Sweet as honey • James Maguire

2,5•Nothing Will Change It.

We were in assembly, listening to Jenny Joyce's god awful quartet sing about it being Monday morning. When they had finished, Sister Micheal started her announcements. "Okay, just a couple of things. Firstly I'd like to introduce Mae Cheung. Can you make yourself known please Mae?" She asked, making a girl a couple rows behind us raise her hand. "Miss Cheungs family have recently moved here to Derry. So I hope you'll all make her feel welcome. It's bound to be a bit of a culture shock, Mae. Things are done... differently in this part of the world. But I'm sure you'll soon feel as at home here as you did back in your beloved Donegal. Announcement from Jenny Joyce and the dance committee..." Sister Micheal droned on. "Why would anyone willingly move here? Like why on earth would they come here of all places?" I leant up to ask James in a whisper. He leant down to me "I have absolutely no clue, especially from Donegal." He told me, making me grin up at him. "Awww, I didn't know you knew where Donegal was! Next you'll know we're Monaghan is! Aww you're so smart!" I said in a mocking tone. He scowled at me jokingly. "Where is Monaghan?" He asked me. I laughed lightly and looked at him "Monaghan is in...Monaghan" I said simply, not really knowing how to describe the town that held the same name as it's county, and turned towards the front.  He carried on looking at me. "That didn't help" he told me. I shushed him wanting to hear about this years formal, which Sister Micheal gave to Jenny Joyce for her to read out. "But before you don your glad rags and boogie on down, we'd like to let you in on our little secret. We're not actually going to have a school formal this year." She told us, making me sigh and lightly stomp my foot. "What a fucking bitch" I whispered, making James chuckle at my annoyance. "No, listen, we're not gonna have a school formal. We're going to have... a 50s Prom!" She told us,
Only to be met with many protests. "I know, I know. But if do love a theme. Sure, isn't that why people call me the Theme queen?" Jenny asked us. "Do they?" Clare whispered. "Do they Fuck." Michelle responded. Annoyed about the whole thing. "We want it to have a real old-school, retro, vintage vibe. So, feel free to just go for it!" Jenny finished. "Feel free to kiss my hole." Michelle said, although the girl couldn't hear her.

We were walking down the corridor, when Clare started to freak out. "There she is. Okay, so I say we just go over there and be ourselves, girls. Well, not totally ourselves. We could also pretend we're sort of better than we actually are. So, I suppose what I'm saying is we could present a version of ourselves that less..." Clare told us, struggling for words. "Crap?" Me and Erin said at the same time. "Precisely." Clare admitted. "Why do we even have to talk to her?" Michelle asked. "Because she's new, Michelle!" Clare responded. "Urgh! I hate peoples I don't know." Michelle said honestly. "And incase you haven't noticed, she also happens to be Chinese. I mean, how class would it be to have a Chinese friend?!" Clare said, grinning at Erin, who grinned back. "We could keep her in my toy box." Orla said, making me nod along. "No we couldn't, Orla." Erin told the girl. "Oh, she'd definitely fit." Orla replied. "Aye, she would." I admitted. "That is not the point." Erin said to us both. "Fine, but can we agree it's on a strict one in, one out basis? If she joins the group, James had to leave." Michelle tried to convince us. "No!" I told them all, while they all seemed to be in agreement. "Excuse me?" James asked, as they all walked away. "Don't worry about it , James. I want to talk to you about something anyway, but we'll talk later." I smiled up at him as we caught up with the girls. Ignoring Clares Cantonese conversation, I looked at James as he turned to me."what is she doing?" He whispered. "I have no clue." I responded, before zoning out on the rest of the conversation, eager for mine and James conversation later.

We were walking home with the rest of the girls when I decided to bring it up. "Soo... about our conversation.." I started. "Oh God. Please don't tell me it's anything bad." He begged. "Oh no, of course not. I was going to ask about the prom." I said to him, excited. "Right..." He responded, hesitantly. "Well I was thinking right, obviously we'd go together and everything because we'll... obviously. And since it's 50s themed, I was thinking well... you'd just have to wear a suit but what if I went dressed in one of those dresses from Grease? With the big puffy skirt and the tight top half? Oh! We could go like Sandy and Danny! But as ourselves! I have so many ideas oh we could-" I started overjoyed with the idea of going to prom with my boyfriend, only for him to interrupt it. "I'm not going to the prom, Caoimhe." He said quietly. "Wha-what?" I questioned him, hoping I hadn't heard him right. "I'm not going, I'm doing something else  the day that it's on." He told me plainly. "But- but we could go together! And it'd be like our first formal thing? Please!" I begged him. "I can't, I'm sorry." He told me. "Why? Why can't you go? What's so important that you can't go to prom with me? Are you ashamed of me?" I asked with tears in my eyes. By now all of the girls were looking at us. "Of course I'm not ashamed it's just... something important is happening" he said vaguely. "Why can't you tell me what it is?" I pressed, now feeling embarrassed and insecure. "Because you'll laugh at me." He told me. "No I won't James, not if it's serious." I told him honestly. "I'm having a... a doctor who marathon." He said quietly, making mine and everyone else's jaw drop. "A... doctor who marathon?" I asked, Makkah sure I heard him right. He nodded. I was astonished. What. An. Asshole. "Right, and Doctor Who is more important then me? And the prom and our relationship? I mean of course you can love doctor who to no end but, can't you have the marathon on a different day?" I asked, not understanding how this stops us from going to the prom. "No, Caoimhe, I can't the day is Doctor Who day, and nothing will change it." He said bluntly, expecting me to understand. "Right then...I see where I stand in your life." I said with tears streaming down my face. I stormed off ahead of the rest of the girls. Faintly hearing a slap, followed by Michelle calling James and utter dick. I skipped the plans for the Cafe after School, opting to just go home.

When I got in I collapsed into Uncle Gerrys arms. Sobbing. He was like a second dad to me, to it was just a kind of Natural response. Gerry knew what I was like when I was this upset. So he simply just sat down on the sofa, pulling me to sit next to him, and let me cry on his shoulder for as long as I pleased. Waiting For me to talk first, knowing that it may be a while before I do. I knew that most people would believe that I was overreacting, the prom isn't that big a thing. But to me it was. Mum used to show me pictures of her and Daddy at the school formals, and told me to always go to them with those that I love, because you never know when you'll lose them. This was before she left me here, and claimed that she couldn't cope with me, but after we lost Daddy. It was a bittersweet memory for me. A period which, at the time, was filled with trouble, but was one of my last, bonding moments with her before she gave me away. So now, even though my mums abandoned me. I still want to live up to what she told me, because it's true. You never know when you're going to lose the people you love, so spend as much time as you can with them. So the fact that James doesn't want to go all for a Doctor Who night. It hurts. I eventually cried myself to sleep on Gerrys shoulder, making him stay there, stroking my hair until I eventually woke up.

I woke up to the door slamming. I shot my head up off of Gerrys shoulder, making him Jolt awake aswell. I faintly heard Erins mumbled pleads for a new dress coming from the kitchen, making me stand up and stretch my legs, then bending down to hug Gerry. "Thank you, Uncle Gerry" I told him. "No worries, my love. I'm always here" he said, kissing my forehead. Not pressing for a reason. "The only person I'll be buying a new dress for is Caoimhe, she's the only one with an actual boyfriend so she can have a new dress, you've no reason to have one, Erin." Mary said. Making fresh tears fall out of my eyes.  "Don't worry about the dress, Mary. I won't be needing a new one." I told her, solemnly. "Oh honey, why not?" She asked me, sympathetically. I looked at Gerry for support before coming out with it.Fresh Tears flowed down my cheeks as I started to tell them why James wouldn't go to Prom with me. "Oh deary, don't you worry. I know what the Prom means to you, but why don't you just go with your friends? Like Michelle? I'm sure she'd love to go with you." Mary tried to cheer me up. I just sobbed harder, leaning Into Gerrys shoulder again. "Why aren't I as important as Doctor who? Why am I so worthless that people can just leave me?" I fell apart in Gerrys arms. We all silently blamed my mum for this, because deep down we all knew that if she hadn't left me those years ago, I wouldn't feel half as worthless as I do today. For that, I'll always resent her.

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1753 words!

My poor Caoimhe, she's so hurt from her past:'(

How do we feel about James? Will he change his mind? Or will he make it worse?

Comment what you think will happen and vote if you enjoyed <3

This book will finish on Friday and I'm so sad, but what should I write next? Peaky Blinders? Vikings?

I'm leaning more towards Peaky Blinders but let me know what you'd read!

But yeah, cya tomorrow