Girls Who Play Guitars

•no, managers really do suck•

Sam slouched over the kitchen table; his bucket hat firmly fixed on top of his head. Ellie sat at the scratched Formica table in the rickety kitchen, wrapping her fuzzy yellow cardigan around her singlet-top and saggy pyjama bottoms. Meg sat back in her chair across from Sam with her arms crossed, wearing her red onesie and a tightly pursed cat-bum mouth. In her oversized tartan pyjamas and slippers, Kim hovered next to the kettle, scraping coffee granules from the bottom of the tin with a teaspoon, throwing them into chipped mugs. Sam shuffled in his seat, his huge caramel-coloured coat sitting high around his shoulders.

A copy of Tattler with Daniel Armstrong and the members of Glue on the cover lay splayed open on the table to the Sam and Jessie article.

Ellie reached for Meg's arm. "Sorry you had to find out like this, Megsy. We were going to talk about it today." She glanced at Kim, whose stony silence was unsettling and when she slammed the fridge door with a force that rattled and shook the floor under them, Ellie knew Kim was not good.

"It's fine, Ellie." Meg's eyes were hard and flaming. "I heard it straight from this dipstick's mouth."

Once upon a time, Meg and Sam had been inseparable. Right when Slider started to take off and Meg struggled with the rapid changes that were happening in her life, Sam had been a rock. Focused. There for her. Sam had promised Ellie's sister Coral he'd look after them in London. Meg mostly. But the more well-known and successful Slider got, Ellie could see changes coming over him. She put it down to too many illegal raves; too many nights loved up on e's with his head and fists pumping endlessly to the light show. Meg always stuck up for Sam so Ellie pushed her doubts away, trusting Meg's opinion.

And look what happened.

Meg shook her head in disgust at Sam and pushed the magazine towards him. "I can't believe you can even look at Jessie after what she did to Ellie."

Sam shrugged. "Me and Jessie have been together for ages."

"How long?" Meg stared at him down her nose.

Sam scratched the side of his chin and Ellie realised he couldn't look Meg in the eye. "Five months."

Behind him, Kim stirred the coffee with a teaspoon in monotone clinks around and around inside the china cups.

Ellie frowned. "You've been lying to us this entire time?"

"We're supposed to be friends." Even though Meg's voice shook, she held strong.

Sam finally lifted his eyes to Meg's. "We can still be friends." Shifting in his seat away from Ellie's glare, he pulled at his jacket and coughed before placing his palms on the table. "This is just a small business hiccup."

Everyone jumped as Kim threw the teaspoon into the sink where it clattered among the dishes. Ellie pushed her chair back with a loud scrape. "This is not a 'small' hiccup." She stood over Sam. "We can't trust you."

Sam's eyes flicked to Ellie and he puckered his lips, muttering: "I get that you're all mad but—"

"We're more than mad." Kim turned, gripping two cups of steaming coffee.

Sam vaulted away from the table, scooting to the doorway out of Kim's reach. Ellie covered her laugh with a hand as Kim placed a cup in front of Meg then sat in Sam's chair and sipped her coffee.

Ellie faced Sam. "You're done here, Sam. We have a lawyer who will be corresponding with your lawyer. Then you and Jessie will never have anything to do with us ever again."

Sam didn't need to know they didn't have a lawyer.

"Yeah. Our lawyer said you're headed up shit creek without a paddle," Meg said, blowing on her steaming coffee, her gaze fixed on Sam.