His Plaything

After the bell rang Dailey was struck with the fear Drake would either forget or change his mind. Ignoring her friends—her so-called friends who had known about Sam's cheating and neglected to inform her—she dashed to the main reception, hoping to catch him there. Breathing heavily, she propped herself up against the brick wall and waited as the students piled out. They chatted and jostled about as they spilled out of the building, spoiling the quiet outdoors with their messy presence. The birds pecking at the lunch crumbs flapped and departed as one when the wave of kids hit the courtyard. Dailey kept her back to the wall, watching the scene with disconnection, too worried about her current problem to focus on anything else. When the dark colours of the scene kids caught her eye, she picked Drake from the crowd with ease. He was at least a head taller than most of the others and dwarfed his smallest friend,

Dailey waited by the gates, anxious about explaining her cash flow situation to Drake. As she shifted from foot to foot and kicked up the dirt from between the paving slabs, she felt her heart racing. Sick bile rose in her chest, coating her throat and filling her mouth with a bitter taste. 'Why does he make me so nervous?' she wondered. The problem was, Drake wasn't like other guys. Dailey knew her looks put guys on edge—made them horny and stupid—and she could often use it to her advantage. For whatever reason, this superpower didn't work on Drake. "You have my cash?" she heard him ask, turning to find herself in his shadow. Dailey looked up with pleading, apologetic eyes. "I'm really sorry but I don't have it. Is it okay if I pay you back in instalments?" The look he gave her sent a chill down her spine. So cold and angry. Then his face softened slightly,

When Toni arrived at school, she had a fully formed plan and steely resolve, but it all melted away the second she saw those cat-like green eyes flash in her direction. He walked past her, making a beeline from some poor kid. Some hapless victim he'd deemed worthy to suffer at his hands.  The guy saw him coming, but like a deer in headlights, he froze and cowered as the bully ploughed over, kicking up the grass as he stomped over the field to interrupt the game of catch. The victim's friends scattered in all directions as if knowing from experience it was better to look the other way than to get beaten up along with their comrade. "Oi," Toni shouted, storming over with the huge strides and attitude of a superhero. She imagined herself as a badass character in a movie—some leather-clad heroine who'd just pulled up on her motorcycle and whipped off her helmet, letting her long dark hair free to blow in the wind.

Toni glanced about the room, at the stark walls and windows with cream blinds that looked as though nobody had dusted them in the last ten years. It was nothing like her last school. Well... except for the fact the mentality of the people was pretty much identical. The segregation of popular kids, the cool kids, the nerds, and the freaks.    Glancing to her left, she spotted the guy Dailey had told her about. She couldn't see much of his expression because his long, dangly black hair covered his face. Normally, he'd be just her type; dangerous, weird, and twisted... but she had the distinct feeling her only friend in this hell hole would end up falling for him, meaning he was off limits.   She felt the life drain out of her as Tommy took a seat beside her, scraping his chair and table loudly as he pulled them closer to hers. Something about his energetic personality was draining to Toni. Just watching him fail to sit still for five seco

When Dailey arrived at the beach it was beginning to get dark. A group of kids had created a bonfire and were currently feeding it sticks. Some weren't dry enough. They crackled and hissed as they burned, releasing a foul-smelling acrid smoke into the salty air. Dailey watched, keeping to the grassy shore when she spotted Sam by the keg. He and his friends filled red plastic cups with beer and joked together, perving not so discreetly on a couple of scantily clad girls from the year below. 'Already moving on to someone new,' Dailey thought. 'Typical.' She tried to tell herself it didn't matter—that she was done with him—but seeing him still hurt. He hadn't even spoken to her about the images, probably assuming he'd simply lost the files. This could only be a good thing. She hated him, but she also still loved him and always would. Getting him involved in the mess with Drake would o