Her Melting Point

Ready to Fly the Coop

Jackie squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself.

In Year 11, Jarvis Montjoy had already been giving out the whole 'Death in Venice meets Dorian Grey' vibe. He'd been skiving more than he'd been attending. He'd had no success in sciences and maths, but had been fluent at French and had done predictably well at drama and music. He'd been too charming for his own good, talking his way out of any trouble. Girls had adored him; and even a few teachers had been known to mention how Enjolras-like 'angelically handsome' he was. Jackie hadn't been among them. All she'd cared about were his failing grades in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.

"You really have no defence," Joy murmured, and Jackie shuddered. "Well, this will be your punishment then," the queen added - and pressed her lips to Jackie's.

All Jackie felt was the cherry flavour of the lipgloss. Joy's mouth moved; Jackie didn't reciprocate.

"Hey, you prick!" Bernie barked.

Joy rocked forward, deepening the kiss; and Jackie pressed her hands into the queen's shoulders. Her throat constricted painfully.

"Still not pushing me away, darling?" the queen purred.

Suddenly there was no contact, and Jackie's eyes flew open.

"Let her go!" The dentist shoved Joy forcefully. She must have yanked the queen away from Jackie. "Have you heard of consent, you cockmuppet?" Bernie hissed.

"Oh, and suddenly our woke attitude is all but forgotten. Still not a cock, love," Joy jeered, narrowing her eyes at the other woman.

Bernie raised her tight right fist. Jackie wrapped her hands around Joy's upper arm and tugged. They were making a scene! Jackie's skin crawled from the gawking looks from the punters around them.

"Stop it, both of you!" she exclaimed and pulled insistently. "C'mon, let's step aside. Please?"

Joy shot a side glance, and her face softened.

"Not worth it," she threw to Bernie, turned around, and started marching away. "Jackie? Let's get some air."

Jackie followed. Bernie had been right, of course; Jackie hadn't consented to the kiss; but out of the two women, Joy was less predictable. Jackie needed to neutralise the impending calamity as quickly as possible.

The realisation that she'd just snogged a drag queen who also happened to be her former pupil - and not by proxy like Alexander - in the middle of a packed club, was dawning on Jackie. It came with a sharp wave of nausea.

Joy headed out, onto the pavement in front of the club.

"Got a fag?" she asked the bouncer.

Jackie watched an orange reflection dance on the queen's face when she leaned to the man's hands, folded around a lighter.

"So, darling, what did this evening teach us?" Joy asked, squinting at Jackie.

"That you're a drama queen and a twat," Jackie grumbled.

Joy snorted. "Ouch, Jocelyn. So harsh." She puffed a small cloud of smoke, pensively studying Jackie. "In my opinion this evening was more than illustrative. I wonder if you realise that the reason why you're treating me differently from Alexander is because I am a twat, just like you said."

Jackie jolted at the sound of the name - and then stared at Joy.

"What? Why do you look so shocked?" The queen's tone was dripping with venom. "I'm the same age, and I doubt it's because I temporarily have tits." She flamboyantly gestured around her chest. "You just can't say 'no' to anyone. Unfortunately for him, our poor Xezzo would never insist. He respects you too much. He's also quite a prideful one, something that isn't that obvious at first glance. I reckon, he needs to feel wanted, just like the rest of us."