Stephanie turned on the back porch light and looked out the window. There was a white cat under the big oak by the gazebo, munching on what looked like an overgrown rat.
"Ew, gross..." she shuddered.
Thankful it was just a cat and not some maniac with a power tool lurking in the shadows, she went back to the living room.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_H-E76QzXIAudrey was halfway through her second wine cooler, dancing by the speakers with a slightly high Priscilla, while Amber was placing a number of red Solo cup stacks, bottles of pop and a few bowls of Cheez Balls, Funyuns and other edible chemicals on the large coffee table by the couch; the room smelled like girl hormones, beauty products and bad decisions, with a hint of weed.
Stephanie just stood there for a moment, taking it all in. This was probably the last time she would see her friends for who knew how long, what with everyone going off to one college or another.
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Hey, PJ, what did Tiffany want?"
"She wouldn't say." Priscilla shrugged. "Hey, why are you still wearing your backpack...? School's over, Campbell!"
"Force of habit, I guess... Or maybe I'm just not ready to let go, just yet. I don't know-- So hey, do any of you guys smell ja--"
"What the hell is THAT?!" Tiffany yelped, returning from the bathroom; she was pointing at the creepy animal head mounted on the wall above the mantelpiece.
"Who, Buster?" Amber looked at the animal head and back to Tiffany.
"You named it...?!"
"Yeah... Daddy tried taxidermy.... once. It, like, didn't end well... I think that used to be a bunny, or a deer, or a bear or some junk. But hey, look." she grabbed the string dangling from Buster's neck, and gave it a gentle tug. His one eye lit up. "Pretty gnarly, huh?!"
"How horrifying..." Tiffany shook off the look of disgust on her face and turned to Stephanie. "Steph! Where were you? I wanted to--"
"Just a sec, Tiff. Um, guys-- Do you smell jasmine?"
"Jasmine?" Amber asked.
"Well, not exactly... Okay, follow me." Stephanie led the girls back to the den.
Audrey had only taken one step inside the room when she froze in place; a look of horror on her face.
"Th-that's not jasmine..." she swallowed. "It's Ch-Charlie Blue."
"Who's Charlie Blue?" Tiffany asked.
"Not who. It's a fragrance. HER fragrance." Audrey placed a hand on her mouth, trying to hold back the vomit crawling its way up her insides; beads of cold sweat sparkling on her forehead.
"Her? Who's her?" Tiffany was completely lost.
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