It wiz Cora who first attracted ma attention tae it. So did big Liam iz well, coz he wiz in her English class. The thing iz, big Liam wiznay the sharpest tool in the box so she wouldnay’ve givin him any attention at all. But big Liam said she used tae swoon over him in class. That’s just him bein jealous a suppose. Then he told me that she wiz all over him in the swots class after school…his wee sister goes tae the class sometimes, and she said that she felt that she wiz intrudin on two people hivin a date. I wiz like that, get in there my son! Wit guy wouldnay’ve wanted tae sha…erm…kiss Miss Croal? Am tellin ye he wiz the talk ay the common room fur a while. Come tae think of it, he’s still the talk ay the common room. Then wee Cora said that she suspected somethin and if it wiz true that she wiz goin tae scud him full force on the bawz…erm…penis… an then tell Rosie. An I thought she wouldiv as well.
Clem knew all the rumours iz well coz when any ay us tried tae ask him aboot it, he always said somethin we didnay understand an then storm aff. He got that mad look in his eye an you were like, nae danger man, A’m no goin there. Am no gettin involved in any that caper. A’ll tell you wit though, if it wiz true he wiz some liar coz he an Rosie were still like Velcro knickers kickin aboot the school…aye she heard. She must’ve. You cannay keep anthin quiet at this school, we even know wit girls are…erm...on their period. Wit I meant iz that you cannay keep anythin a secret, the world is too small man, walls have ears an all that. Rosie must’ve known. But the funny thing about it wiz that Cora didnay tell her, now that wiz dead weird coz if that’d been ma best mate I’d’ve told him there an then, but Cora said nothin. Maybe she knew somethin we didnay. Some folk still think Rosie got wind ay somethin coz she’s no that stupid. Rosie Farrell may be loads of things but she’s no thick. If she did, it just shows you how much she wiz intae yer man. Maybe he wiz threatenin her or somethin an that’s why she didnay dae anythin. A dunno, it’s pure mental man. A still cannay get ma heed roon it.
A just think he hated it here, that he hated all the teachers, apart fae Miss Croal, an all the students. The NEDs used tae give him a hard time aboot his accent, slaggin him all the time, doin bad impressions an all that. They slaughtered him aboot his clothes as well, which wiz a pure joke considerin they’re all sittin there wey their Primark trackies an white trainers on. A actually thought Clem’s clothes were cool as. He looked a wee bit like a singer, but no one who looks like they’ve been dragged through H an M. Cooler than that. Anyway, it wiz a sin fur him coz you couldnay even say anythin back tae them in case he’d git leathered after school. A cannay blame him. That’s why a thought he went tae those classes after school, tae get away fae the NEDs. It wiz a sin for him man, am tellin you. A felt dead sorry fur the guy, coz he wiznay that bad so a had a wee brainwave, a approached one of the NEDs who played in the football team an ask them tae lay aff a bit. Bad move man. Bad move. A just said, give the guy a break, man. An he turned roon an said, ‘A’ll fuckin break yer jaw if you speak tae me like that again, ya cheeky cunt’. Aye, it wiz Fran McEvoy. A thought a wiz in for it; that the squad would be waitin after school. For about two weeks a wiz terrified of them. At the end of the day a had tae let Clem fight his own battles on that front. Look after number one. But, dude man, the guy wiz getting a hard time fae all angles, the Croal stuff an the NEDs. He wiz one brave boy though, no doubt about that. One brave mother. A’d defy anyone tae do nothin in that situation.
Sometimes a think that maybe the fellas an me could hiv done a wee bit more, you know, iz a support fur the guy. Bring him intae the clan. That we could’ve invited him oot with us sometime. Up the town. Gigs. Shoppin. But, at the end of the day, if it doesnay click, it doesnay click. It would’iv been like tryin tae fit a triangle intae a circle, or somethin like that.