Free Wasted by Nicola Morgan

Game and let the coin decide. Will it be heads or will it be tails?
    NOTE:
    Only one of the next two chapters will happen. Then, a coin will spin and the story will follow whichever event the coin “decides”.

CHAPTER 12
HEADS
    OUTSIDE the club, a girl called Marianne is queuing with her friends. Marianne has a fake ID. It is her older sister’s passport. She has used it before and it has usually worked. She looks enough like her sister and, in any case, passport photos usually look like a criminal version of someone vaguely like oneself when ill.
    There are two bouncers on the door. Marianne smiles sweetly at one of them.
    He almost smiles back. “ID. Please.” Takes it from her. Flicks through it. Is about to ask her a question. He isn’t sure he believes it’s hers.
    â€œDate of birth?”
    Marianne knows that one. Dead obvious. She looks straight at him, and there’s a confidence in her face that goes a very long way to convincing him. But not the whole way. He still doesn’t one hundred per cent believe her. He’s going to ask her what countries she’s been to. And when. So he flicks through the pages to find one with tourist stamps. There are a lot of stamps – this is a girl who has travelled. Or, if it’s not hers, the owner of the passport has. He can probably catch her out. On the other hand, can he be bothered? He’s turned away a load of people that night, done his job.
    No, he will – he’ll trap her. Might as well. He opens his mouth to ask her the first question. But at that very moment there is a noise over her shoulder and he looks up. It’s a group of boys, rich kids, noisily pushing into the queue. They could be about to cause trouble. The other people in the queue are not happy. His colleague has just gone to the toilet, so he’s on his own.
    For a moment, he hesitates. It could go either way.
    But you can’t hesitate long in a job like this. You have to make snap decisions.
    He decides.
    He lets Marianne in and focuses on the boys.
    Meanwhile, in the bar, Jack and Jess are standing up, showing each other photos on their phones. They are going to dance soon, but they need to finish their drinks first, which are on the table near them. Margaritas, salt on the rims. Jess is not planning to have anything more after this. She knows she has had enough. Her head is gently spinning.
    Kelly Jones appears beside them. She is smiling. Pleasantly. Which is disconcerting.
    â€œHello, Kelly,” says Jack. Jess watches her. Alcohol has slackened Kelly’s mouth and various other muscles and as she leans towards Jack she almost falls on him.
    â€œSteady there, Kelly,” he says.
    She continues smiling sweetly, her face centimetres from his. Traces her finger down the side of his face and to his collar. Jess watches. Kelly’s smile is not in her eyes.
    Marianne, at this precise moment, has met Ella and Chris on the other side of the bar and is chatting to them. This is much more important than it might seem. Jack and Jess are, of course, unaware. They have more apparently interesting things to concentrate on.
    Someone knocks into Jack from behind and he twists round.
    A boy grins, holds his hands up. “Sorry, mate!”
    Jack shrugs.
    At this moment, Kelly appears to lose interest in Jack’s body and walks away. Or perhaps
reels away
is a better way to describe her erratic path. Jess and Jack look at each other and grin.
    â€œWeird!” says Jess.
    â€œHorrible,” says Jack. “Finish your drink and then we can go and dance.
    Jess stirs hers and knocks it back. Later she may half remember that it tasted somewhat bitter but it’s hard to be sure, especially with the salt on the rim. And anyway, she has drunk it now. She follows Jack onto the small dance floor.

CHAPTER 13
TAILS
    OR, alternatively, is this what happens?
    Outside the club, a girl called Marianne is queuing with her friends.