Wicked!

Chapter One!

Rachel grew up not wanting for anything. She came from a well respected family, with big bank accounts. They lived in a palatial home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. It was coming down with bedrooms and bathrooms, and if you didn’t know your way around, you could easily get lost.

Rachel’s friends were the wealthy and spoiled children of movie and television producers , directors, lawyers and doctors. They all loved going shopping in Sachs Fifth Avenue and Tiffany’s. They thought nothing of dropping thousands of dollars in one store.

Her first car was a Mercedes, and her first job was as an intern at her mother’s law firm. No one bothered her with anything taxing. She basically spent a couple of weeks making coffee, and even that was stopped when she kept mistaking the salt for the sugar.

She knew about her high status in life, and used it to her full advantage. There were many people who wanted to be in her tight circle of friends solely because of who she associated with, and what parties she could get into, and she used it fully. If she wanted something done, she had a ready and willing list of people on tap.

One girl in particular was a feisty little thing. No matter what Rachel threw at her, she always succeeded, and then some. Nothing seemed to be too much for her. Her name was Sandy. Her father was a lawyer who had fallen on some hard times. Rachel’s mother had hired him to work for her law firm, and so Sandy felt indebted to Rachel and her family. Rachel knew she felt this way, and used it to her advantage.

~ * ~

After high school Rachel and Sandy parted ways. They attended colleges in opposite ends of the country. For a while they kept in touch through email and the odd phone call, but that quickly fell by the wayside. Rachel missed talking to her sometimes, but she moved on with new friends, and she was sure Sandy did the same thing.

Five years after graduation and Rachel’s life was not going very well. While in college she got in with a bad crowd who introduced her to alcohol and drugs. She became addicted, and was eventually abandoned by her family. They had tried on numerous occasions to convince her to go into rehab, but she always refused. She insisted she knew what was best for her, and that meant all the bad things. They felt they had no option but to leave her to it, as watching her destroy herself was too much for them.

~ * ~

A few years after her near self destruction and she was getting back on the straight and narrow. She was looking for a job, and was playing with the idea of heading back to school to get some qualifications. She still wasn’t in contact with her parents however. She wanted to wait until she was in a much better position before she saw them.

That possibility came closer one morning when Rachel was reading the society pages of the local newspaper. She had always kept up to date on what was happening in high society, wanting to know who was marrying who, dating who and who was moving around in each circles.

Her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when she sees a photograph of her old friend, Sandy. The article next to the photograph raved about her recent engagement to Justin Jones. He was one of the most successful actors in the world at that moment, with the biggest movie in the nation. At this stage in his career, he could do no wrong.

Rachel zooms in on the photograph a little more and gets a bolt of envy when she notices the engagement ring, with a stone so big the hope diamond would be jealous.

Sandy and Justin look to be blissfully happy. They are smiling broadly, and Justin can’t take his eyes off Sandy.

She can’t believe that little pushover Sandy has come along so well in life. She always imagined her settling down in some suburban neighbourhood with her Joe Average partner and their cat Fluffy. She never imagined her marrying a truly stunning man like Justin Jones. That man, with that career, would set her up for life.

Rachel has to do something to get closer to the situation. This is the type of world she should be involved in. If she hadn’t gone down a very bad road she could be living this life, but now that she is getting back on her feet, this would be the perfect world to enjoy her life again.

She rings one of the few high school friends who are still talking to her. She is able to give Rachel Sandy’s phone number.

She dials the number with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. This could either go very well, or very badly. And this all rests on the assumption that Sandy will even want to speak with her.

She hangs on for a nerve racking few moments. Her heart jumps into her stomach when she hears the call being connected.

“Hello Sandy, this is Rachel. How are you?” she asks, her voice cracking a little under the tension.

There is silence on the other end of the phone.

“Rachel, long time no talk. How are things with you?”

“I’m brilliant. I read about your engagement, and just wanted to congratulate you.”

“Oh thank you. I’m in seventh heaven. It hasn’t really settled in yet. Everytime I look at my hand it’s like ‘what’s that?’”

“I can well believe it. Have you set a wedding date yet?”

“No, not yet. We’re planning the engagement party at the moment, and we’ll start thinking about the wedding after that,” she says, the happiness shining through her voice.

“Well best of luck to you. I wish the two of you all the best,” adds Rachel. She doesn’t know what more she can say as she doesn’t want to be seen as pushy, but she doesn’t want to drop the conversation.

There is silence on the other end of the phone for several moments, which makes Rachel nervous. Has she said the wrong thing??

“Sandy, are you still there?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’m here. Rachel, would you like to come to the engagement party? It would be lovely to see you again, and catch up. It’s been too long.”

Rachel fires a fist up into the air. This is just what she wanted to hear.

“That would be lovely. Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?” she asks, putting on her best concerned voice.

“Of course you wouldn’t be imposing. Give me your address and I’ll send you an invitation.”