fuck you, peachy | skins

4. Everyone

Ayla sparks up a cigarette on the College Green and shares it with Emily as they wait for Katie to finish talking to some random friends she has made. College had finished about 15 minutes ago and the air was turning chilly as afternoon turned to evening. If it weren't for the fact that Danny was her lift, Emily surely would've pissed off home without Katie by now. Ayla had a shift at the butchery at 4:00 and since it was close to the College she didn't need a lift from Danny but she had decided to wait for Katie with Emily so she didn't get lonely.

"Saw you looking at Naomi today," Ayla says to her sister in a dull tone. She's tired.

"That obvious?" asks Emily looking up at the sky as she furrows her brow.

"I just have eyes" Ayla replies smiling as she tilts her head back, looking up at the sky also. The College was practically deserted.

"Let's go" yells Katie from across the green as she walks towards her sisters, waving goodbye to her friends. Emily crushes the cigarette butt into the pavement and stands up. Katie never minded when Emily smoked, only when Ayla did.

"Seeya," says Ayla, biting her bottom lip as she swings her tote bag back and forth.

"Thanks for waiting with me" replies Emily. Katie ignores Ayla and tugs on Emily's arm gently, ushering her towards the car park where Danny is waiting. Katie had never been very close to Ayla and was constantly at war with her for Emily's attention, wanting Emily to rather her.

By now Ayla had accepted that she would probably never be close to Katie.

-

7:47. Ayla's shift is almost over. She takes a swig of water and looks out beyond the front window of the shop into the pitch-black streets of Bristol. The smell of raw meat tingles her nose as she struggles to keep her eyes open.

"Oi! Keep your eyes open sugar" yells her boss, Darren, as he begins packing up, watching her doze off on the countertop. The shop is always quiet on Monday.

6 minutes later in walks, a beer-bellied middle-aged man. He waddles over to the counter and looks her up and down.

"Boneless leg ham please sweetheart," he says not peeling his eyes away from her tits. There is no way in hell she could be dressed less provocatively. Her apron is stained with coffee, her hair is tangled up in a ratty bun and she smells like a variety of raw meats. She nods, grabs the meat, weighs it and wraps it up.

"19 pounds," she says tugging at the tight gloves which hug her fingertips. Just as he's passing over the money in walks a familiar face. Her attitude perks up immediately and she wishes she didn't look as tired and grotty as she did.

"Thanks, sweetheart," says the man as she passes him the ham.

"You're welcome" she smiles brightly as he turns on his heel and waddles out of the shop. She looks down at her palms for a split second before looking back over the counter.

"I'm sorry I didn't know you worked here. I don't usually come to the butcher" Freddie says vaguely as he moves towards the counter, his eyes bloodshot and his speech slurred.

"Its fine" she chuckles tapping her hands against the counter and looking at him as his eyes trail over the selection of meats. "What do you want," she asks.

"Umm meat," he says slowly, his eyelids drooping as he continued to browse the selection. He was high.

"Yeah, what kind of meat" she smiles faintly, trying not to laugh at how fucked he was in case he got offended. He looks up at her and rests his elbows against the counter.

"Actually no I wanna talk to you," he says nodding slowly and resting his chin in his hands. How awkward and stoned could he get?

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Lamb cutlets." he nods at her. She scoffs, grabs the meat, weighs it and begins wrapping it up for him. "Because I think you're nice and I wanted to say I don't think you're a sex freak like Cook probably told you"

"28.56. So you actually came here to see me? You knew I worked here?" she asks.

"Yeah" he admits, "You told the whole class today". She passes him the lamb and he fumbles through his wallet for some money. "You should come to Cook's birthday party. It's on Saturday. Probably won't be great but you should come" he says as he plops down a large sum of coins on the counter. She starts counting it.

"Its Cook's party, shouldn't he be the one giving invites," Ayla looks at him as his eyes trail past her and to the back of the shop where Darren is sitting smoking a cigarette and watching them intently.

"Well, he's inviting half the College so I'm sure he was gonna invite you anyways. Plus he thinks you're cool" says Freddie, holding solid eye contact with her for the first time since he entered the shop.

"He thought I was cool when he thought I would easily fuck him," she says putting the money in the cash register. Ayla looks up at him for a moment silently and wonders if he was upset about Cook fucking Effy.

"Well take my number anyways. You can message me if you wanna come" he says. She nods and begins scribbling down Freddie's number as he recites it to her. She knows it was all just an excuse to get her number but this confused her as it was clear as day that Freddie liked Effy.