꧁ 𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 ꧂
(𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧)𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 1994,
"Goodbye, mum love you!" Shouted the young girl as she closed over her front door and slowly started to walk to the nearby bus stop only minutes away from her home.
The familiar sound of her bedroom window being pried open made her head whip up to see who had opened it. The face of her mum was dangling out of the window looking for her daughter. When she made eye contact she shouted at her
"Don't forget you're babysitting after school today,Teagan!" She generously reminded her daughter.
Teagan smiled and nodded " I won't mammy, goodbye" she waved back to her mother as she carried on down the street.
Today was the first day back at school after a six week break and Teagan wasn't looking forward to it not one bit. Anyone who wasn't completely insane wouldn't want to go back To school.
The only thing Teagan was looking forward to was listening to sister Michael roast people, especially Jenny Joyce. Jenny and Teagan had
history and Jenny wouldn't let her forget it, in primary school they were best friends but as soon as they got to secondary school Teagan didn't like the person Jenny turned into. A stuck up posho little snitch.
Luckily she had her other friends to turn to. They're an odd bunch especially Orla, but she wouldn't change anything about them. Well she might've tried to make Erin less up tight.
"Motherfucker!"
Teagan whipped around and spotted Michelle running up behind her whilst repeatedly shouting "motherfucker"
"Michelle I've missed 'ya" she laughed as they caught up.
They walked in a similar stride and made their way towards the bus stop.
Halfway through Michelle's speech about a movie she watched, Teagan spotted someone walking slowly behind them, he looked cute and had curly hair that she thought looked amazing.
"Aye, Michelle, do 'ya know who that is?" she subtly pointed over her shoulder, and if Michelle said that she didn't, Teagan would be prepared to punch the creep in the face.
Michelle whipped around and when she saw she was talking about James she groaned
"This Teagan is my ball ache of a.."
"Motherfuckers!" Michelle stopped talking to Teagan and yelled at their other friends.
Teagan smiled and nodded back at the boy who she knew was something to do with Michelle. He awkwardly smiled back.
Once she finally caught up with the rest of the group she had missed a portion of the conversation and walked over at the weirdest time.
"Disco dancer from look who's talking"
"John Travolta?" Teagan questioned
Michelle clicked her fingers and pointed at Teagan.
"Are you talking about the new movie Pirate Pauline's selling?"
"Yeah it's a belter init" Michelle agreed
"Who owns the fella?" Erin Asked
Michelle and Teagan turned to look at the boy both with a different look on their faces.
Michelle was annoyed whilst Teagan was intrigued.
"Well come on, then, ball-ache. Are you introducing yourself, or what?" Michelle groaned
The curly haired boy stepped forward "Hi. I'm Michelle's cousin, James"
Teagan's eyebrows knitted together in confusion she didn't understand a word of what the bloke said.
He sounded like one of those news reporters off of the BBC that no one could understand.
"Why's he making that funny noise?" Orla Asked.
Teagan agreed "aye"
"He's English, Orla. That's the way they talk"
Teagan was right then, he was just like a news presenter on the BBC.
"He's my auntie Kathy's wain. I told you about me auntie Kathy. Went to England years ago to get an abortion, never came back. Never got the abortion, either. Lucky for you, James, eh?" Michelle laughed
Teagan winced at the look on James's face and To add insult to injury Michelle then hit James on the face and skipped off.
"I didn't actually know that"
The rest of the girls walked ahead and no doubt commented about James accent.
"I'm Teagan by the way " she held out a hand for him to shake
"James" he replied
"Isn't that right James?" Michelle Yelled behind her
Teagan ran to catch up with the group with James's hand still in hers.
"No, I mean here, at our bus stop" Erin harshly whispered
"Oh, he's going to our school" Michelle replied like it was nothing.
"But he's a fella" Teagan pointed out. Her hand was still laced with James's and neither of them seemed to notice.
If Teagan had noticed she was holding his hand, she'd push him away and shout at him.
Teagan would rather be caught dead than show emotion and vulnerability, especially romantic feelings.
Erin nodded with Teagan's statement "an effeminate fella, but a fella all the same"
James's lips turned into a frown.
"Don't worry James, I think your hot,...in a manly way" she suggestively looked him up and down, stopping for a second to look at his lips.
James's cheeks turned a blush pink and he smiled awkwardly.
Teagan was only messing with the boys feelings, like she had done to many others before him.
She felt no real connection to James and would never truly flirt with him....
"Everyone was shitting it about sending him to the boys' school" Michelle groaned "they were worried the lads would beat him up because—
"He's English" they all nodded
teagan didn't mind the English as much as others in Derry did, take that were English and she loved them So they couldn't all be bad.
Plus British accents were extremely attractive to her.
"Our carriage awaits motherfuckers!" Michelle beckoned them onto the bus but cut James up when he tried to got on before her.
Michelle started handing out her Avon magazines to the lower years, commenting about their faults they could fix with something from the magazine.
"So what's it been like in Derry?" Teagan Asked James to stop him from just standing acting awkward
"It's....different from England, I guess" he hesitated
"What's different about it?" She asked as she followed Michelle again.
James looked at the armed guards across the street and then looked back at her, was this their idea of normal?
"Oh...I get ya"
James just nodded along, not really understanding what she had said.
"There's no seats down there Michelle" Erin pointed out.
Michelle scoffed "just move them wee dicks"
"What?" Clare gasped
"Why should we sit up front? We're fifth years. They're fetuses!" Michelle glared at the first years, she reached back and grabbed Teagans hand and pulled her up next to her knowing that Teagan was the most likely to agree with her.
"All right shift ya shirt holes. Let's go"
Teagan nodded next to Michelle
A bunch of them stood up but the cocky one in the middle protested "no body move"
Teagan eyed the 'wee little shit' as she would call her from now on.
"You better do as I say or I'll——." Michelle tried to think of something
"Or what?" The little shit asked
She was getting on Teagan and Michelle's nerves so much that Teagan contemplated just booting her off the seat with her foot.
She wasn't normally a violent person but Michelle brought it out off her.
"They'll be consequences" Michelle warned but it wasn't very threatening
"Such as...?" The wee little shit asked
Teagan and Michelle both yelled the first thing that came to mind "Well we'll beat you up"
The two girls shared a smirk together
The others protested.
"Go on then"
Teagan had to admire the girls bravery she wouldn't of stood up to a fifth year when she was in her first year.
"Beat me up" she challenged
Michelle opened and closed her mouth like a fish
"Well Not now. After school, we'll beat you up after school"
Teagan piped up "I'm babysitting after school Michelle"
Michelle hushed her but her confidence was suddenly gone if, Teagan couldn't be there she had no chance.
"Good I'll meet you after school and you can beat me up"
Teagan blinked at how confident the little shit actually was.
"I'll bring my sister Mandy you might know her. She's in upper sixth"
The girls gasped and their mouths opened wide.
Erin butted in "Mandy O'Connell is your sister? Big Mandy"
The girl just nodded as Michelle and the others slowly retreated all except ,Teagan
"Well you can tell, Mandy that I'm not scared and I'll easily knock he—."
Michelle nearly shit herself when she heard Teagan making threats towards big Mandy and dragged her back by her bag on her shoulder.
"Teagan were you dropped as a wain? We can't threaten big Mandy shell fecking stomp us to death"
Teagan shrugged but walked back down towards the front of the bus and took a window seat. James soon sat next to her as Michelle pushed him away from her.
Twenty minutes later, Clare was gawking at Orla Who was scoffing down sweets and nearly salivating just looking at them. Teagan laughed quietly to herself Clare had literally only skipped breakfast and she's already gone mad.
Clare without food is the Clare you don't want to know.
"How long does this fast last?"
Clare didn't once take her eyes off of orla's food when she replied "twenty four hours so I only have" - "twenty three to go" she groaned
"Fuck me, not the Africans again" Michelle said exactly what the others were thinking.
Clare instantly jumped to the defence of Kamal "imagine being born there and not here. We don't know how lucky we are."
Michelle nodded "fair dues Derry is class"
"It is, aye" Teagan and Orla responded.
Teagan fished around in her blazer pocket for any spare change she had to give to Kamal, anything to stop Clare's obsession with begging them. She presented Clare with a pound coin and half of a button, Clare only took the pound.
"You've gotta be kidding! They're stopping the bus already? Nobody brings a bomb on the first day of school" Teagan huffed out
"Oh yeah bring a bomb day is the second day isn't it" Erin sarcastically replied
The bomb checks were getting out of hand as if a teenage girl would let alone be able to afford a bomb and then go on to bring it to school. Although apparently a girl in their year was a member of the IRA
James tensed up as he saw the armed guards enters the bus and held their guns out as they looked for a bomb.
"What's going on?" He whispered
Teagan patted his shoulder at his naivety.
"I don't know but do you reckon if I told him I had a incendiary device down my knickers, he'd have to check" Michelle eyed up the fit soldier and suggestively winked at him.
"Michelle he's a soldier!" Erin protested
"I'm willing to admit it, even if nobody else will,because I'm a beacon of truth"
Erin huffed and turned away. Teagan wondered why Erin and Michelle were friends in the first place they never seem to get along.
"You're a mouth, that's what you are"
Michelle stuck up her finger to Erin's back
"Don't ya reckon there's something so fit about them tho?" Michelle Asked Teagan.
Teagan looked up from her nail polish that she was picking off her nails. Her other hand was resting near James's on their legs she sent a sly smirk to James before answering Michelle
"Aye, the English are fit" she agreed
James nearly swallowed his tongue
Ah, how she loved winding people up. Her role in the group was being a calmer version of Michelle. The two were the closest out of the five of them since both of their mums knew each other.
Teagan was naturally rowdy and always looking for something fun to do no matter the consequences or what they may be.
"I'm looking forward to Jenny Joyce's annual welcoming assembly. Can't wait to see what shit she pulls out of her arse this year"
"Probably more cheesy bullshit like the last three years" Michelle mumbled, she was too occupied staring daggers at the back of Erin's head.
Teagan immediately said the first thing that came to mind "it's gonna be a long fucking year" and she sank down into her seat and crossed her arms.
Thank you so much for reading! I'm really enjoying writing the book because I'm half Irish so I love incorporating little things that we say into it.