by Jon Thorn
Annabel cursed as the car spluttered to a halt. She banged her hand on the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition but it was no use, the engine was dead. Sitting beside her Kathryn swore too. It had seemed like a good idea to accept Annabel's offer of a lift home from uni that weekend but she should have guessed that the blonde-haired girl's car would be as unreliable as its owner - she wished she had taken the train instead. And now here they were on a country road miles from anywhere.
"I guess we'd better phone the AA," she sad sourly.
Annabel grinned. "Not much point darling - I'm not a member, could never see the point."
"Bloody hell," Kathryn swore, "What are we going to do then?"
"I'll phone Daddy," Annabel said brightly. "We can't be more than fifty miles from home, he'll send someone."
"Go on then, it's bloody freezing. I don't want to be sitting here all night." Kathryn was wearing a summer dress, Annabel a skimpy top and a tight pair of shorts. Both had dressed for the Indian summer they had been experiencing during that early Autumn, but now the night was drawing in and it was getting decidedly chilly.
Annabel fished her mobile out of her bag but swore again when she tried to use it. "Oh fuck. Can't seem to get a signal, try yours."
Kathryn took her phone out of her pocket but like Annabel found she had no signal at all. "Oh great," she remarked, "What now?"
"We can't be far from civilization," Annabel said, "Come on ... I can see lights not too far up ahead, we'll find a phone in the village there."
Coming from Annabel that was a remarkably sensible idea. They both clambered out of the car and set off down the road. They didn't talk. Kathryn was too cross and besides they didn't know each-other that well. They were both studying the same subject and had discovered that they came from neighbouring villages though they had never met. That was not surprising given their different backgrounds - Kathryn attending the local comprehensive and Annabel going off to boarding school. They were very different characters: Kathryn hardworking and feisty, Annabel dizzy, mischievous and party-loving.
Civilization wasn't far away, but when they reached it it wasn't a village, it was a school. A private school, glimpsed between the trees of a long driveway. They read the sign.
'Dodson Court. Independent School for Girls.'
"Looks like your sort of place," Kathryn remarked, pushing a strand of dark hair from her face.
"Can't say I've ever heard of it," Annabel replied, "Can't be first division. Very minor school I expect."
"Well minor school or not, it's probably got a phone, come on."
They walked up the driveway. Whatever its status its buildings were certainly impressive. Victorian gothic with Edwardian additions would be the best way to describe its style.
"God it's like something out of Harry Potter," Kathryn remarked.
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