Charlotte took a deep breath before opening the bar door. Everyone was getting very jittery these days. There had been another shooting the night before when loyalist gunmen entered a bar in County Derry and opened fire, killing three people watching a football match on the tv and injuring several more. Charlotte had seen the look of fear in her mother’s eyes when she saw she was going out. “Be careful,” she’d whispered a...

“You cannot compare Stiff Little Fingers to the Undertones.” Charlotte slipped into the empty seat beside Emma, trying not to interrupt Dave whilst he was in full flow. The source of his wrath appeared to be a cute looking guy with a red mohawk who had seemingly dared suggest that Stiff Little Fingers were a great Northern Irish punk band. “They slagged off the Undertones for not singing about the Troubles but the Underto...

Charlotte felt like shite warmed up. The ferry crossing from Larne to Stranraer had been a lot rougher than last time and while she hadn’t been seasick, there had been a stench of vomit throughout the ship by the time it finally docked. She’d then spent the past eight hours crammed into an uncomfortable seat as the bus trundled its way down the length of England. She unpeeled herself from the seat, stretched and hoped her...

Charlotte was standing at the sink washing the dinner dishes when her mum opened the kitchen door and told her that her friend was there to see her. Charlotte picked up the tea towel to dry her hands and smiled at Fiona as her mum shut the door and went back to watching tv in the living room. “Do you want a cup of tea?” Charlotte filled the kettle without waiting for a reply and motioned for Fiona to take a seat while she...

Charlotte took a deep breath and opened the door of the music shop. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s the week before Christmas. I quit!” Charlotte had to step aside as a very disgruntled man with an angry red face barged his way out of the shop. The owner, who had been on the receiving end of the tirade just put his head in his hands and cursed quietly. “Um… er… Hi...” Charlotte began. He looked up. “Please say you are here w...

Charlotte knelt, gazing up at Fiona. She could feel Fiona’s cum drying on her face. She licked her lips, tasting the honey-sweet stickiness as she watched Fiona’s breathing return to normal. The promise implicit in Fiona’s words, “we are going to have so much fucking fun today” made Charlotte’s neglected pussy drip. Fiona had made Charlotte strip then crawl on hands and knees then rode her face like a masturbatory aid. Fi...

“Another Open day? Was London not enough for you?” “But Mum, the whole school is going. It’s just to Belfast for the day. It won’t cost anything. You just have to sign the permission slip.” Charlotte’s mother sighed with exasperation and scrawled her name on the photocopied slip of paper while muttering about how they hardly seemed to be in school these days. The next morning, most of the Upper Sixth were gathered in the...

Charlotte had read the copy of NME she’d picked up at the kiosk at the coach station three times by the time the ferry docked back into Larne. The announcement for everyone to disembark woke Charlotte from her daydreams of Fiona and her whispered promise that next time, she was going to tie Charlotte to the bed and ride her face for hours. The security checks weren’t as stringent this time and Charlotte presumed it was be...

Charlotte was surprised but relieved that her parents had agreed she could go to London to check out the Art College at Open Day. They’d said they’d pay for the bus, and they’d even provide some spending money. Emma had spoken to Fiona who was delighted that they were going to come and visit and they could definitely stay with her for a couple of nights. Charlotte couldn’t wait to see Fiona again and had fallen asleep the...

Charlotte was in her room. She watched the 12” disc of black vinyl spinning on the record player as Robert Smith’s voice sang the chorus of ‘The Funeral Party.’ She picked up the postcard again. The front showed a group of punks with spiky mohicans in front of a red telephone box with ‘Welcome to London’ written in red, white, and blue below it. She flipped it over and read it again even though she had already committed t...

Charlotte stared out the bus window as the rain pelted against the glass. As the blue and white Ulsterbus trundled its way up the hill from the Ballygawley roundabout, she thought of her weekend with Fiona. They’d spent most of the rest of the weekend in bed once they got home from the shopping and drinking trip. She blushed at the memory of having left the room to go for a pee and, wearing only a tee-shirt, she’d met Tar...

Charlotte had never felt so alone since she’d arrived in Northern Ireland. It had been three days since the party and there had been no word from Emma. Charlotte had contemplated calling around but given how Emma had told her to fuck off, she wasn’t sure of the reception she might get. Deirdre was still in Spain for another week and Fergal was helping his Dad for a few days and said he was too knackered in the evenings to...

Fiona parked outside Charlotte’s house when they got back from their trip across the border. Charlotte longed to lean across and kiss Fiona but knew that sort of thing was never going to happen. Not in broad daylight with her mother watching through the living room window. “Thanks for being my model.” “I loved it. And I’ll drop the dress round later.” “There’s no rush. Drop it round any time. I’m heading back to Belfast t...

Charlotte’s mind was a whirl for the next few days. She found her thoughts drifting between Dortz, the guy she’d met in the bar and Fiona, Emma’s older sister who had kissed her and made her cum later that night. On Monday morning, she sat in the school art room with her two new friends, Emma and Deirdre, and relived the weekend with them. Occasionally, they did some sketches of the stuffed duck that stood forlornly on th...

Growing up, being a member of the Orange Order didn’t seem like that big a thing. It was just what you did. My Dad was a member, my older brother was a member, my Uncle Ian was a member. It was just a laugh, a march with your friends and relations, bands, music, flags. That all changed the summer I hit eighteen. There were three of us in my circle of friends. I kinda saw us as the ‘Three Amigos’, with me being the Steve M...