ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
WATCHING THE GENTLE SWELL lap against the shore from the Coogee Pavillion rooftop, Emma Hutchens smiles and feels glad she’s not about to hitch up her dress and jump on the mechanical bull down at the Jube.
Taking advantage of the recent unseasonably warm weather down in the harbour capital, the 23-year-old construction manager and two friends decided to pack their new Camilla dresses and make the biannual pilgrimage down to Sydney to see old friends.
However, what Emma didn’t know at the time was that her favourite flowing summer piece will be returned to Brisbane with her looking a little worse for wear.
“Everything was fine until the sun went down,” she explained.
“Then Katie bought a packet of smokes and we all had one each, saying we’d only have one because it’s a special occasion and that’s pretty much the last thing I can confidently remember. Milly came back from the bar with a tray of shots and I had to palm my ciggie off to some boy,”
“After that, I vaguely remember getting in an Uber, which was also super exciting. We went to some place in the city with one of Millie’s Sydney friends who knew where to get a cheap schooner. One thing led to another and I woke up on the floor of our hotel room covered in sick with a throbbing headache.”
Ms Hutchens shoes had gone walkabout without her and two blisters had formed between her ring and middle fingers on her left hand.
“She was blind, she let a ciggie burn through her hand. She didn’t even realise,” said Milly.
“And her dress was fucked. My dress was fucked. Katie’s was hanging up in the bathroom. There were cigarette burns in them, rips and tears. We couldn’t believe it. There was red wine all over Emma’s, but none of us can remember having any.”
The trio fly out of Kingsford-Smith tonight at 11pm. Their parents plan to meet them at the gate.
More to come.
