Just Past Three in the Morning

Two groups of friends.  One or two seconds.  Everything that follows from that.

Gold cherry

Just Past Three in the Morning (1)

We all stumbled out of the Goodhearted Owl. One big lump of rowdiness. Justin still had aglass in his hand, he was drinking out of it, not noticing...
Cherry

Just Past Three in the Morning (2)

So here we were, in the waiting room at a local hospital. It was after four, it was sort of quiet. Us sitting in a line against one wall, these two...
Cherry

Just Past Three in the Morning (3)

I got home a little bit before midday. Mum and Dad had been arguing again. The silence in the house had that quality about it, that tension, that...

Just Past Three in the Morning (4)

The girl was blue-eyed and blond, she was Norton's type: delicate, fairy-boned; her mouth like rose petals on snow. Add to that the fact that he'd –...

Just Past Three in the Morning (5)

Me: I knew about Penny going to visit Norton. It seemed only right. And I was there at the hospital gift shop helping her pick out the flowers...

Just Past Three in the Morning (6)

Pigsy warned me as we walked: “It's not a big place. It's a studio flat, self-contained and all, but the kitchen and the laundry share space, so do...
Cherry

Just Past Three in the Morning (7)

I watched that space. I watched her getting out of his car. She was wearing a short red dress, under a jaunty, lace trimmed black jacket. Her heels...

Just Past Three in the Morning (8)

Just us girls. We marched on into town with our credit cards and our determination. I knew I was on a budget, but I resolved not to let myself care...

Just Past Three in the Morning (9)

“Asshole!” Penny was pacing around the room, I could hear her footsteps. I'd just come home from work, tired, my head full of shelves, full of...

Just Past Three in the Morning (10)

Norton showed up at Pigsy's flat just short of midnight. “What are you doing here?” “I need to take a dump, there's no public toilets around, and so...

Just Past Three in the Morning (11)

“I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have leaned on it and gone flying...” but I was glad to have him over all the same, and despite my assurances, I could...

Just Past Three in the Morning (12)

He walked home, thinking about Heather. He didn't know why he was doing that. It wasn't as if he was trying to get her into bed or anything –...

Just Past Three in the Morning (13)

It was itching now. A sign of healing? So that should make him feel better. All it really made him feel was like tearing those three stitches out...

Just Past Three in the Morning (14)

My fault. The moment I heard about the incident, that was what I thought. All because of me, and my railing, and the beers I offered, the extra time...

Just Past Three in the Morning (15)

Battle-lines were drawn. It was obvious as soon as I walked in the door. I felt an overwhelming urge, in fact, to turn around and walk right back out...

Just Past Three in the Morning (16)

“Penny was right, you really should have sex on this rug.” “Shelley!” “What?” “Quit it. I'm still your sister.” “Prude.” She stuck out her tongue,...
Cherry

Just Past Three in the Morning (17)

And what can you say of us? Spring turns into summer, summer ripens, deepens, and there's hot days and blue skies for a while – skies deep and heat-...

Just Past Three in the Morning (18)

Pigsy showed up on my doorstep one night at about eight o'clock. He looked a mess. And he opened with: “I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be here right...

Just Past Three in the Morning (19)

He considered sending Heather a card. Would that be over the top? Maybe. She'd really helped him, she hadn't faltered, she'd had the patience of a...

Just Past Three in the Morning (20)

Penny was buzzing. She was flapping around the room, infused with a kind of excitement I don't think I'd ever seen in her. “He asked me!” She...

Just Past Three in the Morning (21)

The phone ringing, late at night, just after the stroke of midnight. And you know before you touch it, you know that something on the other end is...

Just Past Three in the Morning (22)

We all dressed up like lawyers. I looked at everyone, and none of us looked like ourselves. Shelley had grown up over the months – too fast, and for...

Just Past Three in the Morning (23)

Penny was beautiful. No, even that doesn't do her justice. She was a work of crystallised sugar and sewn-together starlight. And seeing her, walking...