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SAOIRSE SAT IN THE ASSEMBLY HALL plugging her ears shut as Jenny Joyce and her friends were on stage singing, terribly.
'I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. Love is all around me, and so the feeling grows.'
"Sweet Jesus." Michelle mutters in disgust at the performance she's witnessing as Orla danced along to the singing, amused by it.
'It's written in the wind. It's everywhere I go. So if you really love me, come on and let it show. There'll be no end. Cause on my love you can depend.'
Sister Michael walks onto the stage as the singing ends, looking uncomfortable. "Uh, wonderful, girls. Lovely stuff. Before I dismiss you for the weekend, a few announcements. On Monday morning, several of our year thirteens will face their GCSE maths resit. Now, I know how daunting resit examinations can be, so if anyone is feeling anxious or worried, or even if you just want to chat, please, please, do not come crying to me. Let me see. What else?"
Michelle begins to get impatient. "Come on, come on, come on, to fuck!" She whisper yells as she bounces impatiently.
"Notice from Mr. Macaulay. This year's destination for the Euro Trotters trip will be, dramatic pause...Did you actually want me to do the dramatic pause? Interesting. Ah, Paris. It's going to be Paris." Sister Micheal reveals to the school.
"Yes! Fuck yes!" Saoirse squeals excitedly in a quiet tone as Clare gasps in excitement and the others smile widely.
Sister Michael continues "If you need any further information, there is a stall in the foyer. Sadly, I am unable to come on this one, as I despise the French. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."
✞
The bell rings and Saorise, Michelle, James, Clare, Orla and Clare all leave the hall. "There's so much I want to do. The Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre." Clare rambles breathlessly.
"A French fella. That's what I want to do. Nation of rides. My fanny's going funny just thinking about it!" Michelle interrupts Clare excitedly.
"Oh, I want to try one of those croissants." Saorise says in awe thinking about food.
Erin scoffs at Michelle "Could you not use that word, Michelle?" "What, fanny?" Michelle chuckles teasing the girl.
"Why do you always have to be so coarse?" Clare complains.
"Ach, what's the big deal? We all have one." Michelle scoffs at the girls. "She's not wrong." Saoirse agrees.
James furrows his brows "I don't." "You are one." Michelle jokes back to her cousin. "Sorry, James. I forgot you were there for a second." Saoirse smiles apologetically at the boy shrugging her shoulders.
"Of course, Beckett lived in Paris, and if anybody's influenced my writing, it is-" Erin begins telling Clare only to be interrupted by Michelle. "What, Brenda Beckett from 12A?"
Erin stops walking and turns to Michelle. "No! Not Brenda Beckett. Beckett Beckett."
"If we go to Paris, I'd like to meet Nicole." Orla announces dreamily before sucking on a dummy candy ring. "Who's Nicole?" James asks Orla confused.
"For God's sake. How many times? It's just an ad. She's not a real person. Neither is Papa." Erin hisses.
"Be good conversation practice as well, you know, for the orals." James pipes up.
"Which will be the only oral that you-" "Yeah okay, Michelle!" James stops Michelle knowing where she's going.
Michelle furrows her brows in slight anger. "You didn't let me finish." James shows her a 'duh' face and says "Well, I sensed where you were going."
"Blowjobs." Michelle blurts out. "Hmm, I don't know about that. James is a good looking fella." Saoirse disagrees sticking up for the boy making said boy blush and Michelle gag exaggeratingly.
"Oh God. Don't tell me Charlene Kavanagh is going. She is dying about herself. 'Oh I'm so good looking, oh I'm so popular.' If there ever was a more shallow, self-absorbed, generally unpleasant human being." Erin rants about Charlene who she just seen at the sign up desk.
Charlene approaches from behind Erin. "Hi, Erin." She greets sweetly.
Erin becomes flustered and turns to the girl she had just been slagging. "Hi. Good, grand. Not too bad. Can't complain. Is the answer I'd have given if you'd asked how I was."
"Right. Are you signing up for Paris? I can't convince that lot to come. Looks like I'm going to need someone to hang out with." Charlene says in a suggestive way.
Erin steps closer to the girl. "It would be an honour." She agrees causing Saoirse to snort and throw a hand over her mouth to silence it.
"Okay. Well, I'll see you later, then." Charlene smiles and walks away. "You will, Charlene. Indeed you will!" Erin shouts after the girl.
Erin turns back to friends her friends once Charlene was out of sight. "Did you hear that? The Charlene Kavanagh wants to hang out with little old me!"
"You know what I admire most about you, Erin? Your unshakeable principles." Clare spits at the girl. "Aye, Erin it is admiring." Saoirse nods.
The group walk over to the Paris sign up desk to be greeted by Jenny Joyce. "Bonjour. Tout le monde. Comment allez-vous?" (Translation-Hello, everyone. How are we?"
"Wise up, Jenny." Michelle rolls her eyes. "Bonjour Jenny, où dois-je signer?" Saoirse looks around the table. (Translation-Hello Jenny, where do I sign?"
"Eh, wit the fuck?" Michelle stares at Saoirse in shock as do the others while Saoirse just shrugs.
Jenny hands the girls a clipboard. "Hold on. Stall the fucking ball. Three hundred and seventy-five quid? Are you for real?" Michelle shouts in horror.
"What? 375 pound each? Isn't there some sort of group discount?" Erin questions in hope. "It's not Club eighteen to thirty." Jenny replies.
"More's the pity." Michelle says. "It is a bit steep, Jenny." Clare speaks up.
"Just dip into your trust fund. I do it all the time." Jenny suggests to the group. "Our what?" Jenny asks confused.
"It's like an account your parents set up for you to help pay for things, like University, your first car, educational trips." Jenny explains.
The group all wear w face of confusion. "I did not know about this. Did you know about this?" Erin turns to Michelle.
"No, did I fuck." Michelle answers looking at Saoirse asking her. "Naw, I didnae either."
