CHAPTER17
2009
‘So, does your hair always look like that?’
Alex peered up from her magazine to see Tara on the opposite bed, staring suspiciously at her. In nineteen years, Alex had never shared a bedroom, let alone one with a roommate who wouldn’t look out of place in the copy ofVogueshe was currently perusing.
‘Look like what?’ she asked Tara, her hand self-consciously reaching towards her head. ‘God, has it gone all weird? I got caught in the rain earlier. It tends to go a bit all over the place at the mere hint of moisture. It once got so floofed up, my bobble hat pinged across the lecture theatre.’
Tara smiled. ‘No, it’s deadly! I love it. Massively curly, isn’t it? I’d kill to have a mop like that.’
‘Oh, thanks,’ Alex replied, hoping the kill comment wasn’t to be taken literally.
‘What products do you use then? My hair’s so bleedin’ fine, I need some papier-mâché and an electrical socket to get any kind of volume. We’ve all got thin hair in my family. Thin everything really.’
We’re the opposite, Alex thought to herself.Thick everything. I could crack bloody walnuts with these thighs.
‘I use a few things,’ Alex replied. ‘Mousse, gel… maybe a bit of serum for the frizz if I’m going out.’
The smile remained on Tara’s face, but she didn’t reply, her gaze now fixed on Alex’s toiletries basket.
This was Alex’s second week in the house and the first week Alex and Tara had shared a room together. However, she’d been dreading this week. Tara was such a big presence in the house, she wasn’t sure how they’d get on.
The bedrooms themselves were reasonably sized – two single beds in the shared rooms and a double in the biggest room which also had a small bathroom attached. Alex had not had the double room to herself yet, but she’d heard great things from the others.
Her first week in the house, she’d shared with Erin in the bedroom across the hall. It was identical to this one, apart from a huge crack in the ceiling which Beth was currently chasing the landlord to fix. Alex got the sense that Beth liked to take charge. To be invaluable. If she wasn’t studying computer science, Alex thought she’d have made an excellent police officer.
Erin was fun to share with. She came across as quite delicate at first, sensitive. She read constantly, loved music and never once made Alex feel unwelcome.
However, out of everyone in the house, Tara was the most unpredictable. While she was funny and smart, she could also be incredibly snarky, to the point of offensive. Intimidating even. Not quite a mean girl, she’d never waste time saying something behind your back that she could say to your face. Tara was definitely blunt. So far, Alex had found they had absolutely nothing in common.
‘Give as good as you get,’ Erin had advised. ‘She’s really not as daunting as she seems. You’ll get used to her. She loves a bit of banter, does Tara. Make her laugh and she’s yours forever.’
Alex wasn’t even sure whether she wanted Tara to be ‘hers forever’, but what she did want was a friend who wouldn’t scalp her in her sleep.
‘I hear we’ve got a new housemate coming next week,’ Alex said, hoping that a change of conversation might encourage Tara to change her facial expression. ‘That’ll be fun, right?’
‘Hmm,’ Tara replied, her eyes still scanning Alex’s side of the bedroom. ‘Let’s hope so. I met her briefly when she came to view with Erin. Rebecca something. Seemed nice enough. So, what size are you? I really like that top. It goes with that lipstick. What brand of—’
‘Tara, do you want to have a rummage through my stuff or would you prefer to just keep questioning me on everything until we both eventually pass away?’
She grinned. ‘Rummage. One hundred percent. Thought you’d never ask.’
Tara leapt off the bed and headed straight for Alex’s wardrobe. Alex didn’t mind. Not really. While she knew that nothing she owned would fit Tara’s skinny arse, she was delighted that Tara seemed to admire her fashion sense. As she went back to her magazine, hearing Tara rake through her makeup basket somehow made Alex feel happy. Tara liked her. In this house, that was a big deal.
‘So does your family live near?’ Tara asked, inspecting a lipstick. ‘Any handsome brothers I should know about?’
‘Nah, just a sister,’ Alex replied. ‘Fiona. She’s just been accepted to med school in Brighton. My dad lives somewhere in Crete and my ma’s in Blanchardstown.’
‘Ah, a broken home!’ Tara remarked. ‘Splendid. Is your mother a raging narcissist too?’
‘Something like that.’
Tara held a large shirt up against her small frame. ‘And your dad’s off living his best life?’
Alex laughed. ‘How did you know?’
‘Lucky guess,’ she answered, ‘or maybe we all just have that look about us…’
As she gave a little wink, Alex smiled. It seemed they did have something in common after all.
