Amandine checked her phone.

Twenty minutes before she needed to leave.

No time left to waste.

She chose an outfit that was revealing but not too revealing, pretty and feminine but not too girly or prudish, fun and frivolous but not too quirky, because the internet told her men didn’t like quirky women, or overtly sexual women, nor overtly girlish women, it is a fine line, the experts said, between Whore and More, and Amandine had often thought, well, what the f**k do men like if they don’t like any of those things? But she did as instructed.

They were the experts, after all. Amandine, still single at thirty-three, accepted that she was not. She found other people’s expectations confusing, along with the fact that a person could say one thing (you look nice, I really see this going somewhere) and mean another thing entirely (I’m not going to call you after we f**k), which seemed like a colossal waste of energy to her, but this is why she leant on external advice so much.

She thought, when she was assembled, that the internet would be proud of her. Her choice of outfit was deliberately designed to disguise the fact that she struggled with socialising, and the effect was immediately convincing, even to her eyes. Her cotton dress, new and fashionable, was emerald green and dipped at the neckline to show some cleavage, but not the whole meal, as advised. The hem ended just above the knee, and she paired it with dark, sheer stockings and a small, knitted cardigan that would just about fit underneath a new (second-hand) leather jacket. To her wrist, she buckled a delicate silver watch (once belonging to her mother). The leather strap conveniently concealed the biro Reminder Word scrawled underneath. She further accessorised with a simple chain around her neck (given to her by her father), before finishing off the look with tiny silver hoops in her ears. From each hoop, a small silver heart dangled.

She checked the time on her phone again and slid into a pair of high heels, wincing.

She didn’t usually go for heels, being tall enough as it was, and found them somewhat idiotic…

Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated author, illustrator and voice actor. Her happy place is horror, speculative and dark fiction, or anything that blurs the boundaries of genre with a focus on human stories. Many of her works have been adapted into audio dramas by the popular NoSleep Podcast. She is also the co-creator, writer and voice actor for horror-comedy podcast Calling Darkness. In addition to her writing, Gemma is an audio book narrator and painter. She lives and works in Bristol.

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