Nemesis: Chapter 13

Mia had finally got her messy revenge over Lavender at Mike's barbecue. She'd also had the blissful pleasure of gunging Jessica twice recently too. Rosie, meanwhile, was sure to get horrifically gunged on the TV in a few weeks' time. That only left Georgia. The blonde had been unable to attend the barbecue and so had escaped clean. Mia was unaware of Georgia's messy punishment that she had received for losing to Rosie on Lavender's budget gameshow. As far as Mia knew, other than at the supermarket charity event, Georgia hadn't got messy since losing Ring of Fire, which was by now a long, long time ago.

To Mia's delight she received a phone call from the TV studio. They were keen to drum up as much publicity for show as possible. The internet clips, mostly involving Mia, had proven incredibly popular. Parvati asked her whether she would be willing to return to the studio next weekend for one final promo. But this time, could she also bring a friend? The aim of the promo was to introduce the element of revenge, so vital to the show's central construct. Mia was to put on trial a friend for a crime that demanded messy retribution. The accused's guilt would be decided by a small audience. But be warned, should Mia lose, she would receive the messy punishment instead.

The element of danger appealed to Mia. She had no hesitation in asking Georgia to join her, even though Jessica was undeniably her best friend. For Mia and Georgia undoubtedly had unfinished business. Mia eagerly rang Georgia but shrewdly held back the real reason for why she would be appearing on the show. Instead, she sweetened the invitation by claiming "They probably just want a friend on hand to help gunge me. Though of course, I can't promise that you won't get slightly messy yourself." Was she lying? Neither of them could be sure, Mia didn't fully know Parvati's intentions for the pair herself. Ultimately there was no real question of Georgia turning down the invitation, whatever the reason for her being there. She was pleased to be asked over Jessica and had been bitterly disappointed to miss out on all the fun of the previous weekend.

Over at the local newspaper offices, Abi finally received the phone call that she had been waiting for. The regional news station was looking for a new roving reporter. The TV executive on the phone was certain that she was perfect for the role. Five years of toiling away reporting on school fetes, cats being stuck up trees and traffic chaos were finally vindicated. But in truth, having accidentally flicked open her report on the slimy fundraising at the local hospital, TV bigwigs had suddenly realised just how pretty she was. It didn't really matter whether she would be any good. Abi would surely help win back their dwindling male audience. The TV executive said that he wanted Abi to do a one-off report to ensure that she had a strong enough voice for the camera. After all, he had to placate the older female executives who were sure to kick up a fuss otherwise.

Abi gushed "Yes, yes a thousand times yes", before even asking what the trial report would be. It was only after that she had signed her contract that she learnt what they had in store. They wanted her to report on the TV station's new gunge gameshow so that they could produce more youth friendly online content for their website. Abi didn't dare complain in case she jeopardised her chance of a longer-term deal. Plus, she thought, "I probably won't be getting messy anyway." This idea was soon quashed however when she noticed that that report would feature that horrid teenager Mia. That pretty teen better not destroy her one shot at stardom. Thinking positively, Abi hoped that she would get her revenge on Mia for gunging her the last time they met. But she would have to take extra care whatever the case.

Georgia and Mia arrived at the TV studios to be greeted by the radiant Sophie and Emily, her simply stunning best friend. They were also here to take part in a gunge trial. Online viewers were disappointed that Sophie had escaped clean last time, surely, she would be the number one target for gunge today. Stick thin, Emily, twenty-two, stood at five foot four and had shoulder length auburn hair. Privileged, Emily came from a sickeningly wealthy family. She had always been spoilt rotten as a child. Unlike Sophie, she hated getting messy and was a complete and utter control freak. Friends would hesitate to call her arrogant, but she was incredibly pompous and precious about her own pristine appearance. She took great pride in whatever she did. Far more laid back than her uptight friend, Sophie's keen sense of adventure brought the best out of the brunette. As a child, Emily was often wrongly portrayed as pretentious, insolent and aloof. She'd had great trouble making lasting friendships. Sophie's honesty and integrity appealed to the young Emily who saw in the blonde her kindred spirit, although one lacking her finesse and sophistication.

Sophie admired her friend's keen sense of style and culture. She perceived in her a vulnerability that she wanted to nurture. It was a great shame however that her sister Ava and Emily simply did not get on. Emily felt threatened by Ava's eye for mischief, unpredictable mood swings and her vindictive vicious streak. To Ava, the austere Emily was a prig. Sophie had always been unashamedly jealous of her best friend's wealth, but as a teenager, she'd had greater cause to be envious of Emily's unbelievable success with boys. Rumour had it that the glamorously alluring Emily was an absolute minx in the bedroom.

Emily had needed ingenious levels of persuading to agree to come on the show. She was horrified at the prospect of being gunged. She had got messy before and acted like it was beneath her. But secretly, getting messy made her whole-body tingle and opened her up to a whole new world of passion. Not that she could ever admit to this. In truth, it wasn't the act of getting messy that didn't appeal to her, but the potential humiliation and humbling that would inevitably accompany it. Emily agreed to appear for two reasons. Firstly, because she knew that she owed her best friend dearly, it would mean the world to Sophie if she appeared on the show. Secondly, Sophie had purposely invited her in front of Harry, her extremely rich Uncle (on her father's side). His only niece, Emily was his pride and joy. Yet he thought her increasingly distant and affected; he was keen for her to be taken down a peg. So, he jokingly threatened to cut her out of his will if she refused Sophie's request. Emily didn't want to risk incurring his wrath.

Parvati met the four girls and brought them backstage. She introduced them to Abi who grudgingly shook Mia's hand. "So, you know each other?" asked Sophie. "We have a bit of a messy history", chortled Mia. "How nice to meet you again" Abi said through gritted teeth. Apparently, her side kick Graham had also recently been interviewed for a job as a camera man, so he was here to assist her once again. He didn't mind having to work with the pushy brunette; she was occasionally rather dismissive of him, but she could have treated him far worse. Many other reporters had done so. In fact, his clear logical thinking had helped Abi get out of many potential scraps and helped her clinch a couple of real scoops. Though thanking him in private, it was just a shame that she always publicly took credit for everything. Nonetheless, he'd always wanted to be a cameraman, photography was always his secondary passion. Graham smiled as he waved hello, he admired the girl for standing up to his bossy companion. Still, he didn't want to mess up his big opportunity up either, so he suggested that they start filming right away.

Bianca whisked Emily and Sophie off to the changing room, for they were to film their segment first. Abi, meanwhile began an interview with Georgia. "So, dear, do you know what you've let yourself in for?" Abi began. To Abi's eyes, Georgia was humbler and more modest, she was far less keen to flaunt her taut body than her precocious friend. Yet she sensed a keen competitive edge to the blonde that made her wary of Georgia. The girl was clearly intelligent, would she have the cunning to match? Georgia, nervous at the sight of camera pointed directly at her, giggled and began a reply "No absolutely not. Though I hope that I get to gunge my pal Mia, she deserves a good thorough gunging, don't you think." Abi's admiration for the teen increased tenfold. Perhaps she had found a natural ally in the sporty blonde. "But as the one to be put on trial, surely you run the greater risk of being gunged" Abi added. "What do you mean?" asked Georgia panicking, before looking round accusingly at Mia. Mia giggled. "Didn't you know?" Abi snickered. "Mia is to put you on trial for a heinous crime; should the jury vote against you, you will be heading for a trip to the gunge tank." Georgia shook her head in disbelief. "I should have known that Mia was up to something. Will anyone tell me for what I am to be accused of?" "Do you even need to guess?" teased Mia. The problem was, Georgia had no idea. She wasn't sure whether Mia knew that she had helped Rosie prepare and train for the gameshow. She hoped that Mia remained blissfully unaware of her accidental spying on her in the shower immediately afterwards. If luck would have it, she would be on trial for gunging her naked in the shower. But if that was the case, wasn't she guilty as charged? How on earth would she escape being gunged?

Back in the changing rooms Sophie waited patiently for Emily to choose what to wear. Sophie was wearing a short yellow skirt and a loose fitting white strapped top. Emily had naturally insisted on having a quick shower before getting changed and was beginning to frustrate the impatient Bianca as she swanned around in just her underwear, undecided about what to wear. To be fair on Emily, Parvati had insisted that for the first segment that she wear a figure-hugging dress. She had to be sure to choose the right one.

Sensing that they would be there all day, Bianca took the matter out of the brunette's own hands and chose for Emily a short pale yellow one shoulder dress. The hemline would barely reach below her thighs. "This will look perfect on you Emily", Bianca began, "it will show off your sexy legs and allow you to sit down without a problem." Emily, staring admiringly at the stunning dress failed to completely comprehend the final remark. Bianca cut in again "though I'll need to dig you out a backless bra." Bianca turned around to rummage through her cupboard. Without a moment's hesitation, Emily unhooked her own bra and let it float to the floor. She posed and admired herself in the mirror, her taut breasts had never been a problem with any of the boys. She flicked her sleek hair off her face and pouted. Sophie, smiled, shook her head and laughed. Typical Emily. How could anyone fail to be vain with a body like hers? No amount of dieting could ever help Sophie achieve a figure like that. But then again, Sophie was naturally sporty, Emily certainly was not (except in the bedroom apparently).

Just then, Georgia and Mia came bursting through the changing room door. Emily and Sophie were overrunning, it was the blue team's turn to get changed now. Upon entering, Mia and Georgia stopped, embarrassed at invading the semi-naked girls' privacy. To their greater surprise, Emily seemed unperturbed and turned to greet them as if she was dressed like a queen. Mia thought back to when she was interrupted whilst changing, Emily must be extremely comfortable in her own body to not even bat an eyelid. To make matters worse, Emily's lace knickers were practically transparent. Sophie always found it strange that to Emily, getting gunged seemed horrifically embarrassing, but being caught in the nude was perfectly normal.

Emily asked Sophie to help her position her backless bra and to assist her into her dress. Sophie insisted that Emily pull her dress down to ensure that she exposed another inch of her cleavage. Out to impress, Emily readily agreed. Fishing for compliments, Emily asked for Mia and Georgia's opinion on her outfit. Barely able to hide their envy, they truthfully admitted that she looked gorgeous.

Mirroring Sophie, Mia quickly changed into a short light blue skirt and white strapped top. Keen to impress her opponents, Georgia accepted Emily's advice and chose a light blue summer dress. She felt slightly awkward being the last one to finish changing. Standing in her underwear she felt intimidated by Emily's judging stare. With all fours girls confirmed decent, Abi and Graham entered the changing room and asked each girl to do a quick twirl for the camera. Graham took a group photo before Abi mendaciously wished them all good luck. Abi was concerned that the girl's outfits would show her up in her simple white blouse, black skirt combination. It suddenly struck her that all four contestants were bare foot. Abi unbuttoned a button on her blouse and smoothed down her skirt, she would have to be on her guard from now on.

Bianca whisked the contestants off towards the TV studio. Mia and Georgia stood offstage with Graham and Abi as Emily and Sophie filmed their piece to camera. Bang on time, Aiko came swanning into the studio. She was wearing a sexy judge's outfit and a badly fitting wig. She was more determined than anyone to make this show a success. If it failed it would bring great shame upon her family who had been magnanimously bankrolling her fledgling career. Directly positioned facing the stage was a jury bench where twelve lucky fans of the show sat waiting to pass judgement: six men and six women. Each had a remote control that could light up either one of two lightbulbs: a red one for guilty and a green for innocent. Mia wondered who they would rather see gunged, herself or Georgia.

Off camera Aiko exchanged pleasantries with the girls before Parvati directed them to stand upon a raised platform so that they could begin. Sophie stood in the witness box opposite the tense looking Emily, standing in the dock. With the cameras rolling, Aiko began. "Emily, you stand accused of ruining your best friend's wedding. How do you plead?" "Not guilty", Emily replied, quick as a flash. "In that case", boomed Aiko, "Let the trial begin."

Less confident than in the safety of the changing room, Emily nervously smiled and began to blush. Unconsciously, she bent her knees and brushed back her hair. As the prosecution's key witness, Sophie spoke first. "As I was enjoying my perfect wedding day, my sister Ava and my best friend Emily got involved in an incredibly heated argument. Their argument began in the reception before continuing outside. Neither of them could let it lie. Eventually the argument turned into a mud fight. Desperate for peace I tried to intervene, but Emily simply pulled me into the mud. I've never been so humiliated in all my life. As my best friend, as my maid of honour, this is simply inexcusable, she deserves to be gunged.

Keenly listening, Sophie's account of what happened piqued Mia's interest. She'd completely forgotten to watch her opponents own video promo, in truth it was really quite rude of her not to. Rosie surely will have done. She guessed that Sophie, Emily and Ava knew far more about her than she knew about them. Just then, she noticed Ava standing in the shadows at the other side of the set. Catching her eye, she friendlily waved. Staring grimly at the stage, Ava swiftly flashed a warm smile in return, before sinking away into the shadows once again.

"So, Emily, how do you respond?" Aiko inquired. "Well, I got caught up in a catfight between Ava and Alexandra, her closest friend. I was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Past disagreements got brought back up and it all escalated from there. I didn't mean to drag Sophie into the mud, I was just trying to defend myself. It was all Ava's fault, not mine." Emily was starting to grow increasingly confident as she stole the stage. Might she be found innocent after all?

Looking round, Mia spied Ava once again. It seemed that she didn't really agree with Emily's version of events. Mia wondered why Emily and Ava didn't seem to get on. Whilst in full flow, Emily suddenly caught sight of Ava in the corner of her eye. Mia observed that Emily instantly stuttered and started to look shifty and guilty for the first time. Emily's confidence began to drain, her throat was dry, she tried to avoid Ava's vicious stare.

Emily tried to rescue her situation. "I was maid of honour, but Ava is Sophie's sister. She must have known how much Sophie's wedding meant to her. There's a simple reason why Sophie is getting her revenge on her sister, not me, on the main show. It was all Ava's fault."

"What do you say in reply to that Sophie?" Aiko asked. "Ava's crimes will not go unpunished, I will see to that myself in a few weeks' time. But Emily should have known better. How would she feel if her closest friend tried to ruin her own wedding day? It's a good job that I'm so kind and forgiving." Sophie moved over to Emily, wrapped her arm around her shoulders and squeezed. There was no doubt in Mia's mind that whatever Emily may have done that Sophie had forgiven her.

"So that brings a close to the evidence. Jury you have two minutes to deliberate amongst yourselves, then I must press you for a decision. Emily grew increasingly nervous, from the looks on the women's faces, they would all surely vote against her. No women could stomach having their wedding day ruined. But what about the men? She had tried flirting with them, a few of them certainly seemed interested, but she would need all of their support or she was doomed.

Suddenly there was tension in the air. A curtain was drawn across the jury to hide their deliberations. Mia could see Ava finally begin to smile. Sophie and Emily were directed to sit on two foldable chairs hanging over a raised platform. Emily on the left, Sophie on the right. Between them were three pies and two buckets of gunge and baked beans. Sitting down, Emily acknowledged that Bianca was right, her dress was very comfortable to sit in and it didn't crease anywhere at all. Unfortunately, Emily realised a moment too late that the camera manned by Dave was pointing at her legs. Was her underwear on show? Quite possibly. She inched her knees together and scowled.

The two minutes were soon up and the curtain in front of the jury was pulled back. Looking down, Emily saw the stage beneath the platform open away. Directly below Emily's seat was a narrow, yet deep vat of gunge. She looked over at Sophie. For the first time today, the blonde began to look concerned. Directly underneath her was a vat of thick creamy porridge. If she lost, she would surely come off worse.

"Jury cast your votes now", boomed Aiko. Emily gripping her seat began to tense. All twelve jurors pressed their remotes, every light turned red. Emily had lost, they had all found her guilty. Sophie screamed in delight.

Suddenly gallons of red gunge came streaming down from the ceiling, catching the pristine brunette short. Emily shrieked and glanced over at Sophie who had leant out of the way of the torrent of slime. Emily slicked back her hair and beat her feet against the platform. Sophie stood up and directed Emily to meet her gaze. The two friends smiled sweetly at one another, their moment of affection cut short by Sophie pouring a bucket of purple gunge directly over Emily's face. Sophie poured the bucket as slowly as she could, she wanted this moment to last a lifetime; Emily would never live this down. Bending down, Sophie kissed Emily on the cheek before slapping the first pie into her face. Cream cascaded down Emily's face onto her shoulders. Offstage, Ava was in stitches watching her fierce rival's humiliation.

Aiko began a countdown from five. With the entire studio focused on the pretty brunette, Emily blushed and pressed her face up against her shoulder. On nought, Aiko pressed a trigger and Emily's seat gave way. She plunged, feet first, into the thick lime green gunge. Completely submerged, Emily's screaming face disappeared beneath the surface. A few seconds later her head and shoulders resurfaced only to be hit by a barrage of orange slime.

Emily looked frantically around for a mode of escape. She clung to the side of the tank desperate to not slide back in. She felt her backless bra begin to loosen. Sophie stood up and offered to pull her out. In doing so, Sophie gave her friend a wide berth, taking care that Emily wouldn't try to pull her in with her. As Sophie hauled Emily out of the slime, Emily's delicate dress rode up, exposing her lace lingerie. Even without looking, Emily sensed that Dave the cameraman was zooming in. Despite the wardrobe malfunction, Emily was having a great time. Sophie had got her revenge and she had got her just deserves. She knew that now. She just wished that Ava wasn't present to gloat at her expense.

Sophie helped Emily onto the foldable chair that the blonde had just vacated. Emily took care to smooth her dress back down. She glanced down at her neckline, where was her bra? She hoped that her quick glimpse at her chest hadn't given this away.

"So, Emily, did you deserve that?" asked Aiko, with a hint of irony. Doing well to keep her emotions in check, Emily was defiant. "Well Sophie definitely deserves her own messy comeuppance after that." Sensing that she had every male in the room enraptured, pouting, she began to play to the crowd. In reply, Aiko teased, "Now Emily, since every member of the jury voted against you, it's clear that you deserve extra punishment." No sooner had she finished speaking when Sophie upturned a large bucket of baked beans over Emily's head. Beans ran down her cheeks and into her dress. Tomato sauce smothered over her breasts. She glanced up at Sophie, she had noticed her best friend's missing clothing too.

Smiling, Emily stuck her tongue out at Sophie. Sophie feigned outrage and smashed the second pie into Emily's face. Emily licked her lips and laughed. She then wiped her hands against her chest. The brunette was finding her humiliation strangely liberating, no one could ever accuse her of being a prig again.

Emily just had time to catch her breath before Aiko pressed the trigger to release the second seat. Without a second to think, Emily was plunged into the second, deep tank of creamy porridge. Completely submerged for a second time, Emily thrashed around in the porridge, desperate to avoid sinking below once more. The creamy oats seeped into her sleek dress from every angle. Hanging onto the side of the tank with one hand, she wiped her face with the other. Her vain attempt to get clean was premature however as Sophie took the opportunity to pie her in the face.

Two stage hands helped her out of the vat of porridge. Disorientated, Emily searched for the way to the changing room. Unfortunately, a stagehand caught her hand and directed her to a pillory. "Emily, it would be rude of you to not stay and watch Mia and Georgia, place your pretty face in the pillory and you'll have a front row seat", laughed Aiko. The stagehands fastened her in. Sophie approached her messy friend. "Emily, I love you dearly. I hope that you think that we have been unnecessarily cruel to you today, but I think it's fair to say that now we are completely even." Sophie blew her friend a kiss before tipping a bucket of strawberry yoghurt over her head.

Watching offstage, Georgia was horrified, what had she let herself into? Emily was utterly destroyed with gunge, clearly, they intended to do the same to her too. Mia saw the look of horror in her friend's face and consolingly patted her on the back. She looked over to Ava, but she was nowhere to be seen. What was she up to? Surely, she should be revelling in her moment of triumph? Abi meanwhile was trying to conduct an interview with Sophie and Emily but kept messing up her lines. Graham didn't care. The longer Abi took, the longer he had the excuse to film gunge drip off the pretty brunette. Emily disliked how Abi was seeking to humiliate her on camera, she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. She swore that she had thoroughly enjoyed her gunging, which secretly wasn't that far from the truth. She claimed that she had learnt her lesson. She would try her damn hardest to not ruin anyone else's wedding day. Abi asked the poor girl whether she would like any help cleaning up. Caught off guard, Emily nodded yes. Delighted by her trickery, Abi gloated as she poured two buckets of freezing cold water over Emily's head. With her hands shackled, Emily could not defend herself. Freezing water ran down her cheeks and onto her chest. Finally satisfied with her piece, Abi ended the interview by pieing Emily in the face. Seething, Emily silently plotted her revenge. "Just wait until I escape these shackles, she will no longer be smiling when I finish with her", she thought to herself.

The lights dimmed as everyone turned their attention to setting up the stage for Mia and Georgia. Emily suddenly felt somebody lift up the back of her dress. Small delicate hands peeled her knickers away from her damp wet skin. Emily heard someone shake a bottle of some sort before pouring its contents inside her lingerie (both front and back). Emily scrunched her face up in horror, she would be stuck inside the pillory for at least half an hour and now someone had put pasta sauce inside her knickers. There was only one person that she knew that could be this cruel, petty and vindictive. It had to be Ava.