MADE IN ESSEX

by Laura Ziepe

  Adele looked out the window moodily. ‘Whatever. Can we talk about something else please? I’m bored of this now.’

  ‘You know what, Adele?’ Donna said, narrowing her eyes.

  ‘What?’ she replied haughtily, folding her arms over her chest.

  ‘You can be really nasty sometimes.’

  Adele ignored the comment and looked out of the window. She couldn’t help being cross, could she? Donna didn’t realise the effort she’d put in with Neil! It wasn’t fair! So what if Donna thought she was nasty? She needed to get a life, being so bloody sensitive all the time. She didn’t need her. She thought for a moment about how often she invited her out. What would Donna do at the weekend if it wasn’t for her? Yes, Donna often went to the cinema with her boring friend Gill from work or a meal with her annoying cousin Jane, but she had a better time when Adele convinced her to go clubbing. Didn’t she? Adele realised at that moment that if it wasn’t for Donna, she’d probably be stuck most weekends with nothing to do. It was a scary thought. She couldn’t lose her as a friend. She’d have to accept that she’d managed to get the footballer this time and that maybe one day … that’s it, she thought excitedly! ‘Oh my God, babe. I’ve got the best idea!’

  ‘What?’ Donna replied, unenthusiastically, clearly still upset by her previous comments.

  ‘You can get Aaron to set me up with one of his friends!’

  ‘You already have been. You were with Neil?’

  ‘No, no, no,’ Adele shook her head frantically. ‘Not one of his normal friends, one of his footballer friends!’

  ‘Okay,’ Donna replied tiredly. ‘Why do you care so much if they play football?’

  Adele gave a loud tut. ‘Oh Donna, get a life. What girl doesn’t want a footballer?’

  Donna nodded. ‘We’ll see.’

  Adele felt better already. If Donna could pull a footballer then she sure as hell could.

  CHAPTER 8

  ‘What are you going to order, babe?’ Billy asked Kelly as he browsed through the menu.

  They were in The Blue Boar in Abridge with Gary and his girlfriend Charlotte.

  ‘Mmm … the mushroom wellington I think. I’m trying to cut down and be healthy. Mushrooms are vegetables, right?’

  Gary snorted with laughter. ‘Are you for real? Great choice if you’re trying to cut back, Kelly. There’s hardly any calories in the chateaux potatoes, blue cheese and herb cream it comes with!’ he said sarcastically. ‘Honestly! The things you come out with!’

  Kelly stared at him straight faced as he sniggered at her comment. Billy gave a little giggle, trying to be polite, which she really didn’t appreciate, and Charlotte pretended she hadn’t heard anything. So he was starting on her already, was he? They’d barely just sat down and Gary was already making fun of her. If anyone else had said it to her she would have seen the funny side, but not with him. Not when he did it constantly and was laughing at her rather than with her. She was annoyed that Billy never stood up for her either. He always thought she was overreacting because he could never see how his precious Gary could do anything wrong. She loved Billy more than anything, but this was one of the small flaws about him that drove her crazy. Gary always seemed to be trying to prove he was more superior and intelligent than everyone else and she didn’t like the way he spoke to Billy sometimes either. They were supposed to be partners, but Kelly got the impression that Gary thought he was in charge. Billy had put a lot of his own money into their company and he deserved to be treated with respect in Kelly’s eyes. Billy was blind to it though and it was extremely frustrating.

  ‘I was reading the paper this morning,’ Gary said, turning to Billy as he chomped on a piece of bread, ‘how apparently Osama lived in the room he was captured in for five years, according to his wife. Never left it can you believe?’

  Billy nodded. ‘Yeah, think I read something about that too.’

  Kelly was bemused. She had no idea what they were talking about and decided to keep out of the conversation rather than even attempt to join in. This was way out of bounds.

  ‘It stated that Pakistan continues to defend its failure to uncover him. I mean, it’s not like they didn’t have enough time, is it? He had been living in the Abbottabad region next to a military base for at least the past half a decade!’ Gary continued pompously, buttering another piece of bread and enjoying the fact everyone was listening to him. ‘Apparently officials have rubbished claims that the country’s secret services have links to Al-Qaeda, which I wonder about. What do you think, Billy?’

  ‘Dunno mate,’ Billy replied with a nod. ‘I just think good riddance and it’s a pity it took so long to take Osama out.’

  Kelly was amazed. Billy knew what he was talking about? The only word she even remembered was Osama. The rest was a complete blur! Half the words she didn’t even know, let alone actually understand them.

  ‘What do you think, Kelly?’ Gary’s eyes bored into her.

  ‘What?’ Kelly was aghast. He wanted her opinion. He knew she had no idea what he was talking about. Yet again, he was just trying to make her look stupid. If only she could think of something good to say back to shut him up! Why did he always have to talk about the bloody news? She never had time to read newspapers. She read the odd Heat magazine she supposed, but come on; was she really going to give that up for a boring old newspaper that would make her fall asleep? Why couldn’t he ask her about celebrity gossip? She knew that Kerry Katona had undergone her second lot of lipo recently or that Reese Witherspoon had fallen pregnant, but Osama? What the hell? Think of something to say! Think! Kelly cleared her throat, playing for extra time. She was not going to say she didn’t know what he was talking about. She was going to answer something. ‘Errr … I think … I mean … I don’t understand why they wanted to take him out anyway? I mean, when you say that, do you mean kill? Because I think he seems like a lovely man. I saw him on the TV the other day and I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t like Osama.’

  ‘What?’ Billy almost spat his drink out. ‘Kelly, he’s an evil, wicked man who’s responsible for killing thousands of innocent people!’

  Kelly was stunned. ‘Is he? Really? But he’s so friendly, polite and well-spoken and has a lovely stylish wife.’

  Billy’s face creased in bewilderment. ‘Wife? Where would you have seen his wife?’

  ‘I don’t know, I just remember she was wearing the most amazing Diane Von Furstenberg dress the other day on TV. I even looked it up online to see if I could buy it,’ Kelly replied complacently. ‘But answer me one thing. If he’s so bad then why is he the American Prime Minister or President or whatever it’s bloody called?’

  Gary shook his head with the biggest grin Kelly had ever seen plastered across his face. ‘Oh surely not. This is too good to be true!’

  Billy rubbed her arm, comforting her as he let her down gently. ‘Babe, we’re talking about Osama Bin Laden. Not Barack Obama. He’s the President. Osama was the terrorist, remember? They killed him last year.’

  ‘Oh.’ Kelly felt her face burn with shame. ‘Easy mistake,’ she said, with a forced laugh.

  Gary was sniggering and Kelly caught Charlotte tugging his arm harshly as if to tell him to shut up. Great, so even she felt sorry for her. Kelly was humiliated and embarrassed and wished she’d never even attempted to answer now. She felt like a complete thicko and that was exactly what they all thought of her.

  ‘Oh Kelly, you really are hilarious,’ Gary spluttered. ‘Imagine getting Osama Bin Laden and Barack Obama muddled up! They couldn’t be further apart if they tried. What school did you go to out of interest? Did you pass your GCSEs?’

  Charlotte elbowed him in the ribs.

  ‘Ouch, that hurt!’ Gary said with a pained expression.

  ‘Just leave her alone,’ Charlotte retorted under her breath.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Kelly replied weakly. Her confidence had completely disappeared and she felt her eyes sting, threatening tears.

  ‘He’s alright,
’ Billy said jovially. ‘He’s only messing around, aren’t you Gal?’

  Kelly was disappointed that Billy was completely unaware of how small Gary had made her feel, yet again. Why could he never see things from her point of view?

  ‘Of course I’m messing around,’ Gary laughed. ‘You’re not offended, are you Kelly? It’s only a bit of banter.’

  ‘No,’ she lied, wanting to kick herself. Why couldn’t she just stand up to him and tell him the truth? She was such a coward at times. She looked at Gary who still couldn’t contain his laughter; he loved every second of it.

  Kelly excused herself after a few minutes and went to the toilets to calm down. She was so angry with Gary! She hated him even more than before, if that was possible. How dare he think he could make her feel so low? And why had she let him? She knew why deep down though; the moment she stood up for herself she would be opening a can of worms and everything would come pouring out. She’d call him out about every time he’d belittled her or Billy, and Kelly guessed it would cause a big problem between Billy and Gary, something she couldn’t risk happening. Her eyes were shining as she blinked the tears away. In future, she just wasn’t going to talk or say a word around him. Then he couldn’t pick on her anymore and make her feel like an idiot. If he did ask her any more questions she would just shrug or change the subject. If only Billy didn’t always feel like he had to say yes whenever Gary asked him to go out. But she knew how important his friendship was to him; he felt like they had to be good friends to be good business partners and she supposed she could see his point.

  Later on that evening when she was alone with Billy, she decided to tell him her true feelings once again.

  ‘Lovely food in there weren’t it, babe?’ Billy said, sitting on the edge of his bed and taking his shoes off.

  ‘Yeah,’ Kelly murmured.

  ‘You don’t sound very enthusiastic,’ Billy replied. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Come on, Kelly. I know you better than that to know when something is up.’

  Kelly sat next to him. ‘It’s Gary,’ she said finally.

  ‘Oh not this again,’ Billy said looking bored.

  ‘He tries to make me look stupid all the time! He talks about all this stuff in the news and God knows what else so everyone thinks he’s really intellectual and clever. You can’t see it, can you? He puts me down all the time. I don’t like the way he talks to you either sometimes. He thinks he’s better than everyone; especially us. Why does he always try to talk so posh as well? He’s from Essex, not Chelsea!’

  Billy shook his head. ‘Kelly, it’s not his fault if he’s well-spoken, interested in the news and knows about what’s going on in the world. I doubt he thinks he’s better than anyone. It’s all in your head. He can’t help if he’s an intelligent man, can he? He doesn’t put you down, he just thinks the things you say are funny!’

  ‘He asked if I’d passed my GCSEs!’ Kelly reminded him with a stare, mortified.

  ‘He was joking. You’re just being over-sensitive. Look if you hate it that much, I’ll have a word with him. No big deal.’

  ‘Yes, please do,’ Kelly snapped, annoyed that he wasn’t on her side. She gave up. Billy would never see Gary for the nasty piece of work he really was and the sooner she accepted that the better.

  *

  Adele loaded the CD into her laptop and waited for her photos to appear. She hoped they looked good after the amount she’d paid in the end. As she clicked on the first one she didn’t know how to feel. Yes, they looked professional and better than she thought, but Skye didn’t look great at all. It was the make-up and hair! Why hadn’t she thought to hire people for the day? Oh well, she thought, trying to see the bright side, lots of people probably wouldn’t even be looking at the model. They would want to see the bikinis and they looked fine. Some even looked quite nice and she was sure they would sell. Her dad’s computer developer had done the whole thing for her, including her Facebook and Twitter pages and all she had to do was add these images and she was good to go! It was a great feeling. She’d have her website up and running before Jade and Kelly. There was no way they could say she copied them now! She’d send them proof of when the website launched if she had to. Then she was going to send out a press release to all their contacts. She’d already paid someone to do it for her that worked in the PR department at her dad’s company. She was going to send it first thing in the morning.

  She’d called Chloe earlier that day and she still hadn’t heard back from the modelling agency, which was good news. They obviously didn’t want her; she’d have been snapped up there and then if they did! The thought pleased her immensely. Now Chloe knew she wasn’t as perfect as she probably thought. She’d fed her all the usual lines of course. ‘Of course they’ll call,’ she’d told her, practically laughing her head off inside. Chloe could kiss her modelling career goodbye as far as she was concerned. Dream on!

  She was about to make herself a cup of tea when she changed her mind. This was a perfect time to go round and see Lisa and Nicola and get to know them better. They could all have a girly night together and watch a film or something. She picked up some DVDs and called her dog.

  ‘Buddy! Come on Buddy, we’re going out.’ The dog followed her as she shut her front door behind her, walked across the hall and knocked on their door.

  Nicola answered with a surprised expression at seeing her there. She looked different, Adele noticed; she was wearing smart black trousers, a pretty yet conservative blouse and less make-up. It made her look more grown up and mature.

  ‘Hi, hun,’ Adele grinned at her. ‘Thought I’d bring some DVDs round and we can watch them together; have a girly night in.’

  ‘Oh, hi honey.’ Nicola opened the door and let her through. ‘We’re actually just eating our dinner.’

  ‘Oh that’s okay.’ Adele walked through and her stomach rumbled as she recognised the delicious smell of home-cooked lasagne.

  ‘Hi Lisa,’ Adele called to her, glancing through to the kitchen to see if they had any leftovers. She was delighted when she spotted the oven dish still half full with food left inside. ‘Girls, you don’t mind if I have some, do you? I never had time to cook dinner and this looks gorgeous. You’re not having any more are you?’ Adele asked, helping herself to a plate in the cupboard and dishing some on her plate along with the salad beside it.

  ‘No, help yourself,’ Nicola replied.

  ‘Thanks, babe.’

  Adele poured herself some wine, put her dinner on a tray and then walked in to join them.

  ‘Good day at work, girls?’ Adele asked brightly as she sat on the sofa next to Lisa.

  ‘Yeah, it was good thanks,’ Lisa replied unenthusiastically, her eyes not leaving the television.

  ‘Ah bless. I don’t know how you girls wake up so early every day.’

  ‘Some of us have to,’ Lisa replied curtly.

  Adele ignored her remark and decided to play it safe and stay on her good side. She was just jealous, she decided, and who could blame her? She had the perfect life; rich parents, a stunning flat bought for her, good looks and now her own business. Not that Lisa knew about her company just yet though. She would be sure to run off and tell Jade and Kelly and she didn’t want them to know just yet.

  ‘Are you watching this?’ Adele asked, picking up the remote control. EastEnders was on the TV and it really wasn’t Adele’s cup of tea. ‘Why don’t we put a DVD on?’

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ Nicola agreed.

  ‘I want to find out what happens to Billy,’ Lisa said in an irritable tone.

  ‘Okay, sorry,’ Nicola responded. ‘Didn’t know you were watching it.’

  Adele rolled her eyes at Nicola, but she turned the other way, looking awkward.

  The minute the show ended, Adele jumped up and put The Hangover on.

  ‘I’ve seen this loads of times,’ Lisa complained. She was beginning to get on Adele’s nerves complaining about everything all
the time.

  ‘Choose another one then,’ Adele replied, pointing to the rest she’d brought round as Lisa reluctantly searched through the collection. Really, why was she so miserable? Adele wondered. Nicola was so easygoing and nice, but Lisa was hard work. Hopefully they’ll fall out and Nicola can come live with me, Adele hoped wistfully.

  Lisa opted for Pretty Woman.

  ‘Good choice,’ Adele smiled at her. ‘I just love the old classic films. They remind me of being young.’

  ‘Me too,’ Lisa agreed.

  ‘You’ve got such lovely hair, babe,’ Adele complimented Lisa as she brushed it, sitting back on the sofa.

  ‘Thanks,’ Lisa said, giving a half-smile

  At last, Adele thought relaxing, Lisa was finally perking up. She still had the feeling she wasn’t overly keen on her, though she knew that would change soon, when she really got to know her. She was a nice person and never understood why Jade and Kelly wouldn’t give her the chance? Well, she didn’t need them now she had Lisa and Nicola. Buddy jumped up at the sofa, too tiny to get himself up and Adele pulled him up and put him on her lap.

  ‘Where’s Cupcake?’ Adele asked, realising the dog was missing.

  Lisa’s eyes flashed with sadness. ‘Oh, a lady upstairs is looking after her in the daytime now. She went out for the day and isn’t home yet. She’d going to drop her off when she’s back. Jade and Kelly were meant to look after her, but, well … it didn’t work out.’

  ‘Oh.’ Adele didn’t know what to say. It was obviously a touchy subject. ‘So, you pay this lady?’

  ‘Yes, it’s £12 a day, which is £240 a month. If I’m honest, I don’t think I can afford to keep her. Not now I’m paying to live here as well.’

  Adele could tell she was devastated. As she watched Lisa’s eyes start to glisten the perfect idea came to her. It was a way in. A way to be friends. ‘Babe, why don’t you just bring her to me every day?’

  Lisa’s face lit up, but then she looked doubtful. ‘Oh, I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair.’

  ‘Hun, don’t be ridiculous! I love dogs. I work from home and this way, you’ll get to keep her, right? You won’t have to give Cupcake up?’