My Skins Generation, part 2 - a tuneless harmony, megan + sarah.
Moisturiser - face, neck, rub in. Foundation, blusher, eyeliner, mascara. And flick. Hair - straighten. Apply hairspray. The monotony of Megan’s morning routine was one that could calm her down despite whatever else was going on in her life. She didn’t know what she had, except this. She always had this. Her routine was something she could rely on, something solid in the face of life’s troubles.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking in her full blonde fringe and the clear blue eyes settling in the sockets of her heart-shaped face, and sighed. She would never be beautiful, but she was okay. Wasn’t she?
Just as she was falling into the crushing trap of contemplating her looks further, her orange Sony Ericson beeped from it’s place on the fluffy pink cushion covering her bed. She jumped on it, cradling it in her palm as she took in the words on the screen. 1 New Message - Matt. She clicked the centre button, curious as to what it was he had to say.
Hey Megan, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out soon, just me and you? Tb xxx
She shook away the uneasiness she felt whilst reading it, and clung onto everything else it gave her instead. That feeling of worth. Matt wanted to be with her, just her.
Yeah okay, what did you want to do? x, she wrote back, biting her lower lip as her thumb hovered over the Send button. The voice in the back of her head told her to stop, but something much stronger overcame it, dragged it away, and she brought her thumb down with a click.
*********************************************
“Be careful, okay, Megan,” her mum, Lynn, began sternly, “I don’t want you wandering off on your own. What time will you be back?”
“Erm, I’m not sure.”
“Well, what time is everyone else going to be back?”
“They don’t know when they’re going to be back.”
“What do you mean, they don’t know?”
“They’ll just…leave when they want to.” Megan mumbled.
Lynn was caught off guard. “Oh. Well then, you need to tell me when you’re going to be back.”
Megan sighed, defeated. “I’ll just be back by 6.”
“Okay. And you know all the bus and train times, yes? You don’t want to miss it and have to wait until the next-”
“Yes, Mum, I know when the times are. Okay? I’ll see you later.”
She was edging towards the door now, trying to ease herself out of her mother’s suffocating presence.
“At six.”
“Yes.”
She knew other people found it odd, could see it in their eyes and the flickers of confusion that crossed their faces, but Megan had lived with her mum for the entire sixteen years she’d been alive, and she knew by now that there was no point trying to change the way she was. She would always be strict and paranoid and overbearing. That would never change.
*********************************************
“The evidence is all there. And still the entire nation believe it was terrorists. The American government tell you what they want you to think, and everyone believes it without questioning anything, because nobody can think for the themselves.” Sarah was in the middle of one of her political lectures. She could see Megan’s and Dan’s eyes glazing over, the way most people’s did when she spoke about what really mattered. She paused for a moment, wondering if they’d notice, but they just continued walking like zombies, their sandal-clad feet brushing through the sand covering the dunes.
She sighed and launched back into her rant, not really caring whether anyone was listening or not. “I mean, people need to become aware of these things, y’know?” She glanced at them out of habit, not expecting an answer. “If everybody knew what the government was really like-”
“We’re here.” announced Dan, in what could hardly be called an announcement. His voice monotone and reluctant, cutting through hers, only stopped her because it was new. No one but her had spoken the entire walk from the bus stop to where they were now, and it was both a relief and a disappointment.
She wanted Dan to talk to her, the way he used to. Excited and curious and involved. She scanned her narrow green eyes over his face, and saw nothing but the light brown fringe covering his downcast eyes. She wondered if she had only been enough bring him back up in those first few months, if she would never have that power again.
She looked over at the beach, determined to think of something else. Jacob was leaning over the disposable barbeque, flipping burgers and shouting something she couldn’t make out in a falsetto voice. The sound of Guns’n’Roses emanated from Barrett’s direction, where he was in full air guitar mode, squealing at the top of his lungs whilst Daisy and Archie looked on in amusement. Isabelle was talking to Luke, her face contorting into over-enthusiastic expressions the way it did with everyone she spoke to.
Just as Megan, Dan and Sarah were approaching, two other figures emerged from the dunes and wandered in the same direction. Megan looked from them to Sarah. “Do we know them?”
“I’m sure someone does.”
“They’re Archie’s friends.” said Dan.
“Archie has other friends?” joked Megan, feigning shock.
“Apparently so.” he replied.
*************************************************
“Everyone, this is Kick and Natty.” Archie announced.
A mumble of Heys radiated from the group, a tuneless harmony, rendering it impossible to see which voice matched which face.
Sarah took in the two newcomers, ready to make her judgements.
Natty - tall, tomboyish and fairly average-looking - smiled widely and shouted “Hi!” at everyone with a hyperactive wave. Kick - gorgeous, wavy-haired and clad in skinny jeans - blew a plume of smoke into the air and nodded at them, mumbling “Hey.”
The chatter continued and Sarah dropped herself down on the floor besides Daisy.
“He’s hot, you should go for it.” she said. She would never understand Daisy. She was cool and beautiful and guys were falling in love with her left, right and centre. Yet she never got involved with anyone. Therefore, she decided that from this moment, she would try her hardest to get her with this Kick guy.
Whilst Archie looked uncomfortable and mumbled something about going to ‘check on his burger’, Daisy stared at Sarah blankly for a while, before asking calmly, “Who?”
“You know who! That Kick guy, the hot one!”
Daisy smirked. “I don’t even know him.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, “So? Get to know him. Do you not think he’s hot?”
Daisy scanned her eyes over Kick. “I guess.”
Sarah could not believe this. Daisy could be so frustrating, she just wanted to reach out and grab her shoulders, shake her until she showed an interest. Instead she just took a deep drag on her cigarette, feeling the soothing rush of the smoke as she sucked it into her lungs, getting ready to persuade again.
**********************************************
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking in her full blonde fringe and the clear blue eyes settling in the sockets of her heart-shaped face, and sighed. She would never be beautiful, but she was okay. Wasn’t she?
Just as she was falling into the crushing trap of contemplating her looks further, her orange Sony Ericson beeped from it’s place on the fluffy pink cushion covering her bed. She jumped on it, cradling it in her palm as she took in the words on the screen. 1 New Message - Matt. She clicked the centre button, curious as to what it was he had to say.
Hey Megan, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out soon, just me and you? Tb xxx
She shook away the uneasiness she felt whilst reading it, and clung onto everything else it gave her instead. That feeling of worth. Matt wanted to be with her, just her.
Yeah okay, what did you want to do? x, she wrote back, biting her lower lip as her thumb hovered over the Send button. The voice in the back of her head told her to stop, but something much stronger overcame it, dragged it away, and she brought her thumb down with a click.
*********************************************
“Be careful, okay, Megan,” her mum, Lynn, began sternly, “I don’t want you wandering off on your own. What time will you be back?”
“Erm, I’m not sure.”
“Well, what time is everyone else going to be back?”
“They don’t know when they’re going to be back.”
“What do you mean, they don’t know?”
“They’ll just…leave when they want to.” Megan mumbled.
Lynn was caught off guard. “Oh. Well then, you need to tell me when you’re going to be back.”
Megan sighed, defeated. “I’ll just be back by 6.”
“Okay. And you know all the bus and train times, yes? You don’t want to miss it and have to wait until the next-”
“Yes, Mum, I know when the times are. Okay? I’ll see you later.”
She was edging towards the door now, trying to ease herself out of her mother’s suffocating presence.
“At six.”
“Yes.”
She knew other people found it odd, could see it in their eyes and the flickers of confusion that crossed their faces, but Megan had lived with her mum for the entire sixteen years she’d been alive, and she knew by now that there was no point trying to change the way she was. She would always be strict and paranoid and overbearing. That would never change.
*********************************************
“The evidence is all there. And still the entire nation believe it was terrorists. The American government tell you what they want you to think, and everyone believes it without questioning anything, because nobody can think for the themselves.” Sarah was in the middle of one of her political lectures. She could see Megan’s and Dan’s eyes glazing over, the way most people’s did when she spoke about what really mattered. She paused for a moment, wondering if they’d notice, but they just continued walking like zombies, their sandal-clad feet brushing through the sand covering the dunes.
She sighed and launched back into her rant, not really caring whether anyone was listening or not. “I mean, people need to become aware of these things, y’know?” She glanced at them out of habit, not expecting an answer. “If everybody knew what the government was really like-”
“We’re here.” announced Dan, in what could hardly be called an announcement. His voice monotone and reluctant, cutting through hers, only stopped her because it was new. No one but her had spoken the entire walk from the bus stop to where they were now, and it was both a relief and a disappointment.
She wanted Dan to talk to her, the way he used to. Excited and curious and involved. She scanned her narrow green eyes over his face, and saw nothing but the light brown fringe covering his downcast eyes. She wondered if she had only been enough bring him back up in those first few months, if she would never have that power again.
She looked over at the beach, determined to think of something else. Jacob was leaning over the disposable barbeque, flipping burgers and shouting something she couldn’t make out in a falsetto voice. The sound of Guns’n’Roses emanated from Barrett’s direction, where he was in full air guitar mode, squealing at the top of his lungs whilst Daisy and Archie looked on in amusement. Isabelle was talking to Luke, her face contorting into over-enthusiastic expressions the way it did with everyone she spoke to.
Just as Megan, Dan and Sarah were approaching, two other figures emerged from the dunes and wandered in the same direction. Megan looked from them to Sarah. “Do we know them?”
“I’m sure someone does.”
“They’re Archie’s friends.” said Dan.
“Archie has other friends?” joked Megan, feigning shock.
“Apparently so.” he replied.
*************************************************
“Everyone, this is Kick and Natty.” Archie announced.
A mumble of Heys radiated from the group, a tuneless harmony, rendering it impossible to see which voice matched which face.
Sarah took in the two newcomers, ready to make her judgements.
Natty - tall, tomboyish and fairly average-looking - smiled widely and shouted “Hi!” at everyone with a hyperactive wave. Kick - gorgeous, wavy-haired and clad in skinny jeans - blew a plume of smoke into the air and nodded at them, mumbling “Hey.”
The chatter continued and Sarah dropped herself down on the floor besides Daisy.
“He’s hot, you should go for it.” she said. She would never understand Daisy. She was cool and beautiful and guys were falling in love with her left, right and centre. Yet she never got involved with anyone. Therefore, she decided that from this moment, she would try her hardest to get her with this Kick guy.
Whilst Archie looked uncomfortable and mumbled something about going to ‘check on his burger’, Daisy stared at Sarah blankly for a while, before asking calmly, “Who?”
“You know who! That Kick guy, the hot one!”
Daisy smirked. “I don’t even know him.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, “So? Get to know him. Do you not think he’s hot?”
Daisy scanned her eyes over Kick. “I guess.”
Sarah could not believe this. Daisy could be so frustrating, she just wanted to reach out and grab her shoulders, shake her until she showed an interest. Instead she just took a deep drag on her cigarette, feeling the soothing rush of the smoke as she sucked it into her lungs, getting ready to persuade again.
**********************************************