Day 38: Encore part Deux

As I’m currently wiping glitter off my arms (I had glitter face paint at Sparkle) I think its rather appropriate as glitter is vey colourful and shiny, just like the ladies.

So having reunited with the three thespians of Big Girl, Lady Jayne and Ringer we also became acquainted with two more into what was becoming a ‘group’ of sorts. ‘Elsa’ was a lovely blond girl, rather infectious laugh and a smile that could light up the whole street. Their was a venerability there as well. She had a quality of appearing confident but the mask would slip every now and again and it would reveal her true self. Elsa had a big heart and her only fault was at times she was rather naïve however a that age none of us were particularly savvy at navigating the world. I now see where that venerability came from, she lost her mother at a young age, not particularly long before I met her. At 33 it has broke my heart and I have found the road difficult, I cant imagine what she went through.

The other, and last of the ladies was ‘Terry’ short for Terrapin (those who know these people will see the not so subtle way in giving my friends pseudonyms. Terry was a red another red head, light skin and rather striking eyes. Terry had a relationship none of us had or understood at the time but She was a very devout Christian. The great thing about Terry was though it was never shoved down our throats, she never tried to convert us (she probably knew we were all lost causes anyway). It never stopped her social life with us either. It just meant if we had a blurry memory we could rely on her to fill in the blanks. its always handy to have a friend who can fill in the blanks, especially after a lot of pinot grigio.

So a motley crew was born, just to recap;

Big Girl

Ringer

Billy

Lady Jayne

Lexxy

Nadia

Terry

Elsa

Over the first few weeks of 6th year we all became fast friends. It felt so natural at the time like it was something planned. The dynamics of sixth form were something akin to David Attenborough’s Planet Earth. We had a social hierarchy, predators, prey (unfortunately) and very clear boundaries. Every sat in the same area every single day. Base camp was set up almost immediately. With the exception of the majority of the boys who would linger around the pool table in over the top displays of machoism, the boundaries or ‘dwellings’ were all seated around the edges of the room. Our little area formed the shape of a U with the bright blue fabric chairs. Though it started this way it would later take on the shape of an O. It wouldn’t take a top psychologist to tell what exactly going from a U to an O meant in social behaviours. However the most natural thing in the world is cliques to form, especially in high school. Unfortunately usually after the initial greeting period elapses, the gates usually close and we shut ourselves off. That is not to say we were antisocial bastards who would only talk to people with the membership card (we did not have said card however we may as well have…. actually maybe we should start that….) we talked anyone, after all we all had different class schedules so couldn’t exclude ourselves too much, but once we got into the O shape of those bright blue fabric chairs, we may as well of been shut off from the world.

Those days became the most fun and we all look back I’m sure very fondly on them. My favourite time was usually a free period when we were all there. It was quite rare with conflicting schedules however during lunch we would all reconvene, grab some pasta or lexxy would have her per ordered sandwich, and we would fill everyone in on the scandal of the day. Their would always be some romantic scandal, unfortunately for Big Girl it would usually be her. We always used to joke about her relationship blunders. To the point it became a running joke. I miss us all sitting around as Big Girl recalled her recent dating disaster, or Lexxy relating a story about how her teachers were idiots. Billy would fill the group in with some random sexual exploit, often involving the most bizarre scenarios. None of us were shrinking violets so I’m sure the laughter could be heard across the whole room.

Mummy noticed a change that year. Instead of the car journey filled with silence as it had been for the past two years, That year was different. She would hear stories of the weird and wonderful, more often weird. She would sit in the car listening to her son telling his tales and just smile. That lovely smile of hers. Always beaming like the cheerleader she was.

I’ve been very fortunate in my life to have many lasting friendships. These would be the foundation that every other was marked against. With so many stories so share from this time It will be fun recalling each and everyone of them, and I hope you all getting to know the ‘ladies; just a little better. As each and every one of them has had a part in forming who I am today. They also shared so many memories with Mummy and she loved them all.