The Trials and Tribulations of a so-called Trouble Teen

Chapter 84 - Common Are We

I barely slept last night. That song is on the top of my mind, it's infiltrating my dreams. You know how Paul McCartney wrote Let it Be and Yesterday? Yep, that's me right now. I've been at this piano for over an hour, completely ignoring Vivienne and Eden. I ignored them last night. They made their way up here to meet me and spend time with me, yet I've just been blanking them.

Ed: Evin?

E: Yeah?

Ed: Where... did you get the inspiration for this song?

E: Oh, well, you see... My inspiration for this song comes from a certain photo. It's a private-rented flat that a landlord rents to council tenants, but doesn't take care of it and in turn the tenants are suffering. Their flat is mouldy, the rent is drastically high and they can't afford heating and food at the same time. The air is bad, they're lining up for the food banks, they're exhausted and they're begging for help. Yet, they're treated like scum while landlord pockets are lined with profits. Despite the protests, there's no change to the process. The windows are broken and the roof tiles are leaking making houses and so called "homes" somewhere people can't live. How many people have to die because of this? How many people have to die before change is brought in?

Vi: Holy shit, you're right.

E: I don't necessarily want to premiere it at the show, it's nowhere near finished, y'know? [gets up from piano and walks to sofa]

Vi: I can see where you're coming from. Back in Luanda, people live in slums. People live in slums here too, they're just disguised as "houses".

E: What is there to do?

Ed: Maybe what we need to do is something that is radical but also very trendy to get some sort of change pushed through.

Vi: You might be onto something here.

[thunder rumbles outside]

E: Fuck me the sound of that is horrendous.

Ed: I love thunderstorms.

Vi: They're magical.

E: Yeah... when you're not chronically depressed and constantly cold when it rains. [flops head into cushion]

Vi: I take it you don't like rain?

E: Hate it. It makes me feel so miserable. The rain in Barcelona though... that was insane. It doesn't just rain in Spain, it rains.

Ed: We celebrate rain at home. Here, it's just an inconvenience.

E: You're right. Back home in Ireland it can rain up to 300 day a year... who needs that much rain?

Vi: All the trees, all the plants, al the potatoes.

E: Our diets are about 90% potatoes. If potatoes disappeared, we'd lose a significant portion of our food chain. It's scary. They even have potato bread in Ulster.

Ed: A potato pancake?

E: No but yes but no.

Vi: But yes?

E: They're weird. Then again anything to go into Ulster is coming out completely different. [checks time] I can't fathom how early in the day it is.

Ed: What would you usually do?

E: This is the time of day where I'd spontaneously get up, go to the park and start litter picking. Though, if Maya's one we would... for some reason we always end up baking an unsustainable amount of treats. [quiet] Probably because it stops her from hitting me.