| 013. Eyewitness |

  Georgina Keys, or Georgie, glared at the people surrounding her. On a normal evening, she'd have loved to explore the Hughes Flats - the rich kids who lived here were so private with the space it was intriguing. However, it was currently way too loud for her taste. She hated these sorts of parties. If not for her little sister, she wouldn’t even be here.

  “Come on! It’s not going to kill you,” Joanna whined. Georgie glared at her.

  “No.”

  “Georgie,” Joanna groused. “I’m not giving you a choice. You’re going to have fun, whether you like it or not. I’m dragging you onto this dance floor if it kills me.”

  “My idea of fun is very different from yours. I don’t like getting drunk and making out with people I hardly know. You shouldn’t like it either. I can’t always look out for you.”

  “Relax, Georgie. Vic isn’t some random person I picked up tonight and will never see again. You know that. They're a good friend of mine, and we’ve been flirting for a while now.”

  “You mean, while they've been going out with Sammy?”

  “It's called being Poly,” Joanna said. Georgie just stared at her. She obviously knew what polyamory and polygamy were. It was just hard to understand how her sister, who was notoriously monogamous, had ended up pursuing someone who so clearly wasn't. Georgie really hoped Joanna knew what she was signing up for, and that she wasn't trying to change Vic. “It’s none of your business anyway.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I'm just worried about you.”

  “You’re not my mother!” Joanna snapped, exasperated.

  “No,” Georgie agreed. “But in case you haven’t noticed, Mum hasn’t exactly been around lately.” Too busy working two jobs whilst their father tried to write a book that would never sell. It had been easiest for all of them when they moved into the boarding house.

  “Fine,” Joanna said, more quietly. “Let’s go home then. I mean, you’re clearly not here to have fun, and I won’t have fun with you watching me like a hawk all evening.” Georgie sighed, thinking it wasn’t fair for sisters to learn emotional blackmail.

  “One dance,” she relented. Joanna grinned.

  “I knew you’d say yes in the end.” She grabbed her sister’s hand and ran off to dance again, dragging Georgie behind her. She barged right through the crowd, and angry cries followed them as she shoved people out of their way. Georgie grimaced, wondering how she’d gotten mixed up in this. Although the band was actually quite good, now she considered it. She didn't recognise the students who were performing by name, but they were vaguely familiar.

  “They’re good,” she admitted.

  “Yeah!” Joanna enthused, jumping up and down like a lunatic as the song came to an end and another one started up with a slower beat. Georgie rolled her eyes. There was no way she was dancing to this one.

  “Hey, babe.” Georgie wanted to puke. Vic had appeared right on cue and had their arms wrapped around her baby sister’s waist. She caught Joanna glaring at her and rolled her eyes. Her sister was apparently determined to make a mistake. She grabbed Vic’s arm.

  “Just so we’re clear,” she growled into their ear. “If you hurt her, I will hurt you.” Vic's eyes widened.

  “Chill out, Keys. We’re just dancing!”

  “You heard me,” she snarled, and spun on her heel before her sister could throw a fit. She scanned the room for Sammy as she went, wondering if her sister was accidentally making an enemy, but the coast appeared clear.

  The only weird thing she saw was - what was his name? Roy? - sliding something into Phillip Monastirsky’s drink.