“Come on,” mum insists as she arranges me and my sisters against the outside wall. “Can’t not get a photo of this, my four beautiful girls!” I smile as I hold hands with Bryony, who holds Cassie’s hand, who eagerly grips onto Dorothy’s hand. Today is a big day for all of us- the first day of school after a long summer holiday, and it’s a big day for me in particular, as it’ll be my last ever ‘first day of school’.

“Ugh, feels SO good, knowing I’m not going to be back at work until Tuesday!” Meredith sighed happily as she removed her name badge and tossed it into her locker. “I mean, yes, it’s only a three day weekend, but it’s a good one, you know.”

“Oh- no arguments here!” Janet giggled, removing her own name badge and pulling on her warm winter coat. “Shannon? You looking forward to the big day?”

“Definitely,” the shy blonde girl replied, giggling as she pulled on the woolen reindeer-themed sweater, much to the delight of her friends.

I take a deep breath as I wake up, but even this action is enough to cause me a lot of pain in my chest. As I open my eyes, I’m briefly confused by my surroundings- this isn’t my bedroom in Cardiff, or even my old bedroom in London, but somewhere else… A hospital? That’d explain the pain in my chest, anyway…

“Good morning,” a familiar Welsh accent says, chilling the blood in my veins as I slowly turn my head and come face to face with my mother, and the stern look on her face…

I let out a long, satisfied moan as I stretch my slender body out on the sun lounger. It’s the hottest summer I’ve ever known, but that’s not the only thing that makes it the best summer ever- there’s also the fact that I have a disposable income of my own from not one but two part-time jobs, I have a tall, sexy boyfriend who seems to fancy me more with every passing day, and the not-so-small fact that I’m currently wearing just a tiny bikini, whereas 365 days ago, I was stuck in a cramped classroom wearing a hot, stuffy school uniform.

“Good- evening,” Janet said, checking her watch as Ellie walked through the door. “Making sure it is still evening and not early tomorrow morning.”

“Hilarious,” Ellie snorted as she dropped her handbag on the coffee table and flopped down onto the sofa. “It’s only, what, 8pm?”

“Another question?” Becca asks, grinning as several members of the assembled crowd eagerly raise their hands. “Okay, you at the back!”

“What are your favourite tracks on the new album?” The journalist asks, making the four of us grin.

“Ooh, good question!” Adeola chuckles, even though it’s a question we’ve already been asked several times over the last ten days. “Mine’s probably ‘Overcast’, we’ve never really done a ‘dark’ song before, it was fun to mix it up a little. Bex?”

“Ahh!” I screech as my ‘seat’ slides across the ground, threatening to tip me on my backside with every movement it makes. “Jeez- how did I let you talk me into this again?”

“You said you wanted a Valentine’s date that was truly unique,” the young Welshman replies with an almost sadistic chuckle as he fiddles with his controls. “I guarantee you, this is something no one will have ever done before!”

“There’s a reason for that!” I complain, grimacing as I feel the cold February air blow up my extra-short skirt. “And I’m not really dressed for it either!”

“Here she comes!” Hayley squeaked excitedly as the black London taxi pulled onto the street. Sophie fidgeted nervously in her loose dress, forcing a smile on her face as she prepared to hold up the banner that she and many of her friends had spent the previous evening making.

“Everybody ready?” One of the two identical ginger-haired Scottish women asked, smiling as everyone nodded affirmatively.

“On three,” the other ginger-haired Scotswoman said. “Ready? One, two, three…”

“This one’s for table six,” my colleague Saffron says to me as she places two hot cups of coffee on my tray. I take the opportunity to stealthily straighten my tight miniskirt before grabbing my tray and taking it over to the young couple at the corner table.

“Ah, thank you!” The young man says with genuine gratitude as I hand him and his girlfriend their drinks. “Can we also order a plate of chips to share, please?”

“Sure!” I enthuse. “What flavour would you like?”

“Let’s try the chilli and cheese,” the young woman says with a devilish grin.

“Ow…” I moan as my eyes slowly open and my body shivers in the cold December air. I glance over at my phone, which reveals that the time is 8:05am and today is Monday- which causes me a moment of panic before I remember that today’s date is the 18th of December and we broke up from college a week ago, meaning I’m under no obligation to get up early today- or at all, if I don’t want to. As I lay in bed, memories of exactly why I’m this hungover on a Monday morning come flooding back to me- and put very conflicted feelings in my heart.

I let out a happy sigh as I wake up in my warm, cozy bed to discover that during the night, Kayla’s arms have wrapped themselves around my body- and mine have wrapped themselves around hers.

Andy took a deep breath as he stepped through the front door of the imposing building. He’d never before done anything even remotely like he was about to, and didn’t mind admitting to himself how nervous he was, even if he tried his best not to show it as he approached the reception desk.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist- a slender woman in her early twenties- asked.

“Hi,” Andy replied. “I’m- I’m Andrew Moore, I’m here for the interview today?”

“Okay,” the receptionist replied. “Do you know who you’re here to see?”

"Have fun," Janet said with a smirk as Ellie headed out the front door. "And don't stay out too-"

"Bye!" Ellie said with a smug smirk, before closing the door behind her. "Don't wait up!"

"-Late," Janet sighed, before allowing herself a quiet chuckle. "Kids..."

"My power flurries through the air into the ground," I sing as I dramatically glide across the stage, my ice blue dress flowing around me with every step I take.

"My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back, the past is in the past..."

"Let it go, let it go," I sing, my lungs feeling like they're going to break under the strain.
"And I'll rise like the break of dawn,
Let it go, let it go,
That perfect girl is gone.
Here I stand,
In the light of day,

"See you tonight!" Janet said with a smile as Ellie, Kacey and Monique paid for their purchases and waved goodbye to her.

"Bye!" Ellie replied with a giggle that warmed Janet's heart.

It had been almost four months since Ellie had moved in with Janet, and in that time, a lot had changed for both women- mostly for the better.

“God, I always feel so out of place every time I come here…” I moan as I step into the vast dance studio, surrounded by my friends.

“I really hope that’s NOT because you feel uncomfortable wearing THAT!” Lauren teases, making me giggle as I stare down at the short-sleeved black leotard and baby pink tights that are covering my body.

“Hell no!” I reply, making my friends giggle and cheer. “It’s just- you know? You girls are all so good at ballet, and I’m still just a beginner… Not to mention the fact that everyone here is, like, famous!”

Janet tried her hardest, but she couldn't prevent herself from breathing a sigh of relief as she pressed her employee pass against the scanner, officially ending another week of monotonous work. As Janet quickly discovered, though, she wasn't the only one feeling relieved.

"At. Last!" Rebecca- one of Janet's colleagues, a woman in her early thirties- giggled as she and a handful of her colleagues walked alongside Janet to the vast supermarket's locker room. "Dunno about you ladies, but I am in a mood to unwind!"

“Thanks for letting me swap my shifts again,” I say as I switch off the shop’s lights and step outside, allowing Dean to lock up the shop.

“Yeah, like I’m gonna let you work on your eighteenth birthday,” Dean says with a snort of laughter. “You have a good one, mate. See you a week tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” I say, waving goodbye to my supervisor before climbing onto the back seat of Rob’s car, where my girlfriend- or, to be more accurate, lover- greets me with a long kiss.

“Hey, sexy!” Chloe giggles, before giving me another kiss.

I let out several shrieks of laughter as the loud music pulses inside my head, mixing with the alcohol and the hot, sweaty atmosphere of the nightclub to create a strong sense of euphoria. This euphoria is, of course, helped by the short, tight black dress I’ve squeezed my fledgling curves into, the thick make-up on my face and the extra-high heeled shoes attached to my feet!

Ellie smiled as she woke up on her comfortable single bed. It had been one of the most turbulent weeks of her young life, if not THE most turbulent, but it had finally ended, and for once, Ellie had a reason to feel positive about her future, all thanks to one person- the woman who was, unsurprisingly, already awake when Ellie emerged from her room, glad only in a knee-length t-shirt.

"Good afternoon," Janet teased, chuckling as the teenager rolled her eyes. "Can't blame you for wanting a lie-in though, the week you've had. You've definitely earned it."

“You know,” I muse as I grab my morning coffee and relax on the plush, soft sofa in my father’s living room, “it may have been in a student shithole, but I miss our old sofa, you know? The whole flat, even.”

“I know precisely what you mean,” Ophelia says, reclining as far back into the sofa as her extra-tight corset will allow. “But we shall return to London soon, and our new flat shall be even better than our previous one!”

“Free at last,” Lee says with a snort of laughter as I meet up with him, Rob and Neil at the end of another long week of college. “You got much work to do this weekend on your course?”

“Umm, not much,” I shrug. “Been getting a good head start the last few weeks.”

“Smart man,” Rob says with a chuckle.

“Just had plenty of free time lately,” I shrug, leading to an awkward silence as all of my friends know exactly why I’ve had so much free time lately.

“Urgh…”I groan as I’m awoken from a blissful slumber by a loud knocking on my front door. “Stop fucking banging…” I grab my phone to check the clock, only to roll my eyes when I discover that it’s gone 11am. Fortunately, today is Wednesday, meaning I’m not at uni today, but that also means that none of my friends are either, as I discover when Ophelia (who has obviously already been up for ages) opens the door.

“Helloooo!” Katie giggles loud enough for me to hear in my bedroom. “Flying solo today then, Ophelia?”