invented gravity?â Britney Spears asked me.
âFuck me, you were last in the queue when they were handing out the brains, werenât you?â Polly said to Britney, who curled up her nose.
âThomas Edison invented the light bulb,â Polly said to her. âNewton came up with the theory of gravity after an apple fell on his head, and Einstein and I are going upstairs for a drink,â she said.
I was stunned at how smooth that was and, before I could argue, she grabbed my hand and took me out of the kitchen, into the hallway, weaving in and out of people, and up the stairs to her room.
âYouâre welcome,â she said, shutting the door and flinging herself onto her bed.
Her room was all lava lamps, dream catchers, and incense sticks. Total hippy paradise. Cosy though, and at least I wasnât on my own anymore, butâ¦
âWhat?â She asked.
âIf Ed knows Iâm in here with you, heâs going to rip my balls off,â I said.
âFuck Ed, come and sit down,â she smiled.
âAre you going to try and shag me?â I asked.
âOnly if you want me to,â she said.
She was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, so I could see her knickers under her cheerleaderâs skirt. She was too busy leaning back against the wall and rolling a fag to notice me looking, or twig that I now had a massive boner.
I sat down on the edge of her bed so she couldnât see it.
âWant one?â She asked, without looking up.
âI donât smoke,â I said.
Iâd seen Polly around school a couple of times, but I hadnât realised she was Edâs sister. I hadnât ever paid any attention to her, but sitting in her room, right next to her, I realised how pretty she was. When she tucked her long hair behind her ear, I actually wanted to lean over and kiss her.
âBollocks,â she said.
âWhat?â I laughed. She may have been pretty, but she was no lady.
She leant over the side of the bed and was rooting around under it, which meant that her really crisp white knickers and her arse were on show and it was pretty much perfect and cute.
She got back up holding a pack of filters.
âHelp yourself,â she said, pointing at the vodka.
I wasnât falling into that trap. Iâd end up drunk, then sheâd take advantage of me. OK, I really wanted to shag her but there were three reasons I didnât think it was right: we werenât together or anything and Iâd never done it before; she was a bit of a demon and I was quite intimidated by her; and Ed would rip my balls off, pickle them in a jar and take them to school, where everyone would laugh at me even more than they already did.
âAdam,â she said. âVodka, get it.â
âWhat we got to do with it?â
She snorted, grabbed the bottle and took a swig of it straight. Like swigging vodka from a bottle was the most natural thing in the world. She handed it to me.
I didnât want to look like a massive idiot, so I took a swig myself. I nearly choked to death.
âYouâre alright, you know.â She laughed at me and went over to the window.
I took another swig. It wasnât as bad but it was still disgusting.
âI mean youâre a bit strange, but I like strange,â she said.
She opened the window and lit her cigarette. âEugh,â she said, looking at some of the people in the garden. âCanât stand that wanker.â
âWhich one?â I asked, poking my head out.
âThat one there. Heâs our cousin Danny.â
âYeah, we saw them when they came in. Everyone in the kitchen went quiet. Why donât you like him?â
âHe thinks heâs hard.â
âIs he bad news then?â I asked.
âNo, he just thinks he is. Heâs harmless really.â
âHeâs older than us?â
âYeah, heâs twenty-one. Heâs not in college or anything anymore. My
âFuck me, you were last in the queue when they were handing out the brains, werenât you?â Polly said to Britney, who curled up her nose.
âThomas Edison invented the light bulb,â Polly said to her. âNewton came up with the theory of gravity after an apple fell on his head, and Einstein and I are going upstairs for a drink,â she said.
I was stunned at how smooth that was and, before I could argue, she grabbed my hand and took me out of the kitchen, into the hallway, weaving in and out of people, and up the stairs to her room.
âYouâre welcome,â she said, shutting the door and flinging herself onto her bed.
Her room was all lava lamps, dream catchers, and incense sticks. Total hippy paradise. Cosy though, and at least I wasnât on my own anymore, butâ¦
âWhat?â She asked.
âIf Ed knows Iâm in here with you, heâs going to rip my balls off,â I said.
âFuck Ed, come and sit down,â she smiled.
âAre you going to try and shag me?â I asked.
âOnly if you want me to,â she said.
She was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, so I could see her knickers under her cheerleaderâs skirt. She was too busy leaning back against the wall and rolling a fag to notice me looking, or twig that I now had a massive boner.
I sat down on the edge of her bed so she couldnât see it.
âWant one?â She asked, without looking up.
âI donât smoke,â I said.
Iâd seen Polly around school a couple of times, but I hadnât realised she was Edâs sister. I hadnât ever paid any attention to her, but sitting in her room, right next to her, I realised how pretty she was. When she tucked her long hair behind her ear, I actually wanted to lean over and kiss her.
âBollocks,â she said.
âWhat?â I laughed. She may have been pretty, but she was no lady.
She leant over the side of the bed and was rooting around under it, which meant that her really crisp white knickers and her arse were on show and it was pretty much perfect and cute.
She got back up holding a pack of filters.
âHelp yourself,â she said, pointing at the vodka.
I wasnât falling into that trap. Iâd end up drunk, then sheâd take advantage of me. OK, I really wanted to shag her but there were three reasons I didnât think it was right: we werenât together or anything and Iâd never done it before; she was a bit of a demon and I was quite intimidated by her; and Ed would rip my balls off, pickle them in a jar and take them to school, where everyone would laugh at me even more than they already did.
âAdam,â she said. âVodka, get it.â
âWhat we got to do with it?â
She snorted, grabbed the bottle and took a swig of it straight. Like swigging vodka from a bottle was the most natural thing in the world. She handed it to me.
I didnât want to look like a massive idiot, so I took a swig myself. I nearly choked to death.
âYouâre alright, you know.â She laughed at me and went over to the window.
I took another swig. It wasnât as bad but it was still disgusting.
âI mean youâre a bit strange, but I like strange,â she said.
She opened the window and lit her cigarette. âEugh,â she said, looking at some of the people in the garden. âCanât stand that wanker.â
âWhich one?â I asked, poking my head out.
âThat one there. Heâs our cousin Danny.â
âYeah, we saw them when they came in. Everyone in the kitchen went quiet. Why donât you like him?â
âHe thinks heâs hard.â
âIs he bad news then?â I asked.
âNo, he just thinks he is. Heâs harmless really.â
âHeâs older than us?â
âYeah, heâs twenty-one. Heâs not in college or anything anymore. My