Ravished by the Beasts

our principal, Mr. Saunde

gown and looking like a complete dickhead in front of all these people. The pressure of having a hundred pairs of eyes following me across the stage scorched my face with embarrass

have to be made fr

subtle as I could muster, I wiped my damp palms against my gown before accepting the diploma. The principal grasped my clammy hand as we exchanged an a

her face. "We did it!" she squealed

essays. No more exams. We're fully-fledged adults. Productive members of society," I express

ou mean," Joanne replie

And repaying the student loan

. I'm gutted I can't come with you," Joanne grumbled, pouti

osen to research them. All the necessary equipment, also food and lodging, would be provided. I didn't have to worry about anything. When the information pack came through the mail, I obsessively scoured through it to find out anything I could about the place, the culture, and whether I'd be stayi

I've always wanted to go to America. Now my dream is becoming a rea

king this giant leap and it surprised me when my professor mentioned I would be going alone. It would have been nice to have a companion

ls," Dad chimed as

's parents. They were all bleary-eyed after sh

ou to commemorate this occasio

he mums, then the dads, and then finish with a

giving our best smiles bef

ing us all to view our pictures on the digital screen. My smile fal

a Snapchat filter w

shed with pride. "The other times were marrying you, Fiona, and of

, baring

Smoke House for di

ould be gone for twelve weeks. That would mean three long months of missing everybody. I wasn't going to hold my breath that they

, have we, Gordon?" Joa

r as he thought. "Isn't that th

d, rolling her eyes. "Honestly,

e the real deal over the pond," my da

that. Whenever he watched an old film on television, he would comment on how his lifelong dream was to sit and eat food that had been cooked on an open bonfire, ride through the wild west, and sleep under the stars. Sorry, Dad but yo

Dad. Where I'm going, there's nothing but f

t seem appealing to me, because it did. A girl could dream, and those were exactly the kind

d him. "It's still going to be brilliant though, no matter what. I

delicious imagery of me riding a ranch-hand called Hank

chuckled, snapping

e for way too long, and my overactive

aunt. He shared a bedroom with five of his cousins, and each of them survived on one meal a day. Money was tight, and he left school to get a job so he could help his aunt the best he could.

e she was happy and never went without. They bred racehorses and enjoyed holidays abroad every year, whereas Dad had never even visited the seaside. Mum studied to become a Pediatric Surgeon and currently worked at Great Ormo

ion. The type of career that would enable me to travel the globe and take me to places that I could only read about i

The cowboy-themed décor and the aroma from the smokers made it feel as if we were in the real Wild West. After perusing the wooden-backed menu, I had decided on the chicken bucket special and a large glass of house red. A t

e for," Mum complimented a

immensely satisfied. "It is. It just melts in your

with shame, embarrassed by the orgasmic noises th

often, Gordon," Dad joked, looking at his f

. "I know. They seem to l

iation and so did I. Her fork dropped from

asked hastily. It was a polite way to ask if

s filled with happy diners. The moment that

y take them anywhere," she whined in a

e hours that God sends. It makes a change, seeing them

e a shit what they say and who hears them," she huffed with a half-laugh. "What am I

her a deep shade of red. I wasn't a prude by any means, but I kept my saucy thoughts to myse

ed smoothly, and the alcohol lifted my spirits. Now wasn't the time to get all sentimental about lea

ncern was the lack of service my mobile phone was likely to receive high in the mountain range. It would make calling and texting dif