Season one, episode one
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"𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭"
Lola was running down the street of watery lane as fast as her legs would carry her.
Why was she running?
She was running because she'd just told Kyle, a boy three years older than her that she was able to read his fortune, naturally he became interested but that interest soon turned to fury after the thirteen-year-old told him that he would grow old and die alone as no girls wanted to go near his yellow teeth.
Lola swore she could see smoke coming out of his ears but she couldn't be sure because within seconds the girl had bolted as the sixteen-year-old chased after her, screaming something about gypsy scum.
Eventually, when Lola had reached the door to number six she barreled through it and threw her body against it in an attempt to catch her breath.
Lola was finally calming down after the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins and was about to make her way up the stairs to her bedroom when she heard the shrill yell of her aunt Pol from the kitchen.
She made her way into the kitchen and took a seat at the table before gulping down the glass of water that her aunt previously placed in front of her.
"What have I told you about slamming the door? Ada is sleeping upstairs and you've probably woken her up" her aunt grumbled.
"Ada is always asleep besides it's nearly eleven o'clock she ought to get up anyway the lazy git" Lola responded snarkily.
The smirk was soon gone off the girl's face when her aunt clipped her around the ear.
"Ow Pol! I'm just telling the truth"
"Truth or not she's your sister and you're being cruel" her aunt reprimanded.
"Compared to you and everyone else in this family I'm an angel actually" Lola teased.
"Go upstairs Lola" her aunt sighed.
"Sir yes Sir" the girl saluted to her aunt before making her way upstairs.
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It was later in the day now and Finn and Lola were at the kitchen table and sat in silence.
This was an unusual act for the Shelby girl as usually nobody could shut her up but she was in one of those moods.
Those pensive, thoughtful moods and so she sat there staring into the fire as the smoke from Finn's cigarette filled the back of her throat from the unconscious deep breaths she was taking.
The serenity of the moment dissipated as Tommy walked into the room loudly.
Finn quickly threw his cigarette into the fire, praying he wouldn't notice.
"Finn, Lola" he walked over to the pair.
"Arthurs mad as hell," Finn told him.
"Ah, what have you two done now" Tommy asked while bending down to pick the cigarette off the floor before showing it to Finn, who just sighed.
"Nothing we've done it was probably you" Lola argued.
Tommy didn't say anything, just walked into the betting den and the loud yells of men filled the room.
"Wanna go out" Lola shoved her brother's shoulder.
"Where to? There ain't nothing to do around here" her brother grumbled.
"We can walk or something" Lola begged.
"Fine let's go then" he sighed, standing up and putting his cap on.
The pair walked beside each other in a comfortable silence as the sound of birds filled their ears.
Lola had always had a deep appreciation for nature. She loved being out in fields or the countryside. Her aunt often said it was the gypsy blood in her and Lola could only agree.
"Lo, Isaiah is up there I'm going to join him, go home or something" Finn called, already halfway down the road.
Well, there went her plan for bonding time, she thought.
Lola wasn't necessarily super close with anyone in her family as she spent most of her time with Jack, her best friend since she could remember, but Finn was her twin, so they had to be somewhat close but no matter how many times she tried to spend time with him, he finds better options whether it was Isaiah, their brothers, Polly, he'd even said that he had some reading to catch up on once, which was really ridiculous to Lola as everyone knew he couldn't read properly.
She decided she wouldn't accept defeat and sulk in her room all day, instead, she went down to Jack's house and started throwing rocks at his bedroom window.
Before she knew it, the dark-haired boy was leaning out the window, frowning down at her.
"Lo, why are you here?" he asked.
"Finn left me so I need to find someone else and you're my only option" she sighed, doing her best to look at him with her puppy dog eyes, which were often described as scary-looking by pretty much everyone she'd ever used them on, so pretty much everybody.
"Well, I'm flattered but why didn't you knock at the door like a normal person" he questioned.
"Well who knows, you may just ignore me, thinking I'm the postman or the milkman or something. This way is much more direct don't you think?" the girl rambled.
"I'll be right down just wait there," he told the girl.
Minutes later the door opened, Jack walked out and the pair intertwined their arms and they were off.
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When Lola had eventually walked through the door after her day with Jack, she went into the kitchen to get a glass of water but she could hear Arthurs's loud voice coming from out of the den.
Usually, if she'd found out that they were all having a family meeting without her, She would've started World War Two but she couldn't really be bothered with the hassle so she walked upstairs to her room to start the new book that Arthur had bought her as an apology for using some colourful language (as Lola liked to say) about her in an argument between the pair.
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It was night now and the house was silent, too silent for Lola.
She remembered her promise to Jack, the promise that she would meet him down by the alleyway at the end of Watery Lane.
This was a usual occurrence for Lola, she and Jack had been sneaking out of their houses since they were ten, and so far Lola had never been caught.
The girl opened the window of her bedroom and carefully climbed down, being as silent as possible knowing if Tommy or Polly found her doing this, she would be on house arrest for months.
When the girl finally got to the ground, she wiped all the mud off her skirt before lifting her head and coming face to face with her older sister.
The sight of the pair was probably comical, the looks of horror on both of their faces.
They didn't say anything though, just a silent nod from both of them, a mutual agreement of silence, before walking their separate ways.
When the girl had eventually made her way to the end of the street, she peered cautiously into the alleyway, conscious that watery lane wasn't really safe, especially at night.
A smile found its way onto the Shelby girl's face at the sight of Jack, leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette.
Lola took the cigarette out of the boy's fingers, taking a drag herself before giving it back.
"Well what do you want to do then" she asked, breathing smoke out at the same time
"Just walk"
And so the pair did just that. They walked and talked for a few hours before figuring it was probably time to get back to their homes.
Lola looked up at the drainpipe, then to her window, and sighed out of despair.
This was always the worst part, climbing back up to her window was a workout and by the time Lola would get up, she would be sweaty and out of breath.
Sure enough, the girl tumbled down to the floor with a small crash and caught her breath before looking up at her warm, safe bed.
Usually, this would bring comfort and relief to the girl but this time, the girl's heart sank and she let out a small gasp.
Sat on her bed, was Tommy.
"Where have you been?" Tommy asked, too calm for Lola's liking.
Lola didn't say anything, she couldn't. There were no words able to come out. What could she say? Nothing she would say would be justifiable in his eyes.
For once, Lola was unable to defend herself against Tommy.
She didn't know why this was so difficult for her, she'd done much worse than this and lied her way through it but this time, she felt like a small child, feigning innocence through their bright eyes, hoping that the look on their face would take away from whatever they'd done. But it wouldn't, Lola knew that.
The silence was thick and tense for a minute or two before Tommy scoffed.
"I'll ask again Lola, where have you been?" he demanded.
"I was with a friend" she replied, gaining a small amount of confidence and composure back.
"Jack?"
"Yes," she said, sheepishly.
Tommy didn't say anything, just sighed.
"You can't do this, you can't just run off in the middle of the night to see your friend it's not safe" he lectured, slowly getting louder.
"Tommy you're going to wake everyone up be quiet" she hushed, taking her coat off.
"You're not to leave the house for two weeks" he pointed, with a serious, angered look on his face.
"But-" she began protesting.
"If you behave like a child I will treat you like one," he told her, making his way over to her door.
Lola didn't want to cause a big argument, as it was late and she was tired, so she sighed and stayed silent as her bedroom door closed.
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When Lola woke up the next morning the memories of the night before immediately infiltrated her mind and the girl remebered she was practically under house arrest for two whole weeks.
She groaned into her pillow and slowly dragged herself from her bed to get changed, knowing the next few weeks would be boring and full of complaints from her.
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Lola had been sulking all day, much to her aunt's dismay.
Lola didn't know what to do with herself as she spent most of her days out doing something, whether that was going out with Jack, helping with the horses at the yard, or walking alone but now she was stuck in the house with nothing to do.
Currently, she was sat at the kitchen table reading a book while her aunt pottered around getting things in order.
It was actually quite nice, Lola thought, the silence, Lola always had to be doing something usually but she found that maybe doing nothing was not as bad as she had made it out to be.
Lola's thoughts were interrupted when Arthur came crashing into the kitchen, all bloodied up.
Lola had no time to comprehend what was happening as her aunt was yelling at her to go get her siblings as they were all around the house somewhere, bar Tommy which Polly had sent someone to get him anyway.
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Lola was now stood at the back of the kitchen next to Finn while Ada and Polly tended to Arthur while John stood watching in the corner.
"John wipe the blood out of his eye" Ada ordered.
"Since when did you give orders" John questioned.
"I'm a trained nurse" Ada defended.
Lola snorted at this, receiving a glare from her older sister.
"Don't make me laugh it hurts my face" Arthur chuckled.
"I bloody am"
"You went to one first aid class in the church hall and got thrown out for giggling" John laughed.
"Not before I learned how to stop someone from choking" She grumbled.
"I'm not bloody choking am I?" Arthur remarked.
"You will be when I wrap this cloth around your neck" Ada mumbled.
"Might finally shut you up" Lola added, earning a chuckle from Finn.
Before Arthur could reply Tommy stormed in with a bottle of rum in one hand.
"Let me see him" he made his way over to stand in front of Arthur.
"Here have this" he handed him the bottle and Arthur drank.
Arthur grabbed Tommy's arm as he cleaned his face. "He said Mr. Churchill sent him to Birmingham. National interest he said. Something about a robbery."
Lola didn't miss the knowing look Polly sent to Tommy.
"He said he wants us to help him" Arthur carried on.
"We don't help coppers" John interjected.
"He knew all about our war records. He said we're patriots like him. He wants us to be his eyes and ears" Arthur pointed.
Arthur hissed in pain. "I said that we would have a family meeting and take a vote"
The room filled with a thick silence for a few seconds and Lola shifted uncomfortably in the back of the room.
"Well why not? We have no truck with Fenians or communists" Arthur questioned.
Once again the room was silent.
"What's bloody wrong with you?" Arthur yelled.
He turned to Polly "What the fuck is wrong with him lately?"
"If I knew I'd buy the cure from Compton chemists" Polly sighed.
On any other occasion Lola probably would've added something about Tommy and how annoying she found him but considering what happened the night before she figured it was best to keep her mouth closed.
Thank you for reading love you all