WATCHING THE SUITCASE FULL OF VODKA blow up before their eyes and having to flee the scene, fearing for their lives as they saw the look on Sister Michael's face. The teens were now walking to Belfast on foot with nothing around them except trees and fields of grass. The sun was shining down on them as they slowly walk down the road.
"We need a better plan, Michelle." Erin stated blankly keeping her head straight. "This is a great plan." The curly brunette argued. "We cannot walk to Belfast." Erin scoffed at her friend shaking her head in disagreement. "How far can it be? Have you ever seen Northern Ireland on a map? It's fucking tiny." Michelle continued to support her idea.
The smaller brunette groaned dramatically throwing her arms around Michelle."My feet are in fucking agony, Michelle. There's no way I'm making it to Belfast." She huffed grabbing her foot. The boy next to her stopped in front of her and slouched down holding out his hands behind him and indicating for her to jump on his back which she gladly accepted and wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring the looks their friends sent them.
"I have to say I'm not overly keen on being out in the open like this. Just because of the whole
'There's a polar bear on the loose that could maul us to death' thing!" Clare screamed out, her voice filled with fear and anxiety. "It can try!" Orla waved about the stick she found.
On the side of the road in front of them were two men filling up a car. "Is it just me, or is that Gypsy an absolute ride?" Michelle smiles biting her lip as she watches the man. "Michelle! You cannot say that! They're called Travellers now. You can't say Gypsy anymore, it's insulting." Erin says in a disapproving tone.
Saoirse sighed resting her chin on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Is this okay? I'm not too heavy, am I?" Saoirse voiced her concerns and insecurities, she was starting to feel guilty for accepting his offer to a piggyback. "What? No, you're as light as a feather." He insisted shaking his head.
"Who are they?" The boy raised his voice to the group, turning back to the girls' group conversation. "They're just people, James, they're just people that are exactly like us." Erin nodded her head along as she spoke. "Except different. " Orla added clutching her stick behind her head. "Yes-No!" Erin had to immediately correct herself.
The small blonde, Clare, shook her head with a look of disappointment. "That's actually racist, Orla." She scoffed at her friend. "No, it's not. They are different." Michelle disagreed. "They're not." Erin continued arguing with the girl. "They live in caravans, for a start." The curly-haired girl responded back.
"Just because they have different lifestyles than us, doesn't mean they aren't just normal people like us." Saoirse chose to voice her opinion against Michelle and Orla. The two girls then went on to blab about how they liked the idea of living in a caravan causing the others to just roll their eyes.
"Could you all stop being so racist, please?" Erin huffed annoyed with the current conversation topic. "I'm a bit scared of them. Is that racist?" James finally spoke up with concern after listening to all the girls arguing with each other.
"Yes."
"Very much so."
Just as the group of teens were passing the travellers, said travellers called out at them. "How'ya, girls?" One of them stepped towards the group. "Well, hello, there." Michelle greeted them back. "Hi." Muttered a fast-walking, Erin. "Good afternoon, Sir." Claire paced passed them with a small polite greeting. "Hiya." Saoirse joined in sending them a small smile as she climbed down off of James' back because the others began to pick up their speed.
" 'Sir?' What the fuck, Clare?" Michelle mocked her petite blonde friend, scoffing at her words. "Hey! Hold on!" The traveller again called out to the teens again. "What does he want?" Claire frantically asked her friends looking around in slight fear. "I dunno." Her curly-haired friend replied back nervously.
The other travellers followed after the one calling out to them. "I'm talking to you!" He yelled out making the teens jump a little, Erin muttering for them to just walk on. "Hey! Are you deaf or what?"
The travellers continued to shout at the teens while following after them. Fear grew in each of the teens as the travellers picked up their pace causing them to break off into a run which only led to the travellers running too.
They chased them for a while before Erin turned abruptly grabbing Orla's stick and pointing it at the men. "Piss off! Back off, you heard me, I'm not messing around with this thing." The blonde yelled waving the stick in their faces. James quickly pulled his girlfriend behind him, protectively shielding her from the men.
"We mean you no harm, Sir." Clare held out her hands defensively. "Seriously, Clare, the "sir" thing, just pack it in." Michelle hissed as she jumped on her feet, preparing for whatever the men were about to do. "Michelle, not the time." Saoirse hissed back at the taller brunette, shaking her head.
"Why are you being so weird?" The man who had yelled out to them asked. "Why are you chasing us?!" Clare frantically turned it around on him. "Because you dropped this." He replied pulling out a small pink purse from his pocket. "That's my purse," Clare stated eyeing it before he threw it to her.
The man looked at each of the teens seeing their scared expressions wash off their faces. "Why did you think we were chasing you?" He paused waiting for them to reply but saw them struggling to think of an excuse. "Ah, right, I see, we're travellers which means we're psychopaths?"
"You were right, Erin," Orla spoke smiling, oblivious to the situation, Erin gritted her teeth and muttered for her cousin to shut up. "We run after people and beat them up for no fecking reason. We're travellers, so we're obviously violent." He started angrily shouting at them, ignoring Erin's calls out to disagree.
"No, not at all. Listen, we have huge respect for you and your people. You've such a strong sense
of community and such wonderful, traditional values." Erin stuttered trying to find the right thing to say.
Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of a car honking could be heard behind the teens. "These lads bothering you, girls?" They turned to find a woman's head sticking out of the driver's window of a van. "Yes, yes, they are." Erin nodded her head frantically.
"They're fucking madmen."
"They're going to kill us."
"Help us, please!"
Erin, Clare and Michelle all yelled out pointing to the men accusingly. The woman spat out the window before returning to smoke her cigarette. "Jump in." Each of them raced towards the vehicle and climbed in. "Thank you for returning the purse," Saoirse shouted back to the men before being pulled away by James.
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The vehicle had taken off...without James and Saoirse. Saoirse was pissed, and James was upset but the joke was on them because they had left Saoirse with the tickets. The two simply walked back towards the travellers as it seemed as though they had no way of travelling (neither home nor to the concert). They were stranded and so they looked back at them and apologised for their friend's behaviours and began helping them with their things.
James looked at the small girl shaking his head but smiling along as he lifted the items from her. "Are you coming back to mine after this?" Saoirse asked her boyfriend. "I thought I was staying over tomorrow night?" He questioned her. "Aye, you are but I was wondering if you wanted to stay tonight too. You don't have to of course-"
"No I want to I do. But won't Michelle be suspicious when I'm not there two days in a row?" He cut her off. "Oh, I uh didn't think about that..." Saoirse frowned at the boy, looking down in thought. "Why don't you stay with me? I can sneak you in." James suggested causing the girl to smile (which in turn made him smile). "Yeah, I'd like that." Her smile grew as her cheeks reddened.
The two continued to help the travellers and eventually, they all got along quite well as they talked along the way, well James got along with them but Saoirse mostly spoke to James.. The group were alerted by the sound of a nearby vehicle and a horn beeping, they spotted the van from earlier that their friends had taken off in previously.
Saoirse crossed her arms over her chest and raised her brows as the van door slid open. "What are you two playing at? Get in the van, fucko!" Michelle hissed at the two with narrowed eyes. "Does not have to if you don't want to, James." One of the travellers spoke up. "With all due respect, this has got nothing to do with you." Michelle got out of the van scoffing at the man.
"The way you treat this fella is disgraceful." The traveller spoke up again which made Saoirse to step to the side a bit feeling a little caught in the middle because she agreed they were horrible to the boy from time to time but she also knew that they did care about him they just had a weird way of showing it.
"What's going on, James? Saoirse?" The curly brunette asked in disbelief, Saoirse stepped even further away and raised her hands as if to say she was staying out of it. "Jonjo and the lads, well, they just get me, and it turns out I'm a really good salesman. And well Saoirse and I have just been helping them out." James shrugged with a large grin which grew further when one of the travellers said he was a natural at it.
"So what? You're a Gypsy now?" Michelle questioned her cousin narrowing her brows and rolling her eyes when her friends corrected her by saying 'Traveller' but the men actually said that they didn't mind being called Gypsy which made Michelle rather smug about it all.
The driver of the van shouted out for the teens to get a move on making Michelle usher the two towards the vehicle. "Right, get in the van. Come on. And do not test me, cos we've already missed PJ and Duncan." Michelle said in a threatening tone. "Is that who was supporting them? Aw, I really like them!" Claire frantically screamed out stomping her foot.
"I'm not leaving, Michelle." James declined, shaking his head. "Come on, James." Saoirse ushered her head towards the van with a pout in a pleading tone. "Not even for Gary Barlow?" Michelle questioned raising her eyebrows. "I don't really rate him as a songwriter, you know?" Jonjo. the traveller looked at the teens, his words caused their faces to drop and for them to freeze in place.
"I'm sorry, Jonjo, but you've just crossed the line there." James sighed emptying his pockets and following in the van behind his girlfriend. They then left for the concert allowing a crazy erratic lady to drive them there.
But it was worth it because the teens had an amazing night. Saoirse couldn't be happier than she was there and then, at a concert for one of her favourite bands with her best friends and boyfriend.
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AUTHORS NOTE: sorry I haven't updated in a long long time but I'm gonna try to update more now. this chapter was a little rushed and needs major editing.