Page 86 of Greased

“Oh god,” I murmur, looking at each of the girls in horror.

Jan nods, “We were told stories from those days. The women were never the same. They say the leadership was especially brutal with their… practices.”

“When your Dad took over and saved a heap of women, it was one of the first things they sought to change. They needed a way to take control of their sexuality again.”

I nod my head as Maxie tries to reassure me but it doesn’t do much. The thought of this being something I was born into fills me with dread. Women were seen as nothing but a hole to fill to these vile creatures. My heart aches as I think of them. Of how they are now. Of how they survived it.

“The women came together and decided if they were going to be initiated in, they wanted something that suited them. None of them were interested in the initiation the males go through so they came up with doing an initiation dance. It was a way to take back control of their bodies. A way to control their fate,” Brandy says with a smile.

“That, and Shelly was a dancer before she was trafficked,” Maxie adds, holding up her fork.

“A fucking good one at that,” Rippy says as she bites into her apple. The four of us laugh, helping to brighten the doom of our conversation. Just when I seem to think I have gotten to the depths of the depravity of the Thunderbirds’ history, I seem to get caught at each turn. It does do something to settle my wandering thoughts at knowing my father has changed a lot of the said history.

Anxiety is a killer though and I can’t help but think that maybe we haven't escaped these issuesentirely.

I take a sigh of breath the moment the last bell of the day rings. I throw my stuff into my bag, not giving a single fuck about any bent pages. I know Grace would kill me at my mistreatment of books but these are for knowledge, not smut.

Nicky calls out after me as I rush out of the room. I don’t look back. The clock already feels like a ticking time bomb over my head.

Rhodes is already waiting for me as I burst out of the front doors. I roll my eyes at the hoard of girls already flocked around his black mustang. I scoffed my eyes at him the moment I saw the car. It may be pretty but it's got nothing on the R8 Mike has back home. Give me that car any day of the week.

My brother finally looks up at me, instantly dismissing the now very disappointed women as Jethro growls making them all scatter.

I don’t bother acknowledging either Wyatt or Jethro as I throw my bag in the footwell of the passenger side. Or what I thought was the passenger side, groaning and blurting every single explicit word that comes to mind as I see the pedals and steering wheel. I throw my bag into the passenger side, flipping off Rhodes, Jethro and Wyatt who are all laughing at my expense as I storm around the other side of the car.

I fall into the car, slamming the door before taking a deep breath to centre myself.

Rhodes doesn’t say anything as he finally gets in the car after saying goodbye to his fan club.

It's either he is able to tell by the expression on my face that I’m not in the mood for any of his bullshit or he is smarter than I pegged him for, but he stays silent for the entire drive.

He pulls up at the house but I don’t get out of the car. The moment I do, I know the rest of the night will be chaos and I need a moment to breathe.

“Are you alright Scar?” Rhodes asks quietly.

“No,” I say honestly, “but I will be. I just need this night done.”

Rhodes nods as I turn to look at him, “To be honest, I’m not looking forward to it either. I love you but the thought of you wearing lingerie dancing on a stage gives me hives. I might also vomit, to be frank.”

I chuckle at the honestly but I’m thankful for it. It also helps to take some of the pressure off my shoulders knowing I’m not the only one not looking forward to it.

“I think Dad has already researched therapists for himself,” he says with a chuckle.

My mouth drops, “Fuck, I forgot that he is going to be there.”

Nope. Nup. There is no way I’m getting on that stage if he is in the crowd.

“He’s going to have to turn his back and stand in a corner or something.” I shiver.

“Don’t you worry, I will be there right beside him.”

We pull up to Pinks’ and it's already packed. I thank my lucky stars that we are with my father, as the crowd parts to make way for him and Mum who are holding hands. It still feels so weird to see her with a man, let alone the man who is my dad. I had always just thought she wasn’t ready to move on but really, she was always just waiting to return to him. Feels like some kind of tragic love story.

I smile even as I pass the mildly familiar faces in the crowd, only spotting a few I remember from Church the other night.

I feel relieved as I spot Shelly who is already making a beeline for me. The excitement is palpable on her face.

“Hello, my darling, we don’t have much time. You need to get backstage and get ready.” Shelly grabs both mine and my Mum’s hands and pulls us through the crowd. She doesn’t bother acknowledging my father or Rhodes as she pushes her way through the masses.

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