Coffee & Biscuits

20|distractions

At one of the many Starbucks cafes around town sat two young women plotting their revenge while drinking caramel lattes and eating scones. Rebecca George and Aria Willows had become closer than ever; texting every day, tethered by this secret they kept and connecting deeply - so it wasn't strange for them to meet a few hours before school.  As focused as Aria was on executing the plan flawlessly she was constantly distracted by what had happened by the lake yesterday. Tom and her had decided to only be friends but the tension between them said otherwise. The way his eyes had roamed over her body after their embrace and how his head had been at the nape of her neck, his breath hot as it touched her skin, all of it had her dizzy for hours until she fell asleep. Now she was doing her best to listen to Rebecca as she went over the next stage of their plan, which included Jane. 

"We need to take a picture of what you found, we need them to know that we aren't joking around." Rebecca stated and sipped her latte. 

"I think we should give the evidence to Jane, like you suggested earlier. That way they won't have any leverage on us." Aria said.

"That's a good idea, yes. We just need her to store it until we're ready to go to the police." Rebecca nodded at her own words.

Things were getting real now as the plan was in full motion. There was no room for regrets or cowardly behavior now or everything would fall apart. The two of them stared at each other for a moment to assure each other that they were both still in this, still hungry for revenge.

"This is about to get very real now. We could keep the texts going often and with no particular pattern so they don't suspect anything. With luck we won't even have to send him more than one." Rebecca explained.

"No room for error here or we're completely screwed. Let's not talk about this over the phone, text--only face to face. When we speak to Jane we have to have some type of code word." 

"We aren't really spies, Aria--" Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"I know but what we're doing is blackmail and that's illegal. If this goes to trial and they won't accept our evidence then we're screwed. I'm genuinely scared for what can happen if they walk free..." The nightmare played out in her head and she could see herself haunted by Brody and Bobby for the rest of her life.

They would smear her name, spread rumors about her and she'd forever be known as the girl who falsely accused two male students. College would be a tainted experience for her, if she'd even have the courage to go. So Aria knew she had to be careful with her next move.

"I have to be confident we'll make a difference somehow, that this incident won't go unnoticed. Perhaps there are more girls in our school that has suffered at their hands and this will prompt them to speak out." Rebecca encouraged.

"I'm inspired of how positive you are about all of this." Aria complimented and finished her latte.

"I wouldn't call myself positive but--it's nice to not be alone in all of this. I had Jane before but with her in college and me still in high school it's a little more difficult." Rebecca smiled shyly, a smile Aria had never seen before. 

Since their unlikely friendship had begun Aria's friends had been less than pleased and since their impromptu intervention they had kept their distances from her. They no longer texted in their group chat which worried Aria that they were communicating without her, hanging out without her and planning things without her. Not that she really could be jealous, she had Rebecca to hang out with. 

"You were right about my friends, by the way," Aria interjected, "they're not taking this lightly and are starting to ask questions." 

Rebecca sighed, "I had a feeling that they would and I'm sorry about that. As tough as it is I hope you know it'll be worth it in the end. Even if they will never understand why you kept them in the dark it will be worth the pain."