conditioner and split end serums. So I have restocked all the shelves and tidied around my chair. I've cleaned my scissors and all my other equipment. It's a really slow day today, but I've kept myself busy with other tasks.

The door opens and in walks Rebecca Barker, what is she doing here? I only did her hair yesterday. The obnoxious bride to be smiles warmly at me, "hi Carla, I need you to do my wedding hair," she says excitedly. Already? I think to myself, she only just got engaged; surely she should be thinking about other things before hair and make-up. "Is that something you could do for me?" I think for a moment, the last time I did wedding hair was months ago. But I'm sure I could do it.

"Yeah, sure, I'd need to do a practise run first though, just to make sure you like what I'm doing and you're happy with the style. Why don't you bring in a picture of something you have in mind and we can work together to create the perfect style that you love," I know I'm waffling on, but I'm not sure I can handle her constant babble about weddings. "When is the wedding?" I ask.