Angel Kiss

want to see Hannah and the others, but I also really wanted to make new friends. And I really wanted to hang out with Nick.

‘Did I miss anything?’ asked Colin, coming back to the table.

‘No, they haven’t announced the results yet,’ said Nick.

‘Testing! Testing!’ said Joe.

‘Here we go,’ said Colin. ‘Fingers crossed.’

We finished an admirable third, beaten by Mum and her team of teachers in second place and Father McCauley’s team in first. Nick, Colin and I were each given a box of biscuits from Mary’s shop as a prize. Nick was noticeably unimpressed. Mum’s team won the hamper and the priest’s team got vouchers for Sunday dinner in the hotel.

‘That’s it, folks! Everyone is welcome to join us in Clancy’s!’ said Joe.

I looked around to try to spot Mum. She was probably going to the pub with her teammates.

I reluctantly got up from my seat. I really didn’t want to leave Nick. I liked being near to him even if I knew that I couldn’t do anything… But it was nice being that close. Close enough to touch. Even though you can’t, I said to myself.

‘That was great craic,’ said Colin. ‘Sure isn’t a nice box of biscuits better than nothing, Nick!’

Nick pushed him and Colin ran ahead.

‘Jacki, are you coming to the pub?’ asked Nick.

I was now.

Chapter 8

‘Looks like they’ve got a bit of a sing-song going,’ said Colin. Mary, Joe and some others had formed a circle round the tables in the centre of Clancy’s and had just launched into a rendition of ‘Danny Boy’.

‘I love this song!’ said Mary, singing at the top of her lungs. Soon nearly everyone in the pub had joined in. I hummed along during the breaks in our conversation. Tonight had been so much fun up until now, but it had just taken a turn for the worse. Sarah had arrived, and she and Nick were whispering away to each other beside us. She was wearing a denim mini-skirt and a pale pink tank top and looked annoyingly pretty. I kept glancing at them, even though watching Sarah groping Nick was torture. I hated being jealous. It was one of the worst feelings in the world. My stomach was all twisted and I couldn’t think straight. I didn’t want to feel like this, but I couldn’t help it. I tried to hear what they were saying.

‘Will I show you my dress tomorrow?’ said Sarah.

‘Yeah, OK.’

‘You don’t seem that interested.’

‘No, I am. I am,’ said Nick, taking a sip from his drink and looking around the crowded pub. Colin lowered my glass of Coke under the table and poured some vodka from his naggin into it. Joe had made an exception and allowed us to sit in the pub because of the night that it was, but there was no way he was going to allow us to order alcohol.

‘There’s a lot of competition this year,’ said Sarah.

‘I’m sure you’ll win,’ said Nick, disinterest evident in his voice.

‘Win what?’ asked Colin.

‘The Miss Avarna pageant,’ said Sarah, clearly expecting us to say something.

‘You know, the beauty contest they have at the fete,’ said Nick.

‘It’s so much more than a beauty contest!’ Sarah protested, shooting him an irritated glare. ‘They ask questions and -’

‘Is it time for the fete already?’ Colin interjected, trying to keep a straight face. Sarah still seemed to be waiting for someone to say how she was going to win.

I took a sip from my vodka and Coke, avoiding eye contact with Colin, who would have made me laugh.

‘Yes, it’s on next Sunday,’ said Nick.

‘Oh, right,’ said Colin. ‘Jacki, you should enter.’

I almost choked on my drink.

‘Closing date for entries was last week,’ said Sarah abruptly, flicking her black hair over her shoulder.

‘I don’t think it would really be my kind of thing anyway,’ I said. ‘I’d probably end up saying something really weird and embarrassing myself.’ I didn’t like the idea of people judging my personality – I did enough judging of it myself.

‘What will we sing next, Joe?’ shouted Mary. She was really into the sing-song. I bet Mum would have enjoyed it too, but in the end she’d gone home because she had to get up early to meet the kitchen suppliers.

I texted to let her know we were enjoying a sing-song and that I’d be home in a while.

Joe thought for a moment, then launched into -

‘I’ll tell me Ma when I go home the boys won’t leave the girls alone…’

Colin leaned over to me. ‘You’d beat Sarah anyway,’ he whispered. I doubted that very much, but I appreciated Colin’s remark nonetheless.

‘What do you get? If you win?’ I asked Sarah.

‘A trophy. And a spread in the paper. And the honour of being Miss Avarna, of course.’

Colin was trying so hard not to laugh. He elbowed my side and I kicked his shoe in retaliation, hoping Sarah wouldn’t notice.

‘What do you have to do?’ I asked, stifling a giggle.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘there are three judges, and they ask you a few questions about yourself, and then a few random ones, about politics and human rights and all that stuff. Then there’s a talent section.’

‘Like in the Rose of Tralee? When they do a dance or read a poem or something?’

‘Yes. Exactly.’

‘What are you going to do?’ asked Colin.

‘Sing a song.’

‘Oh, very good. Which one?’

‘“When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”. They like when you pick a traditional one. My cousin Ailish was apparently winning last year until she did some sort of rap and it totally went over the judges’ heads. My sister won it before. She’s been giving me pointers.’

‘Can we talk about something other than the beauty contest?’ said Nick.

‘Nick, it’s so much more than a beauty contest,’ said Colin dramatically, although Sarah was completely oblivious to his sarcasm. Sometimes I considered the advantages of being that self-absorbed.

The crowd got louder as everyone joined in the chorus.

‘ She is handsome, she is pretty,

She is the belle of Belfast city.

She is a-courtin’ one, two, three,

Please won’t you tell me, who is she?’

The atmosphere in the pub was brilliant. The drinking and the singing and the chatting continued beyond closing time. I didn’t want to leave. I was having the most fun I’d had in ages. Just being around Nick gave me a little shiver of excitement. I should have felt bad thinking this way when his girlfriend was sitting less than a metre away, but she was being so irritating that I found my guilt fading.

‘I’m going to get some crisps,’ I said. I’d been so excited at the prospect of being on Nick’s table quiz team that I hadn’t been able to eat much earlier.

‘Oh, will you get me some too?’ Colin asked.

‘Sure,’ I said, and made my way over to the bar.

‘Some of those questions were impossible, Joe,’ said Mary. Joe was standing behind the bar with his wife, Rita.

‘What year did Phil Lynott die?’ said Rita, flicking through Joe’s quiz sheets. ‘I should know that.’

‘1986,’ I said involuntarily. Thin Lizzy trivia was one of my specialities.