The Girl In The Suit

Anne

I step out of the door of my house at last. School is shit, but at least I have those beautiful 5 minutes of peace before I get there. I'm attending the Presentation Secondary School, an all girls school, a decision that was wise when I was 12, but now is a regret.

It would be OK, if it wasn't for the Fantastic Five. Gemma Welch. Sally McCarthy. Amy O Donohue. Bethany O Neill. Aoife Connelly. 

They're not the stereotypical bullying gang. They don't do things like push me in the halls or fuck with my books. They just say really nasty shit to me. All sorts of stuff about how my sister is a college dropout, my mother is always lurking around the church and my father's a junkie. Also, about how I'm a gay freak who doesn't like to talk much. The school in general is accepting, but these five, oh Lordy.

Just so it can be known, my sister only dropped out of college because my parents needed help around the house and think I'm good for nothing. My father went through a drug problem when he was 35 but he's clean 6 years now. My mother's a religious woman and I don't see the problem in that. She can spend her entire life in the church if she wants to. As for myself, I am bisexual, but no one knows. They just think I'm gay because I wore a suit to my confirmation and the one disco I went to.

A confession: I love suits. They're just so fucking comfy. My favourite one is a white one I bought for my cousins wedding, that I had to take off before the meal. My entire family, even my sister, hates that I wear suits. I don't see the problem. They're kinda close minded, as great as they are.

I finally reach the school, or rather hell, and already I'm met with the Fantastic Five in my face.

"Hey, O Brien! How's the family?", says Aoife, hitting me hard in the back. Amy puts her arm around my neck. They're easily the worst two.

"Good, thanks.", I say. Alison told me its best to treat them like my friends.

They laugh at me, and Sally hits me upside the head. They pat me on the back and walk away. I notice Gemma didn't do anything. She's not even laughing. She's not even smiling. She looks unusually bored.

She follows behind her friends, taking one last look at me, and for a moment, I see sadness in her eyes. She then walks away.

I lean up against a pole, and I sigh. I fiddle with the sleeves of my wine coloured jumper. The bell then rings and I walk into the building.

I walk to my locker. I take out the books for my first class. I have Irish first on a Thursday. With Gemma. Meaning we were put beside each other. I can't wait for her to be whistling into my ear and stabbing me with her pencil while I try to read out to the class at 8:55 in the morning.

But when I get there, she does nothing. I last the entire 45 minutes, and at the end of the class, she gets up and moves to her next class. She even helped me when I got stuck on something. Its all very suspicious.

And throughout the whole day, she doesn't say anything. I don't see her sitting with the girls at lunch or even talking to them. What the fuck is going on?

And at the end of the day, when I get the daily push against the wall, Gemma just walks out the gate. I know for a fact she's gone downtown. She's always hanging out at Supermacs or Centra, and I go to Blueberries for a hot chocolate. But when I reach Blueberries, she's sitting there, sipping a mug of hot chocolate and listening to music. She's acting very unusual today.

I sit at my table at the back, which is only a few seats away from Gemma's, after I order my drink, and I see her look my way. She smiles. Not in a mean way. Almost in a friendly way.

I wonder does she even recognize me.

I smile back for a second, then I sit down, put in my earphones and get started at my homework. I'm in the Junior Cert. I study whenever I can and I always do whatever homework I have.

When I'm done my drink and my homework, I put my stuff back in my overloading bag, pay for it and head for the door. Gemma's still here. I'm expecting to have her and her buddies jump me the second I'm out the door.

But I get home. Safe and sound.

My family are sitting down watching Coronation Street. I didn't realise I was out for that long. I'm usually only gone for 2 hours at the most, but with Gemma a few seats away from me, it took me longer to complete my work. But why was she there all that time? She doesn't even do homework.

I sit down beside Alison. She puts her arm around me and our dog Dustin hops up on my lap.

Soaps and my family are just what I need after a weird as shit day.