That Wee English Fella

The Dress

"Fuck-a-doodle-doo!"

I opened my hooded eyes hesitantly, with half my face still in the pillow on my bed. I looked up to see Michelle fucking Mallon right above me, blocking my view of everything else in my messy bedroom . "Fuck off" I huffed, tossing onto my stomach and stuffing my face into my pillow.

"Actually, wake the fuck up Cara, we've got people to do and places to be!" Michelle, now shaking me and turning me over, exclaimed. "It's been, like, less than 15 hours since you swamped the prods. Give the boys of Derry a bit of peace from you for the day"

Michelle didn't reply to me at all, instead, huffed and dragged me out of bed. Revealing my oversized 'doctor who' top and a pair of plaid pants that are owned by Kate. "Ew" Michelle mumbled gesturing to my top. "You're just not intelligent enough to keep up." I shrugged as she pulled me downstairs to my kitchen.

"Good morning, Cara" James said quietly as I sat down next to him, acknowledging the lack of my family around the house. "You too....What are ye even doing in my gaff?" I asked as Michelle handed me a bowl of cereal that seemed pre-made.

"We got bored around the house. I couldn't stand being with him any longer on my own. No body in the Quinn's house was awake. So..here" Michelle told me, as she sat down at the top of the table, where my dad normally sits. "Glad to know I'm your second choice" I said in a joking manner.

"Aye. We're going shopping today, I've decided." Michelle put her hands up on the table, acting like a evil mastermind. She left the kitchen to look into my brothers room , leaving James and I all alone at the table.

"I didn't know you like doctor who." James said, scanning my top, instantly making me cross my arms over my stomach as a reflex. James must've noticed it but decided to act, thank god.

"Aye, proper love it....who's your favorite doctor?" I asked, starting the conversation again. "Oh, probably the...4th doctor." He stated, proud with his answer nodding. "Really,oh . Mines definitely the 5th"

"You know, there's a Doctor Who convention in a few months and I was thinking of going. We should go together" James rushed, looking at his thumbs that were playing thumb of war with each other. "As friends of course" he added, finally looking at me in the eye. As friends..

"Aye, that sound like right craic. I'll see if I can fit it into my bush schedule" I joked, but I think James believed me when I said I had a busy schedule.

"Do you know where my family are?" I asked James, getting up to see if they left a note. "Yeah, they all left for mass and said for you to leave a note if your leaving"

"Let's get shifted" Michelle entered again, making her way to the door with her hands full. I wrote a quick note, saying I was going shopping and then made my way over to the door. "Michelle, whatcha take from my brothers bedrooms?" I asked, opening the door and holding it for everyone, then locking it with the key under the mat. "Bit of this bit of that." She shrugged as we trotted down the dirty streets of Derry.

"Will any of the shops even be open this early on a Sunday?" I asked, standing in between the cousins. "Aye, why the fuck not wouldn't they be?"

"Mass" I shrugged. My family stopped going yo mass after my mammy died. It just brings back too much sad memories.

I still remember it like it only happened yesterday, waiting in the principals office for my neighbors, the Murphy's, to pick me up.  Meeting my father crying in the 'good' room. Sister O Sullivan, telling me it was 'a hard blow'. Anywhere I went, I met old people coming to shake my hand, telling me they were 'sorry for my trouble'. Whispers I heard informing strangers I was the youngest of our clan.

At 10 O clock, the ambulance arrived, with a corpse, cold and bandaged by nurses.  The next morning, we went to the mass. Lying on the priests table in her coffin, I remember thinking how beautiful she looked, even dead she kept her bright face on.

I shook my head, wiping the tears that were threatening to fall and coming back to reality when I heard James and Michelle argue again. "At least their not English" Michelle snarled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alrighty, why are we even going shopping for, Michelle ?" I asked with a almost too cheerful voice. "Going to your man's party, remember?"

"Who?" James and I asked in unison, causing Michelle to roll her eyes at us. "You know, your man. He's always out and about Derry on his bike. Friends with Paul. You know." Michelle stated as she skipped ahead to turn around and look at us. "Aye, Michelle. Your on about Robert. He's a right lanker" I said shaking my head at her, with James peering down on me with a surprised look on his face at my language. "I know, that was mean. But like, have you ever even talked to him. He's a proper cunt, like"

Michelle took her mums card like every-time we go shopping and dragged us to some fancy boutique that has all the clothes celebrities wear. Michelle was trying on at least 10 dresses while, James gazed around bored out of his mind and I, looking at all the expensive clothes trying to imagine what I'd wear them to.

I couldn't take my eyes off the dark blue-ish metallic long sleeved dress that had a soft V neckline and a two little circle cut out designs, on the mannequin. Normally, I detest tight clothes on me and dresses as such. But something about this dress just attracted me to it. If I had enough money for it, I'd buy it for the party. I even had big black shinty boots with heels that would match it perfectly.

"It's a very pretty dress" James' voice broke my train if thought. I looked up at the taller boy. "Yeah, it's gorgeous" I removed my hand from the metallic dress, "but it's also very expensive"

I could feel James' eyes on me as I continued to stare at the dress. Not a word was said between us as we ignored all the busy shoppers around us.

"You'd be a proper ride in that, Cara" Michelle announced, causing a few shoppers to glare at us, as she walked out of the changing room with a dress. "Come on then. Bring it to the till"

I hesitantly shuffled over to the till with the dress that was on the hanger next to the mannequin. "Michelle, I cant promise I won't spill something on it"

"Well, we'll just have to clean it then" Michelle said as she paid the cash register, who was looking at us funny as we made our way out of the shop.