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October had tried to help Maisie. She tried to convince her that she didn't have to continue being friends with people she didn't like but it seemed that anything she said was being ignored. Maisie was being lost to a world of constant drama and a need to show off.
It used to be clear that Maisie hated it, that she was only doing it to fit in. She would act completely differently at home than she did with her friends. Now it seemed she enjoyed being popular, that she knew everything going on.
She was never at home, always roaming the streets of Dublin. It didn't affect October that much. They had never been that close but it was annoying living with someone you used to like but now could hardly tolerate. Her mum suffered the worst, feeling lost. October never had a phase like that so she didn't know how to handle the situation. She just hoped that Maisie would grow out of it.
It was a slow transition, years of occasional fading. Like when you don't realise it's turning to Autumn until there are leaves on the ground. One day they just realised that Maisie wasn't the same person they knew.
Just because you're related doesn't automatically equal friendship. Some people got obsessed with the idea that family meant loyalty. It was a very annoying misconception, they were sisters - that didn't mean they had to be friends. Under any other circumstances they would hate each other, the only different thing was that they lived with each other and were forced to somewhat be friendly.
October never understood it. Why everyone assumed she should love Maisie simply because she was 'her sister'. She didn't like Maisie but she did want the best for her, she wanted her to be happy. She just didn't agree with anything her sister said or did. It was very confusing - she didn't like to think about it too much.
You're not meant to root for people you dislike but October hoped that as Maisie gets older she'll figure things out and hopefully become someone she could like.
However, Florence did have an idea that she hoped would work: forcing October to take Maisie out for the day. They both complained but when they were each given money and a stern instruction to not return for at least three hours they both groaned and left the house reluctantly.
A world without music is not a world worth living in. That might be slightly dramatic but October truly believed that she wouldn't be able to survive without it. She listened to it from the moment she woke up in the morning all day until it turned to night when she was sad, happy or bored when she needed a distraction. There was a song for every emotion and situation - a genre for everyone.
It's why she suggested going to Dublin's best-kept secret - a record shop that she insisted she 'discovered' (despite everyone knowing about it). It only sold second-hand vinyls and nothing recent. You just had to cross your fingers and pray that they would have something that you'd like. It helped that October liked most things from the 90s and earlier. Once she found a Lorde vinyl hidden in the 'blues' section and it felt like striking gold.
