"All in all you're just another brick in the wall."
- pink floyd, another brick in the wall, 1979
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"serves you right"
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(A/N: In this Noel has not yet gone on tour with Inspiral Carpets, he instead does that in 1990. This is set in 1989, Liam and Liz are both 16)
"Grubby Si and Quiet Micky!?" Liam laughed loudly, causing the teacher to glare at him. "Man, you're funny as fook you are Liz."
I grinned back at him, pleased that my observations of his mates had elicited such a response. We had been in maths for ten minutes and the teacher had already become sick of us both. It was Friday, my fifth day at the school.
"'E's got dirt on 'is face! Every time I bloody see him!" I defended myself, laughing along with him. He chuckled again, wiping a false tear from his eye.
"D'ya wanna come to a party tonight?" he asked spontaneously, leaning back on his chair so it was only the back legs on the ground.
"I would but I don't know where on earth I'm going mate," I complained. I didn't know my way around Manchester at all yet, unlike Liam and his mates.
"Just pop round to mine at 6 and I'll take ya," he offered.
"Won't ya mam be in?" I joked, winking.
"Not like tha' yer muppet," Liam laughed, giving me a playful shove.
"Gallagher, don't lean back on your chair," the teacher scolded. "I knew of a boy who fell backwards and cracked his head." Liam reluctantly sat up properly.
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I hadn't bothered to dress up at all. I put on a bit of makeup, and considered even wearing a dress, but in the end I thought against it. It was cold and raining, and I didn't fancy a trek home in anything other than trainers. When I walked downstairs Mo barely lifted her gaze from the book she was reading. It was some kind of crime novel, not the type of book I'd ever got into.
"You heading out?"
"Yeah, Liam said something about a party, I'm just heading over to his."
"Tell Peggy I said hi."
"Will do, cheers Mo," I replied, letting her return to her book as I shut the door behind me. It was raining, so I pulled my hood close around my head. Liam's house was a mere five minutes away, and I knew the way from when I went there after school with Si and Mick.
By the time I got there, I was soaked wet through. I knocked on the door nervously. Although I knew about her, I'd never actually met Peggy Gallagher. I was worried about her not liking me, which Mo assured me was a silly thing to think.
"Hello love," Peggy said as she opened the door. "Come on in out the rain, Liam's just upstairs," she told me in a soft Irish accent. I smiled and thanked her, taking off my soggy jacket and slipping my trainers off by the door.
"Mo says hi," I told her as she led me through to the small living room. Corrie was on the TV.
"Oh yes, you're her niece aren't you?" she asked and I nodded. "Have a seat love, I'll get you a cuppa, how d'ya take it?"
