Neve
June 1995
Its official, I hate my sister. ok, hate is a strong word, but she yells at me all the time, picks on me during dinner with our parents, and takes my clothes without asking.
Henly is beautiful, tall and slim. she has long golden hair, down to her butt. her eyes are crystal blue, with flecks of brown. she oozes confidence around boys and smokes like a chimney.
I'm average height. I have no boobs; my body resembles the same as a teenage boy. My hair is not brown or black, it more in between and I think my eyes are too close together, a dull brown with tiny flecks of green.
"Is that my new River Island dress." I ask as Henly walks past my bedroom door, her exclamation perfume is so strong, I sneeze when she stops.
"Yeah. I'm going to a party at Liam Novels house." I stare at her like she's a stranger. she doesn't even ask me if she could borrow it.
"Mum brought me that dress for doing well in my math test, I'm wearing it tomorrow night for Julias birthday party." I reply as she looks at me in utter boredom.
"and. this dress suits me better. your party will be lame, this dress needs a body like mine, Jesus Neve, your 15. just wear your frumpy jeans and unicorn top." she spins away from me and heads for the stairs.
"that's my dress Hen. take it off." I yell following her down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Mum. tell Henly to get my dress off." I cry as my mum spins to face us from where she's stirring a pot of something that smells good.
"Henly. you've been told about taking Neve's clothes. go change." I stand with my hands on my hips waiting to see what she will do.
"Absolutely not. I'm wearing it and that's final. she gets everything handed to her on a silver platter, she's spoilt." she tries to walk past me, and I step in her way.
"Take it off, it's not yours and you didn't ask. if you went out and got a job you could buy your own damn dress." I growl as she tries to push me aside.
"Like you did. mum and dad buy you everything. you ace a test. here Neve, have a dress. you volunteer in a homeless shelter. here, have some new bedroom Funiture. what do I get, jack shit." she sneers in my face as mum tries to separate us.
"Girls please." mum tries again and Henly ignores her.
"you're a spoilt bitch who gets everything handed to her." she repeats like it's something I need to hear again.
"Then get a job and stop moaning. you left school Two years ago and you still don't work. dad brought you your car. I'm 15 and I work on the weekends. it's not hard. now take it off." I try to twist the fabric in my grip, but she stands firm.
"Girls, enough." dad barks as he walks in from the garage, mum standing a few paces back now.
"I can hear you yelling from the car. what's going on." he adds kissing my mum on the cheek as he sets down his lunch box.
"Henly took my new dress. she won't take it off, it's my new one to wear to Julias party tomorrow night." I talk calmy my eyes boring into my sisters.
dad sighs loudly. he doesn't need this when he works so hard. he works for a local mechanic shop in town, long days and sometimes longer nights.
"Henly take it off. it's not yours, if you want nice things, get a job." Henly seethes with rage as she looks around the room.
she pulls my hand away from her front and steps back, I hate that we aren't close anymore. we used to do everything together, now we just yell and fight.
"This the road you want to go down huh dad." her eyes flit to dad who lowers his head. he looks so tired.
"Henly. I have tried to help you find work, filled in applications for you, bought you a car so you could drive yourself around. but you find an excuse every time. if you just applied yourself...." Henly throws up her hand to stop him.
"Fine. I'll take it off." just like that, she spins on the spot and marches up to her room to change.
mum carries on with what she's doing at the stove. dad grabs a beer from the fridge and sits down with a heavy sigh.
"How was work honey." mum asks as I stand awkwardly in the doorway. I hate that I'm the cause if his stress, well, me and Henly.
"Fine. Nigal has a new kid starting next week. he's from down south, just moved here, but Nigal has high hopes we can catch up with the backload." I listen as he talks, mum stirring the pot and Henly banging around in her room.
"Kid? as in how old." mum asks.
"23, just finished an engineering course. he's fully qualified, so that's a bonus." he sighs again and mum plates him some food.
"You, eating with us Munchkin." dad asks as he starts to eat.
I nod as Henly comes down to the kitchen in a short skirt, and my blue Holter neck top. I don't comment because it's an old one and I have no boobs to fill it.
"Henly, you want some dinner before you go." mum asks as she hands me a plate of food.
"No thanks. Candice is waiting for me to pick her up. I'll be staying at hers for the night." she replies as she ignores me and dad.
"Ok sweety. don't get too drunk and call us if you need us." mum replies as she makes her own plate and sits down at the table.
Henly stands in the doorway for a few seconds before stomping off and out the front door.
the town we live in is small. it's a friendly town, where kids can hang without threat or violence. mums meet up with each other to gossip and drink.
mum doesn't drink but she loves to gossip. I hear many interesting things while hanging around the house in the evenings.
I'm rarely home on the weekends because I work in top shop. I started last summer, and I love it, having my own money to spend on what I want.
I'm good at school. I'm an A+ student with hopes of owning my own clothesline, or my bakery when I go to the university of Cambridge. we live in long meadow, which is a short drive away.
"Did you look at the brochures I left out for you." dad asks me and I smile. dad wants me to go to university so bad. something he wishes he had done, but when he and mum got together, a whirlwind romance as they tell it, Henly was born a year later.
dad was 19 and mum only 18 when they got married. I was born 6 years later, a miracle baby. mum had a hysterectomy at just 25 due to her uterus collapsing.
"I thought we could take a drive over there on Sunday. have a look around." he smiles still eating his vegetables.
"Sounds great dad. I'm working till 3 on Sunday, we could go after that." I reply as he nods, and mum takes his hand in hers. their love for each other has never faltered.
I hope to have a love like that one day. a love so strong, so filling that it makes my heart stutter just from looking at them.
After dinner I help mum clean up and bid them a goodnight. I have work tomorrow at 8 in the morning till 4, then I'm going to Julias to get ready for her party.
when I see the dress that Henly had ripped off in anger throw on my bed, I want to cry. she cut chunks out of the dress, the hem shorter by a few inches and the zipper hangs freely away from the material.
I don't know when we started to turn on each other. I used to look up to her, in a way, I still do. she has a car and friends, boys that worship her every move. a life I sometimes wish for.
with a heavy heart, I put the dress in the bin and brush my teeth. I climb into bed and fall asleep within a few minutes.
