Can't Say it Went to Plan by Gabrielle Tozer

Author:Gabrielle Tozer [Tozer, Gabrielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Zoë

Day 4: 8.13pm

‘You there! Wanna party? We’ve got something that’ll wake you up.’

Zoë cringes at a group of strangers hollering at her as they meander along Saldana Strip.

‘No,’ she says. ‘I’m fine.’ And she folds her arms around herself, as though she’s trying to hide away in the night. She’s lost track of how long she’s been waiting. One thing seems clear though: Luca and Prakash have disappeared.

She stands up, still holding Luca’s drink, and attempts to recall the direction of their resort, but the beach and rows of shops stretch on. Her head buzzes so hard she can’t remember their resort’s name, let alone its address.

She walks left, desperately looking for a landmark beyond the swarming crowd to prove she’s headed in the correct direction. But by night the high-rise buildings looming on Saldana Strip seem identical in size, height and colour. Everything mixes together and nothing seems familiar. Zoë wants to be home right now, in her bed, listening to the muffled noises of her parents pottering around the house.

She walks a bit further along the footpath, head pounding and swaying a little as she clings to her bag. When she looks over her shoulder for any sign of her friends, there’s a guy leering at her. He’s so close she can smell the rum on his breath.

‘Hey cutie,’ he says. ‘I like your lips.’

Zoë grimaces. ‘Leave me alone,’ she snaps, picking up her pace to escape him. She weaves around parked cars to avoid the flow of people on the footpath. Many of them are waving glowsticks and smoking cigarettes. Streetlights blur her vision as she stumbles along, her hips occasionally knocking into cars’ side mirrors.

SCREEEEEEEECH. The squeal of brakes pierces the night as a moped swerves to miss hitting Zoë.

In shock, she steps backwards. Luca’s drink slips from her grasp and shatters on the concrete, dusting glass over her toes. She hears muffled shouts behind her, but is fixated on the moped now pulling up at a red light. The rider turns around and swears, shaking her fist.

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