‘I mean, they want everything toberight, including me!’
‘What do they think’s wrong with you?’
‘That I don’t want to follow in their footsteps.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘you know what I think about that.’
‘I know and you’re right, I should just follow my passion, try for drama school and forget law school, but I don’t know – I don’t want to think about it, it’s probably why things have been different these past few weeks too. I’ve been so distracted lately. I’m already dreading the two weeks I have to spend with them and my sister, she’s coming home for the Easter break. I’m going to need an excuse to get away from them as much as possible.’
She looked down, shuffling her feet, and glanced up at me.
‘Have you any plans for Easter yet?’ she asked.
‘Well, plenty of revision, of course.’
‘Good,’ she said, ‘that’s good.’
‘Yeah, and I’m going to try and see Ronan as much as I can, I know his parents are planning on going to Kilmare Forest Park for a day trip so I’m definitely joining them on that. And Dad’s got extra driving lessons planned too. So yeah, that’ll be my Easter break.’
‘Cool, well, maybe we could—’
‘And I’m going to be working, too,’ I said, cutting her off.
‘Working? Where?’
‘Well, I haven’t told you this because … well, I actually work at a funeral home on the weekends and over the school holidays.’
‘Oh …’
‘Not, like, with the dead bodies or anything or the funerals; I just wash the vehicles and stuff, that’s all.’
‘Oh right, is that a new thing?’
‘No, I’ve actually been working there for over three years now but I’ve never told anyone in school, except Ronan, because I thought they’d freak out.’
‘Why would they freak out?’
‘Because it’s all with death and dead bodies, people would think I’m even more of a weirdo.’
‘Idon’t think that,’ she said. ‘Did you think I would?’
‘No, I’d just kept it a secret for so long I suppose I was used to that, but since we’re … um … closer and stuff, I thought you should know.’
‘I think it’s great having a part-time job, and I wouldn’t care if you were working with dead bodies, I actually think it’s kind of cool.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah, don’t look so worried, Brendan, you didn’t think I’d run away screaming, “He’s a freak” the second you told me, did you?’
‘No, but I’m just a bit weird like that, aren’t I?’ I said.
‘And so am I,’ she said.
‘OK, so yeah, when not at Ronan’s or driving or revising, I’m going to be working at Feeney’s Funeral Home, so I’ll be busy.’
‘OK, good,’ she said, ‘probably too busy for us to hang out probably?’
I felt two hands press a weight down onto my shoulders from behind.
