"Listen, I'm not sure about this. Not sure at all."
Joy and Peggy giggled.
"Come on, Paula," coaxed Joy. "It'll be fun. You'll look back at it and laugh."
"If it's so much fun why don't you do it?"
"Ah, because I didn't lose the bet?"
I gave her a nasty look. I'd been so sure when I'd made the bet. Now look at the situation I was in.
"You've got the balaclava?" I asked dispiritedly.
Peggy held it up and I stared at it.
"Um, what are those?"
"Rabbit ears. It's a rabbit balaclava. My brother gave it to me as a joke present one year."
"So not only do I have to streak but I have to do it wearing a rabbit mask?" My voice may have got a little high pitched there, but really, a rabbit?
"It's all we've got. You could always go without it. No-one knows you around here anyway. That's why we chose this area."
"Really? I thought you chose it because of all the shoppers."
"That, too," agreed Joy. "I mean, what's the use of streaking where no-one will see you."
What's the use of streaking anyway? It was fine while I thought that Joy would be the one doing it. Not so funny when I was the bunny. Or rabbit in this case. Really, eighteen years old and running around in public in the altogether. If anyone recognised me I'd die.
"If anyone happens to recognise me I'm going to kill the pair of you," I told my supposed friends, speaking with great sincerity. They just laughed.
"It's a short block. You'll get from here to Jenny's van in less than a minute. She'll have the door opened and all you need to do is close it and she'll start driving. Now get undressed ready. As soon as her van sticks it nose out of the alley and she opens the door, take off."
I slowly undressed and put the balaclava on, Joy and Peggy laughing the entire time. A rabbit. I ask you.
"There you go," Joy suddenly announced. "There's Jenny and the sliding door is opening right now."
I took off like a startled rabbit before anything else was said. I heard Joy yell something behind me but I was concentrating on covering the ground as fast as possible. Under a minute was right. I weaved through the shoppers just as fast as I could go, diving into the van and slamming the door behind me as I went.
"Drive, Jenny," I yelled. "Where are my clothes?"
The van took off quickly and smoothly, turning onto the main road and accelerating away. I was trying to drag the silly balaclava off and look for my clothes at the same time. They were supposed to be in the van.
"Not sure where your clothes are, darlin'," a deep voice said. "Probably where you left them."
If I didn't have such long hair it would have stood on end. I nearly broke my neck turning to look at the front seat. There were two men there, one driving and one looking me over and smiling very broadly.
"You're not Jenny," I said.
"No fooling you, is there?" the one looking me over said. "My name is Aloysius, more commonly known as Al. My mate here is Bradley, known as Lee for reasons unknown. What would your name be?"
"I'm Paula," I said in a small voice. "Ah, could you take me back to my friends' car? I appear to have got in the wrong one. And could I borrow a jacket or something?"