"Where are you off to tonight," Adele asked her friend.
"Nowhere really," Silvia replied.
Adele looked at her friend, wondering why she was avoiding the casual question. Silvia had tried to keep out of the way, from when Adele got back to the apartment. She was in the middle of applying make-up, and had her hair in pigtails, which was unusual. She had been looking at the wall clock so often, it was clear she was on her way out somewhere.
Knowing her friend so well, Adel could see she was nervous. "Come on, out with it. You know I can get it out of you, so just tell me, without the protest. What have you done this time? What's up?" Adele demanded.
"I'm not in trouble! All right, I'll tell you, just don't shout at me. I got caught shoplifting," Silvia murmured. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" she complained. She explained there was a silk scarf, on special offer, but she had forgotten her credit cards. It didn't help quell the laughter.
"I can't believe miss perfect, stole something. So what's that got to do with you going out?" Adele asked.
"The guy said he would cover up for me, if I went out with him," she said, putting on a sulky face.
"Is this security guy some old pervert?" Adele giggled.
"No. He's eighteen," Sylvia sighed.
"You're twenty-six, you can't go out with a kid," Adele laughed.
"I've no choice," Sylvia said, in exasperation at her friend's flippancy.
"Just phone him and tell him it's off. Call his bluff," Adele urged.
"I daren't. If I'm prosecuted, I'll lose my job!" Sylvia protested. "He said he'd get the security tape and destroy it, if I go out on a date," she huffed. "He was working at his uncle's store, for work experience. You know the one, on the corner of Elm," she said.
"Shit! I know from the kids at school, they always prosecute," Adele told her.
"Thanks! That makes me feel so much better," she said, pouting.
"You're a teacher, how do you get into these stupid situations?" Adele asked, knowing the answer, only too well. Her friend was an intelligent and attractive woman, yet she had little common sense. She was also a push over, so needed help, or the trouble would get worse.
"When he arrives, we'll knock him on the head, and bury him in the garden," Adele told her.
"Kill him! Over a silk scarf?" Sylvia exclaimed, in mock surprise.
"Who said anything about killing the damn shit? We'll bury him alive," Adele chuckled.
"Thanks for that input. Just go and let me get changed. I'll just have to get it over and done with, and that will be the end of it," Sylvia heavily sighed.
"I know you too well. You'll just let him walk all over you. I'm coming along to look after you," Adele told her. She took a firm hold of an arm, leading her to her bedroom.
"Are you actually going to wear that?" Adele laughed.
"It's from the store. That's what he wanted," Sylvia murmured.
"The dress is fine, if you were a teenager, but you're not. The pigtails are so you!" Adele mocked her friend.
"Its part of the deal," Sylvia shrugged. "He's a teenager after all," she added. Sylvia pulled on the flowery summer dress, and pulled a face at her friend.
"Wow! You look good. He has taste, you sure he's only eighteen?" Adele asked.
"Try the other one on," Sylvia said.
"No way! I'm going like this," Adele retorted. She hadn't changed from school yet, so it was just a tease. She was dressing older, to impress the school board, while trying for a more senior post at the school.
"If you're going to chaperone then you better wear it. We're the same size. Besides, we're just going to hang out with his friends, so you can't go dressed in a business suit," Sylvia stated.
Adele picked the dress up between finger tips, as though it might be contagious. Pulling it on, she smoothed it down her slim body, while looking in the mirror. The dress was a pastel blue, decorated with butterflies.
"It's cute, expensive too. I would have loved this, a few years ago," Adele commented. She liked it, so didn't complain too much. "OK! I'm not fixing my hair into pigtails, this is the limit," she added.
"I need a drink, you too. It'll steady your nerves," Adele suggested.
The guy was only eighteen, so the two of them could handle the audacious blackmailer. Adele was going to make sure there was a security tape, and force him to hand it over. They both taught at the same school, so she knew how sensitive the school board was. Sylvia was right about losing her job, if prosecuted for theft.
They waited for him to turn up, hoping he wouldn't have the gall to go through with it. They giggle like schoolgirls on a first date, primping each others hair, and flouncing around in the new dresses. Adele had at least put her friend in a better mood.
The guy didn't even bother coming to the front door, he just honked the horn.
"Don't forget, put him at his ease. We're just a couple of silly young girls, out on a date. I'll keep an eye on him, you just relax," Adele coached her. At the right moment, when he was off-guard, she would hit him hard. She would treat him like a student, lecturing him like a delinquent kid, to get the tape.
He just sat there while they got into the car. "What's she doing here?" James suspiciously asked.
"My name is Adele. I'm here because we thought you might like to show off two young girls," Adele countered, giving him something to think about.