Concentrating on her homework, Shona was rudely interrupted as Jane stormed into their dormitory room. "Bastard!" sobbed Jane as she threw herself on her bed, burying her face in her pillow.
Shona turned towards her friend. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Andy," cried Jane, sniffing back tears, "he... he's dumped me!"
"What?" demanded Shona angrily, crossing the room to sit next to Jane. "Surely not on your birthday?" she asked.
"Yes," replied Jane bitterly, "On my fucking birthday. Of course, he had to make sure he'd given me one last shag before he told me."
"No!" exclaimed Shona in a shocked tone.
"Oh yes," Jane continued, "Hi, Jane. Happy birthday! Let's go to bed and celebrate. Oh, and by the way, it's over!"
"The wanker!" Shona replied angrily, reaching out to tenderly wipe away the tears from Jane's cheeks."
Seeing Jane's anguish cut Shona deeply. They'd been friends since their first days at St. Mary's Girl's School and now they were inseparable. Three months older than Jane, who was supposed to be celebrating her birthday, Shona had already worked her way through a string of 'boyfriends' since losing her virginity, the brevity of her relationships, which never lasted more than a few weeks, was matched only by their intensity. Her almost insatiable appetite was already earning her a reputation as a 'changing room pro'. Jane on the other hand, despite the discovery that she enjoyed sex every bit as much as her raven haired, Irish friend and the fact that she had made a name for herself as one of the two best cocksuckers in school (Shona was the other), had only slept with one other boy before meeting Andy at Shona's birthday party three months before.
Shona gave her blonde friend's shoulders an affectionate squeeze. "Wait there," she said quietly as she got to her feet, "I've got something in my locker that'll help you get over that bastard!" Jane sat up and watched, her eyes puffy and red, as her friend extracted a bundle from the back of her locker.
"Where did you get that?" Jane asked in amazement as Shona unwrapped the bundle to reveal a bottle a wine.
Shona smiled. Crossing the room quickly, she latched the door to prevent any unwanted intrusion. "I sort of... well... borrowed it when I was at home the other weekend. I figured that, what with your birthday coming up, we might want to celebrate," she said. "As it turns out, we can drown your sorrows instead," she added.
Jane smiled wanly. "I hope you've something to open it with," she said.
Shona flashed her friend a wicked grin. "Of course I have," she said, removing the Swiss Army penknife that lay hidden at the back of her locker and flicking open the corkscrew blade. "Go and get our mugs off the sink while I open this," she urged.
Giggling, Shona sloshed a generous quantity of wine into each of their mugs. "Cheers!" she said, lifting her mug and tapping the rim against Jane's.
Jane smiled weakly. "Yeah, cheers," she said with a shrug before lifting the mug to her mouth.
Knocking their drinks back, Shona quickly refilled their mugs. Unaccustomed to alcohol, the girls found the wine going rapidly to their heads. Surrendering to the effects of the wine, Jane felt something give inside her. The tears she'd tried so hard to contain began to flow down her cheeks. "There, there," said Shona consolingly as she put her arm around her friend's shoulders, pulling Jane towards her. "There are plenty of other guys around and I've yet to find one who hasn't wanted to share what's inside their boxer shorts with me," she admitted with a wicked grin.
"I know," said Jane, wiping the tears from her eyes, "But I really liked Andy and I thought he liked me. All he really wanted, it seems, was to get inside my knickers."
"At least he had taste," Shona said with a smile. "Was he any good?" she enquired.
"I... I guess so," replied Jane. "He was better than Rob, anyway."
"Well then," Shona said brightly, "with any luck your next shag will be even better than Andy. I know it's hard but try to get him out of your system and move on to the next one. He obviously isn't worth the effort."
Jane took another sip of her wine. "Do you think it's me?" she asked plaintively. "Is there something wrong with me?"
Shona hugged her friend tightly. "Don't be silly," she replied softly, "You're wonderful. If I was a guy I'd be leaping on top of you now."
Jane managed a small laugh. "Thank you," she said softly, smiling weakly as she stared into her friend's cool green eyes."
Touched by Jane's sadness and feeling slightly light-headed from the effects of the wine she had drunk, Shona felt something inside her stir, drawing her towards her friend. Ever since the first onset of adolescence, she had found herself being strongly attracted to other girls. She often found herself covertly staring at the bodies of her classmates as they showered after their P.E. classes, admiring the nubile forms of girls freshly awakened into young womanhood.
With the awakening of her sexuality, Shona had found her attraction turning to curiosity. Her curiosity had been satisfied when, on the school hockey team's recent exchange tour in France she had allowed herself to be seduced by one of the senior girls on the team, opening her eyes to yet another avenue of sexual pleasure. Well known as a prick-teaser, Shona's sexual appetite where boys were concerned was no secret. With her looks and her long brown hair, a generously curved figure that would have flattered a woman in her twenties combined with her exotic, softly lilting Irish accent meant that she had no shortage of male admirers. What not even Jane, her roommate and best friend since their first days at St. Mary's, knew was that Shona's admirers and sexual partners also included members of her own sex.
Shona felt herself sinking into the tear-filled gaze of Jane's ice-blue eyes. She yearned to comfort her friend, to show Jane how much their friendship meant to her. Had she been sober, Shona would never have risked what happened next. Slowly, almost imperceptibly she leaned her head towards Jane. Their lips met briefly then Shona pulled away. "I... I'm s... sorry," she spluttered, an embarrassed flush rising in her cheeks. "I... I..."
