Page 14 of When We Were Friends
9
MORGAN
Morgan and Emily walked into New Chapter Café, which was decked out like an American diner with its glossy furnishings, chrome bookshelves, and black and white floor tiles. The walls bore literary drawings, like the large ones of Ebenezer Scrooge and Hogwarts. No sooner had they sat down than Paige glided in, bang on time. Lastly, Tiff arrived, all primary colours and pungent scent. Morgan and Emily sat opposite the other two, their lack of conversation replaced by the hiss of the coffee machine, knives cutting through slabs of brownie and the Sunday morning crowd enjoying their weekend.
‘It’s great to be together again,’ said Morgan.
‘Best to keep it real though,’ said Emily, and she loosened a scarf covered in pulled threads. ‘I’m only on board to help Olly. Then I’m going back to my life. The society disbanded a long time ago.’
‘Agreed,’ said Tiff. ‘Once this case is solved, I’m off.’
Paige opened her mouth and then closed it firmly.
‘Our usual drinks, my treat? I’ll go up and order,’ said Morgan cheerfully. ‘Tea for Paige, Emily you always had orangeade, Tiff hot chocolate?’
‘Greentea, for me, please,’ said Paige, in a polite voice.
‘Latte like in Marks, would be great,’ said Emily.
‘I’ll have a cappuccino,’ said Tiff, ‘decaf, with oat milk, extra hot, no chocolate on top.’
Morgan glanced at Tiff, then Emily, Paige too, a small flame of humour flickering between the four of them, lighting up each face a little.
‘Nothing wrong with knowing what you want,’ said Tiff airily.
That’s why the group used to work. No one would be singled out. Humour was always shared as a four, not enjoyed behind backs.
Morgan returned with a tray of drinks. ‘Cheers, everyone.’
Tiff took her cappuccino and cleared her throat. ‘Getting things out in the open is important. Before anything else, we should apologise for that prom night and the things we said. It’s bad karma not to – my wellness advisor said so. Paige was right, the other week: we betrayed each other.
‘Let’s not go there, Tiff,’ said Paige and she frowned. ‘I don’t see how anything good can come of it. It’s needless anyway, because…’ She took a deep breath. ‘You should all know that—’
‘I’d have thought you’d be up for it, Paige,’ interrupted Emily in a measured tone. ‘I looked at your website, you studied psychology. I have a little, too. Isn’t closure important? Our friendship fell apart so quickly that night.’
‘Perhaps it was exam stress that made us foolish,’ said Morgan quickly. ‘Let’s leave it at that.’
‘Foolish?’ said Tiff and threw down her napkin. ‘You got pregnant! We’d spent five years hating that tosser, ignoring his nasty comments about us being geeks and losers, putting up with the sarcastic barks when we walked past, implying we were dogs, and as for the pinged bra straps… but then secretly, in the last term, one by one, behind each other’s backs, we let him flatter us into’ – she took a moment – ‘falling in love.’
Emily cringed. ‘Talk about screwed up. I feel sorry for whomever he’s with now.’
‘A classic move, revealing what he’d done, at the dance,’ said Tiff. ‘What a way to get back at the society for solving a case against him. I’ll never forget his tone when he expressed amazement that any of us believed he found us attractive. How he said The Secret Gift Society was run by a bunch of childish romantics whose special bond, he’d proved, meant absolutely nothing.’ Tiff bit her lip. ‘Sometimes, over the years, I’ve wondered if he was right. A secret society? What were we thinking?’
‘That’s enough,’ said Morgan. ‘Please stop, Tiff. Don’t do this. Don’t ruin happy memories. Yes, it probably was a bit childish but—’
‘You think?’ said Paige. ‘Swearing an oath, underground, in virtual darkness?’
The four of them exchanged wry smiles.
‘We had good intentions, that’s what matters. We helped other pupils,’ said Emily.
The four women paused, nodded, and then knocked back mouthfuls of their drinks, as if they were gin.
‘We were young,’ said Paige, eventually. ‘Naïve.’
Emily’s face hardened again. ‘You weren’t quite as naïve as us, Paige, you’d at least dated several guys, unlike us three.Youshould have known better.’
‘Ishould have known, if anyone,’ interrupted Morgan. ‘Boys used to make me cringe. I’d never dreamt of receiving declarations of love or red roses, like you lot used to, but somehow, with Hugo…’
