SOVch6:Its The Small Things...

Chapter 5: It’s The Small Things…

Everything in this place is so small! A street party, they call it. In Glasgow it’d be the queue for Burger King.

Ma made us go - I wasn’t keen at first, but it actually turned out to be lethal. We stood around in the cold for a while, the five of us huddled in a group: we’re outsiders, city folk, it takes a while for the locals to get the measure of us. Turns out though, once they do, they’re incredibly cool.

Ma sent James and I for chips - James reckons it was to get us “out there”, give us a chance to meet some people. I didn’t care, I just wanted chips. We made our way through the crowds to Robin’s, and stood at the end of the queue. A queue, they call it. In Glasgow it’d be a meeting of England football supporters: there was next to no-one there.

We waited a few minutes, watching the people outside, watching the wind pick up. That’s another thing about this place - its constantly windy. The three girls at the front of the queue left with their chips and the rest of us moved up a few places.

“Do you still have the money?” I checked with James. He pulled it out his pocket and held it up without looking at me. He was playing with a bit of string he’d found in his pocket.

“That’s an awesome T-shirt.” Said a voice behind me. I turned around to see a girl, roughly my age, smiling at me. At me? I turned around to check there wasn’t someone with an obviously really funny t-shirt standing behind me, I didn’t want to make a complete arse of myself. She laughed.


“Its alright, I meant you.” She smiled. “I do that all the time, I’m never sure if people are speaking to me.”

I grinned. “Its hard to tell sometimes.”

There was a pause, I didn’t know what to say next. Neither did she apparently, because when I looked at her she was shuffling her feet nervously just like I was. I noticed her boots made her an awful lot taller than she actually was - not high heels, but cool black, furry platforms. She was head to foot in black and red: black and red stripy tights, black skirt, red t-shirt, black coat, really long red(ish) hair, black hat.

“So you like Metallica then?” I asked.

“Yeah!” She smiled quickly. “I have The Black Album and Ride The Lightning, and I’ve downloaded the rest.”

“I LOVE The Black Album!” I smiled. It was true, I’d more or less learned to play the guitar by playing songs from The Black Album. Well, half playing them, I still hadn’t quite got the hang of the solos. Quite.

The queue moved again, and I noticed James looking slightly sulky. He always annoys me when he goes in these moods. I know he struggles to talk to people and stuff but that doesn’t mean I cant do it, and he could just join in our conversation. Not that he knew anything about Metallica. And not that I wanted him to join in.

But then there was an awkward silence again, so I introduced James.

“This is my brother James, by the way.” I said, elbowing James to make him stop playing with his string.

“Hi.” She smiled. She smiled a lot. It was a nice smile, friendly and genuine. I liked her.

“Oh, and I’m Billy.” I joked.

“I’m Celee.”

As if on cue, two tall, blonde, rather symmetrical looking boys walked in, and came to join Celee.

“Have you got that tucker yet?” Said the thinner of the two in an unmistakeably Australian accent.

Celee rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m standing in this queue.”

She smiled again. “These are my friends,” She continued to me, “Darynn,” She indicated towards the one who had spoken, “and Malcolm.”  Both twins smiled and helloed, and I smiled back.

“Guys, this is Billy and his cool t-shirt. And his brother, James.” She introduced us.

I felt bad for James, he looked so awkward and out of place, but I was caught in the middle: I didn’t want to abandon him, but I also didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet some potentially very cool people. The twins were very different looking: Malcolm was clad in black, his poker-straight, white-blonde hair was past his shoulders (longer than mine? I hoped not, it was hard to tell), and he was wearing a studded wrist band and choker. Darynn on the other hand was wearing blue jeans, a black t-shirt, pink sweatbands, and his hair, although also straight and blonde, was shorter in that side-ways, Emo kind of way.

I glanced at James as the queue moved again, still looking sulky, and now it was our turn. James ordered, and I took the chance (whilst he was distracted) to speak to the gang. The twins were Australian, were exactly my age (in fact, once I went to school after Christmas all three of them would be in my year), they had moved to Scotland about six months before, and so far were finding it mostly nice but very cold.

Celee and I laughed. “Get used to it.” We told them, and advised them to buy electric blankets and thermal underwear. Then it was their turn to order as James and I moved along to wait for ours, and the discussion turned naturally back to music.

We quickly discovered that we had the beginnings of a band, as between us we had everything but a bass player.

“Hey, maybe we could teach James bass?” I suggested, meaning to bring him into the conversation (I could sense his annoyance, even though he was standing behind me, looking away), but he took it the wrong way and thought I was laughing at him. Our chips came, and he handed me mine, said goodbye, and left.

“I hope he didn’t think we were making fun of him…” Said Malcolm.

“Och, he’ll be fine.” I said, fairly certain that was not true and he would sulk with me for days. I considered making my excuses and leaving too, but then talk of our “band” re-started and I changed my mind. I’d fix James when I got home.

When we left Robin’s it was 23.05, and the next fifty five minutes passed in a flash. We talked about our band and our families (I mentioned my abundance of siblings and the move from Glasgow, no more, although I got the impression that at some point in the future, if we were still friends, maybe I would tell them about my Dad and Tommy and running away from Glasgow and everything else. I had a feeling they wouldn’t laugh at me, or worse, spread it around so everyone else could laugh at me).

Talking to them, I began to notice small differences in the way they acted towards each other. Malcolm and Darynn, although they clearly knew each other very well, didn’t seem as…twinly…as you might think. Similarly, I got the impression that although Darynn liked Celee, he was only just beginning to like her, or perhaps had only recently met her. Certainly, they were not as friendly as Celee and Malcolm, who had some sort of inexplicable compatibility. For everything she wasn’t, he was, and everything he lacked, she had in abundance. Between the two of them, they were one perfect person.

They weren’t an item though. At least, not for that first hour. As the bells rang to signify the beginning of 2001, Malcolm landed Celee with a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Malcolm, if you’re going to kiss her, you might as well do it properly.” Darynn moaned, exasperated. “I’m sick of you two. Why don’t you just get together and be done with it? Its obviously heading that way.”

I laughed, and Celee grinned, nervously. Malcolm looked at her, checking, and then kissed her properly.

“Woo!” I cheered, and Darynn joined in.

“There.” Celee said. “Now its official.”

Just as the celebrations were coming to a close (celebration of the new union, not the new year) James re-appeared.

“Ma’s off home with the little ones. I’ve to watch you, unless you’re coming home now?”

I knew that was code for “please come home now, I don’t want to have to try and fit in with your friends”, and I was pitiful and frustrated all at the same time. But before I had time to decide on an action plan, the decision was made for me.

“No, no you guys cant leave!” Darynn decided. “James, we have some WKD, its not very alcoholic but its good enough. Have some. Stay.”

And so James did, rather reluctantly at first, but once Darynn got him speaking about some computer thing ( I don’t know what) he was happy as Larry, and Darynn seemed to understand what he was talking about, which made Larry even happier.

And so passed the next hour, with talk of computers and guitars and band rehearsals, and then the twin’s parents came to take them home, and James and I headed up the road home, three friends richer. We’d call them friends in Glasgow too.