A story about being a teenager...

hcass

I finish reading the book to my little sister, Ali. It’s a book of nursery rhymes and is actually mine. I got it when I was about three years old. My Mam wanted me to read it to Ali because she’s busy with the ironing. She knows it’s the only thing that calms Ali down and I don’t mind anyway because Ali is a great sister and never wrecks my head. She always gives me hugs when I need them, like after a bad day at school. So I tuck her in anyway and kiss her goodnight. Then its over to my own room and to start to get ready.

I put on my green satin tulip skirt from top shop and attach the large floral brooch my older sister bought me for my birthday last year. Lisa gave me a lend of her black bustier with the green sequins but she’s skinnier than me so I have to squeeze my self into it. Then I put on my black Aldo peep toes. They kill my feet but make my legs look really long so it’s worth it. I have to say I looked ok. I couldn’t wait to go to the party now. I checked my phone; Lisa would be here a few minutes. Just enough time to grab some drink from the cabinet downstairs.

Lisa rang me and let me know she was outside. She hates coming into my gaff because she thinks my brother fancies her and says he’s always drooling over her like a dog. She was waiting at the end of my driveway. The party is at a house around the corner from mine. She hands me a bag and tells me to leave it in my porch, “hide it though. I don’t want your sisters gawping through me stuff.” She’s staying at mine tonight, unless she scores of course.

I hide it and walk back to her.

“Did you get any drink?” She asks.
“I made up some rocket fuel in a coke bottle.”
“I got some cans of Bud and some ciggies from my brother.”
“I don’t like Bud it makes me sick.”
“Don’t be such a ****ing sap. You better not get sick at this party. I’m not gonna be left on me own like a sap.”
“I won’t, I’ll just drink spirits.”

We begin to walk down the road. Lisa looks gorgeous. She has her hair all back combed and flicked to one side. Her hair is deadly. She has blonde highlights and gets them done at Toni & Guy every month. Her make-up is perfect. Her sister works for Mac in Brown Thomas and she does Lisa’s for her whenever we’re going out. She’s wearing a tight Herve Leger style dress. It’s like the one Cheryl Cole wore to the BRITs. Her shoes are from Nine West and the heels are so high but Lisa can walk in them no problem. Not like me, clumping up the road like a knacker.

“You look savage, real pretty like.” I tell her.
“What are you - a ****ing lezzer?”
“No – I just meant…nothing”.
“And don’t be saying anything thick at this party. Don’t make people think I’m friends with a spa, ok?”

I nod and we walk on in silence.

We arrive at the house a few minutes later. The party is just starting and Lisa is mortified because she doesn’t want us to be the sad bastards who are there before everyone else. But we can’t walk back around to mine because then we’ll look like even bigger spas, she says. So we stroll in and head for the kitchen.

Jason O’Mara is there and Lisa tells me to ask him for a light for her cigarette. I ask him and he starts talking to me, asking me about school and the junior cert and stuff. I tell him yeah, school’s **** and I haven’t done any study; even though my Mam and Dad make me study every night for an hour. He says he did crap in his mocks and his folks are making him do some grinds now because they think he’ll fail. I did alright in my mocks but I tell Jason I nearly failed and he laughs and I think I’m going to explode I’m so happy. Then Lisa comes over.

“Where’s me ****ing light?”
“I was just getting it, sorry. I was talking to Jason.”

Lisa looks at Jason and pouts her lips and asks him for a light. He gets one out of his pocket and lights her cigarette. Then he turns back to me and starts chatting again. He wants to know what music I like and he’ll play a song for me on the iPod.

Lisa says, “**** this” and walks off. I don’t know if I should follow her because she did bring me here but I really like Jason so I stay. Jason asks me what’s Lisa’s problem and I tell him I don’t know. She gets a bit angry sometimes if I don’t do what she says. He starts laughing and I feel really uncomfortable but I suppose it is funny.

“She’s a good friend. She invited me tonight and she didn’t have to.”
“Ah – girls are ****ing mad,” he says.

He hands me a can of Dutch Gold and I take a sup. I don’t usually drink lager but I don’t want Jason to think I’m a dope so I say thanks and keep drinking.

I can hear Lisa out the back; she has a big group of lads around her. She’s screaming with the laughter; slagging off a girl in our school called Sadie. She has a lisp and Lisa is always taking the piss out of her. Sssadie the sssap, that’s what she calls her, mimicking her lisp. Everyone loves Katie, she’s so funny. She slags everybody off and all the boys think she’s hot. Whatever bloke she fancies she always ends up with them. Then if they dump her she goes around telling everyone they had a small cock or they were only a virgin anyway. It’s gas. Once she wrote on the ladies toilet door Mark Darcy sucks other bloke’s cocks – that was after he dumped her. The principal found out it was Lisa who wrote it and she had to wash it off. She was suspended for a week but she said it was worth it because now everyone calls Mark “The Queer”. And she says that’s the best revenge.

After about an hour of drinking I’m totally pissed. Jason is still talking to me. We’re sitting on the sofa now. His legs all wound around mine. Lisa is still out the back. I think she’s mooching John Gilday. He’s two years ahead of us in school. I can hear her talking to him. Her voice is really loud, like she wants everyone to hear what she’s saying. She’s telling John that she doesn’t give a **** about the junior and that she knows it’s only a load of crap. John agrees with her, he’s doing the leaving though and that’s a bit more serious. He wants to work in PR – maybe manage a nightclub or something like that. Lisa says that’s so strange because she’s always wanted to work in a nightclub as a dancer. She asks him does he think she has the body for it. He says yeah, of course and he’d have no problem employing her in his club. She laughs and moves her face closer to his and the next minute they are wearing the faces off one another.

I wish I was Lisa, I’ve been sitting here with Jason for an hour and he’s not even tried to kiss me yet. I’m beginning to think I’m wasting my time when he bends forward and kisses me on the lips. Just a peck like. Is that it, I’m thinking, maybe he’s just real shy? Or maybe he doesn’t really like me at all; probably just waiting for Honor Jones or Simone Lyndsay to arrive so he can drop me and get with someone decent. But then he pulls me up to him and holds me tight and tells me he’s having a great time with me. That he’s glad he came to the party now. He thought it’d be full of losers like Lisa Donleavy and her gang of sluts. He remembers then that I’m part of that gang; well sort of; only when Lisa wants me to be, like tonight when the other girls let her down. And he apologises. I say it’s ok, you know because I don’t really like them girls either. And I laugh because I’ve never said that before. Jason laughs too and he says I’m better then all those girls. And I smile and I’m thinking this is probably the best night of my life ever.

I notice Lisa has gone upstairs with John. It’s about 1 in the morning now. I wonder if Jason and I are going to go upstairs as well. I don’t really want to; I’m having a good time here on the sofa. But if he asks me I will, otherwise he might think I’m a frigid. We’re kissing properly now, tongues and all. He hasn’t gone up me or down me though. I hope that doesn’t mean he thinks I’m crap or something. Lisa always says if a bloke thinks you’re worth it he’ll try and go a bit further. But if he reckons you’re a frigid he won’t bother because he knows you’ll just push him off.

Next minute my phone goes off, it’s a text from Lisa.

[FONT=&quot]GET UP HER. AM IN D BOX ROOM. WE R GOIN NOW[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
I tell Jason I have to go. He asks me why and I tell him because my Dad will kill me. He says was that text from your Dad and I say yes, it is and he’s going mad. I don’t tell him about Lisa because she’d probably kill me. He asks me for my number and I give it to him. We kiss again and my phone starts ringing.

“Is that your dad again?”
“Yeah, I’d better go, see ya in school.”

I leg it out of the sitting room and answer the phone. It’s Lisa and she’s crying.

“Come up to the room, now, please.”

I’ve never heard Lisa crying before so I race up the stairs. I run into the bedroom and there she is on the bed and there’s some stain on the sheets and I think its blood and I start to panic. What did John do to you? I ask her, are you alright? She is bawling and inconsolable.
“Jesus Lisa, will I call the Police?” I ask.
“No, no” she cries.
“I don’t know what to do, did he rape you or something?”
“No, it’s nothing like that”. She starts to calm down.
“It’s my period, my first period.” She says and she begins to bawl again.
“But you’re fifteen?”
“I know what age I am” she screams. “Just help me, let’s take these sheets off the bed and bring them with us.”
I do as she says and don’t ask any more questions. When we’re finished she asks me for a tampon. I have one in my bag and I give it to her. She goes to the bathroom and I sit on the bed and wait for her. She comes back and sits beside me and tells me everything that happened.

She came up here with John and they started to have sex. He noticed the blood on the bed and freaked out. He jumped out and checked his dick. Then he said it wasn’t him it was her. He pulled up his jocks and ran off leaving her on the bed.

“He’ll tell everyone,” she cried.
“No he won’t, he’s not like that.”

Lisa asks me do I really think that. And I do, I know John Gilday would never say that to anyone. My sister knows him quite well and always goes on about how nice he is. Lisa feels better when I say that, she looks happier. She tells me not to say anything to anyone. Of course I won’t, I’m her friend I tell her. And at this moment I actually like being with Lisa and I’m not scared of her. I smile at her and go to give her a hug.

Her whole body stiffens and she pushes me off. “You are a ****ing weirdo.” She says. I’m not sure if she’s messing or what? Then she grabs me and pins me against the wall and says;

“If you ever tell anyone, I’ll ****ing kill you. And I’ll make your life a living ****ing hell.”

I don’t know what to say, I just nod. Then we walk out the bedroom door with the sheet stuffed in Lisa’s bag. On the way down the stairs we bump into Jason.

“I thought you were gone home? What are you doing?”

Lisa glares at me. I can’t think of anything to say.

“I was just….”
“She was just telling me what a small prick you have.” Lisa shouts as she bursts into laughter.

Jason looks at me for my reaction. I shrug and keep walking.

pickarooney

Brilliant! I really, really like this. I don't know if you're a particularly talented teenager or an adult with a fine memory but it really rang true to life. Give it a title?

One small thing - I think you forgot to change one of the 'Katie's to Lisa about halfway down.

hcass

Thanks!
I'm an adult (28) who can't forget the hell of the teenage years. I knew I didn't check the names properly!

Can never think of titles for my stories...

hcass

Any comments or criticism are very welcome. I can take it! So please be honest.

pickarooney

Generally speaking you can take being ignored as a back-handed compliment on this forum. The least popular pieces always get the most responses

Whattosell

I agree, thought it was very good. Love the references to clothes and style, marks it as very contemporary. You've got a definite voice there.

Killer_banana

Really good. I'm seventeen and I can relate to this a lot. Very well written. I love the tone.

pickarooney wrote: »

Generally speaking you can take being ignored as a back-handed compliment on this forum. The least popular pieces always get the most responses

I got absolutely no replies to my post so does that mean it was amazing? :P