The World According to Jessie

Chapter Four

"...Sunday Dinner, always a joy... well if you find the right person anyway!"

With my brain firmly trying to make its way out of my skull, I faced Sunday morning with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Instead of throwing open my curtains to shout at the neighbours opposite, I just covered my eyes and voluntary closed off by auditory system and walked into the bathroom. I almost screamed when I caught sight of the horror that faced me in the mirror. Still wearing the outfit from the night before, my hair was now covering half of my face and stuck to both of my fake eyelashes (which for some reason had made their way down my cheek) and the dried on lip gloss that I had plastered on before leaving the Towers.

'Oh my God, I look like the living dead on acid.' I said to myself, trying to "unstick" my hair without actually ripping my face off. I couldn't believe that Lillian had managed to do it to me again. Every time I came home, I swore to every single God that existed that Lillian would not get me in such a state that I couldn't walk home and yet she did. I should have gone out with Mum. She wanted me to, but Dad put a stop to that when he said that he wanted us to have a big family dinner, Sunday Lunch in fact. So, it was only under the promise that my Aunt would not knock me six ways from Sunday alcohol wise that I ever left the safety of Mahoney Towers. So far, I had managed to avoid facing any members of my family having only just re-joined the land of the living, but lunch was something I wasn't looking forward to, due to the fact that it may re-visit me during my drive home later on.

After showering, or rather standing there under the water willing it to make me human, I stepped back into the bedroom, towel wrapped firmly around me and sunk back onto the bed. As far as I was concerned, the world could carry on without me today. I needed to die, preferably in peace. That was not to be as soon, I heard a fist banging on the door.

'Jessie! Jessie are you in there?' my Grandmother's voice was not the lightest thing that existed. In fact, it was so stern and Lancastrian that it could make a grown man jump at fifty paces. Just ask Granddad Mel!

'Go away.' I mumbled, my head pleading for salivation.

'I will certainly not go away young lady.' Grandma Nicki replied. 'Are you decent?'

'No.' I answered, hoping that would put my grandmother off coming into my room. As I heard the door handle turn, I knew that it hadn't.

'Oh my God, look at the state of you!' she exclaimed, as my mattress dipped slightly. 'I am going to kill that daughter of mine. And so is your mother when she gets hold of her.'

'Not before I kill her first.' I groaned, pulling myself up. 'You can have the leftovers.'

'Oh my darling.' Grandma Nicki brushed a hand over my face. 'It really isn't good to be like this is it? We really have to do something about your Auntie don't we.'

'What can we do?' I sighed, sitting up a little more and wrapping my duvet around me when I realised that the towel didn't cover my modesty in the way I thought it did.

'I have no idea Jessie.' Grandma Nicki sighed. 'But I suppose that it can wait until another day. First, we have to make you look human enough to face your parents.'

'Oh God no.' I suddenly buried my face in the duvet again as I heard Grandma Nicki rustling around in my bag for clothes. 'Please don't make me go. They will only want to kill each other before the starter arrives.'

'They will not.' Grandma Nicki answered firmly. The next thing I knew, jeans and a t-shirt were being thrown at me along with a clean set of underwear.

'Now get dressed and I will see you downstairs in half an hour. I'll get you some breakfast to start you off.' Grandma Nicki's feather light kiss on my forehead was always comforting and as the door closed behind her, I felt my smile slowly return.