it.’
‘Can he no clean it hisself?’
‘Come on – he’s a male – incapable of lifting a duster. Oh and they can work all sorts of complicated recording equipment but switching on a hoover is beyond them.’
‘Sounds just like ma da.’
Nisha switched on the karaoke machine and the intro belted oot. ‘Better turn it doon a wee bit – if the neighbours complain ma ma will go hairless – cannae have that – a baldy Sikh!’
She rewound it, handed me the mic and ah managed tae get in just in time tae say, ‘You can dance,’ in ma best American accent. Then the two of us started, a wee bit shaky at first and no quite thegether but then gettin right intae it, beltin it oot, dancin round the room daein Madonna impersonations. It was a pure laugh.
Efter that Saturday at Nisha’s hoose, we started tae wait for wan another at lunchtimes and at breaktime, hang aboot thegether. Sometimes we’d sit wi Charlene and Roseanne or ah’d join the lassies Nisha knew fae her primary school but it wasnae the same. When we were wi Charlene and Roseanne ah never felt right. If we talked aboot the school show all Charlene wanted tae know aboot was Keir Simpson. And Nisha was dead quiet wi them, just like she was in class. And wi her pals ah didnae know whit tae say. They’d known each other at primary. Some of them seen each other at Temple as well so they were talkin aboot folk ah didnae know or things ah didnae unnerstaund. Ah knew Nisha’d explain things tae me but ah didnae like tae ask in front of them.
It was always a relief when we said cheerio and went aff on wer ain. We never spoke aboot it but ah think we baith felt the same. Maist folk used tae hang aboot the Fuel Zoneat lunchtime or go alang tae the chippy in Great Western Road, so the two of us started tae heid ower tae the park and sit on a bench there eatin wer pieces. It was Nisha’s idea. And it was nice, quiet away fae the crowds of folk.
It had been a dead mild autumn but as November came it started tae get chillier.
‘We’ll need tae find somewhere else tae go. We’ll no be able tae sit ootside much longer,’ ah said. ‘Ma pieces are like ice poles.’
‘Hey, Anne Marie, how would you feel about coming back to mines for lunch? It’s really close. Ah used tae go hame at lunchtime when ah was at primary and my mum’s always on at me. “Need to get a hot meal inside you.”’
‘Would she no mind you bringin me back?’
‘She wouldnae mind me bringing back the entire class if she thought she’d get a chance tae stuff me with home cooking. And she’s always moaning about nobody eating at home any more. Gurpreet’s always out and Kamaljit’s away. Naw, it’ll be cool.’
And it was cool gaun round tae Nisha’s. Though cool isnae a very good word tae describe it. Her hoose was always roastin. Her ma kept askin me if ah was warm enough when the sweat was pourin aff me.
‘It’s always like this,’ Nisha said. ‘You’ve heard of global warming, haven’t you? Well this is where it started. My mother can use up 50% of the earth’s fossil fuels in an afternoon.’
And the food was great. Spicy, but no the way food in Indian restaurants is. Always straight off the stove or oot the oven. It was great tae leave the school on a wet day and go round tae Nisha’s hoose, sit at the kitchen table wiher while her ma served up wer dinner, the radio on in the background or a tape of Indian music. It was like when ah was wee and me and Charlene used tae go round tae ma granny’s for wer dinner, dead cosy, though the calendar on Nisha’s wall was of Sikh temples, no scenes of Donegal.
‘Is it no a lot of bother for your ma though, Nisha?’
‘Don’t be daft, she loves it. There’s nothing she likes better than feeding people.’
‘Aye but the food she’s givin us. When you said come round for lunch ah thought we’d mibbe be gettin a bowl of soup and a cuppa tea.’
‘D’you no like the food?’
‘Are you kiddin
‘Can he no clean it hisself?’
‘Come on – he’s a male – incapable of lifting a duster. Oh and they can work all sorts of complicated recording equipment but switching on a hoover is beyond them.’
‘Sounds just like ma da.’
Nisha switched on the karaoke machine and the intro belted oot. ‘Better turn it doon a wee bit – if the neighbours complain ma ma will go hairless – cannae have that – a baldy Sikh!’
She rewound it, handed me the mic and ah managed tae get in just in time tae say, ‘You can dance,’ in ma best American accent. Then the two of us started, a wee bit shaky at first and no quite thegether but then gettin right intae it, beltin it oot, dancin round the room daein Madonna impersonations. It was a pure laugh.
Efter that Saturday at Nisha’s hoose, we started tae wait for wan another at lunchtimes and at breaktime, hang aboot thegether. Sometimes we’d sit wi Charlene and Roseanne or ah’d join the lassies Nisha knew fae her primary school but it wasnae the same. When we were wi Charlene and Roseanne ah never felt right. If we talked aboot the school show all Charlene wanted tae know aboot was Keir Simpson. And Nisha was dead quiet wi them, just like she was in class. And wi her pals ah didnae know whit tae say. They’d known each other at primary. Some of them seen each other at Temple as well so they were talkin aboot folk ah didnae know or things ah didnae unnerstaund. Ah knew Nisha’d explain things tae me but ah didnae like tae ask in front of them.
It was always a relief when we said cheerio and went aff on wer ain. We never spoke aboot it but ah think we baith felt the same. Maist folk used tae hang aboot the Fuel Zoneat lunchtime or go alang tae the chippy in Great Western Road, so the two of us started tae heid ower tae the park and sit on a bench there eatin wer pieces. It was Nisha’s idea. And it was nice, quiet away fae the crowds of folk.
It had been a dead mild autumn but as November came it started tae get chillier.
‘We’ll need tae find somewhere else tae go. We’ll no be able tae sit ootside much longer,’ ah said. ‘Ma pieces are like ice poles.’
‘Hey, Anne Marie, how would you feel about coming back to mines for lunch? It’s really close. Ah used tae go hame at lunchtime when ah was at primary and my mum’s always on at me. “Need to get a hot meal inside you.”’
‘Would she no mind you bringin me back?’
‘She wouldnae mind me bringing back the entire class if she thought she’d get a chance tae stuff me with home cooking. And she’s always moaning about nobody eating at home any more. Gurpreet’s always out and Kamaljit’s away. Naw, it’ll be cool.’
And it was cool gaun round tae Nisha’s. Though cool isnae a very good word tae describe it. Her hoose was always roastin. Her ma kept askin me if ah was warm enough when the sweat was pourin aff me.
‘It’s always like this,’ Nisha said. ‘You’ve heard of global warming, haven’t you? Well this is where it started. My mother can use up 50% of the earth’s fossil fuels in an afternoon.’
And the food was great. Spicy, but no the way food in Indian restaurants is. Always straight off the stove or oot the oven. It was great tae leave the school on a wet day and go round tae Nisha’s hoose, sit at the kitchen table wiher while her ma served up wer dinner, the radio on in the background or a tape of Indian music. It was like when ah was wee and me and Charlene used tae go round tae ma granny’s for wer dinner, dead cosy, though the calendar on Nisha’s wall was of Sikh temples, no scenes of Donegal.
‘Is it no a lot of bother for your ma though, Nisha?’
‘Don’t be daft, she loves it. There’s nothing she likes better than feeding people.’
‘Aye but the food she’s givin us. When you said come round for lunch ah thought we’d mibbe be gettin a bowl of soup and a cuppa tea.’
‘D’you no like the food?’
‘Are you kiddin
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