Well, it's been a while! For an explanation of where I've been, please head to my profile.
Recently, I've been craving writing again, and of all the pics I've written, this is the one that I was most excited to write.
Reviews are very much appreciated and encouraging. If there are any aspects of Carla's life that you would particularly like covered, please let me know. I will likely write more about Carla's teenage years than her childhood as I am very much enjoying her getting a voice and turning into the sarky cow that we all know and love.
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Chloe xoxo
25th February 1987
"Why'd you get kicked out of Science today?" Liam asked his friend, his eyes fixed on the football that he was dribbling expertly with his feet, as he did every day on the journey to and from school. Carla rolled her eyes in response.
"Mr Kusk said I were being thick. My brain's not cut out for Science. It's cut out for nowt really," she replied in a chirpy tone, giving a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.
"'Ey, don't be daft. I reckon you'd make a cracking businesswoman or something. You're dead bossy," Liam teased, earing him a sharp jab in the ribs from Carla's elbow.
"You need money to be able to start a business, and my family's skint."
"Nah, you don't, look at Alan Sugar. Or you could just marry some really rich bloke." Carla scoffed at Liam's suggestion.
"I'm the scabby girl from the rough end of the estate with one pair of shoes. Who'd want to marry me?" she replied, her words genuine and not just angling for a compliment. Liam's steps slowed significantly, his football rolling down the path in front of them.
"I'd marry you," he blurted out without missing a beat, his cheeks turning pink as Carla screwed up her nose in disgust.
"Behave," she snorted, "That'd be like marrying my brother." A silence fell over them as Liam regained control of his ball and pondered over what to say next, conscious that they were nearing the turning where they usually separated to head to their homes.
"Do you wanna come back to mine? I could help you with your Science homework, I'm decent at Science."
"Won't your mum kick off?"
"Nah, she'll be sweet. She'll be picking our kid up from school for the next half hour anyway. And our Paul's back at uni, so it'll just the two of us for a while, which means…" Liam ducked down to Carla's height and whispered into her ear. "… I can let you have some of the cookies Mum and Michelle baked last night." Carla giggled. "Besides, you can't say no to the birthday boy."
"Ahh, that old trick." She flashed him a small, sideways smile. "Go on then. Only because I want to meet your little sister though."
Carla smiled triumphantly as she filled in the last answer in her Science workbook, before slamming it shut, pushing it into the center of the kitchen table and grinning at Liam, who was sat opposite her.
"See? I told you you weren't thick," Liam assured her, leaning back into his seat and folding his arms across his chest in a confident stance, "All the Science teachers love me. Especially the women." Carla snorted.
"Is that right?" Liam picked up the last remaining chocolate chip cookie from the plate in the middle of the table that had been full half an hour before. He extended his arm, holding it out to Carla.
"Now you can have another cookie." Carla leant forward and snatched the cookie from Liam's hand using her teeth, before letting out a giggle. Hearing the sudden slamming of the front door, the pair both jumped. Carla quickly chewed the remainder of the cookie and licked her lips to get rid of the evidence, whilst Liam tossed the plate into the sink, seconds before his fussy mother ushered his younger sister Michelle into the room, staring at Carla in surprise as she spotted her.
"Oh," she said, frowning at her son, "Liam, you didn't tell me you were planning on having guests over after school."
"I wasn't. Mum, this is Carla, she's Sharon Donovan's dau-"
"I know who she is. Liam, can I have a word with you please?" Helen sharply interrupted, fixing her son with a stern look. Liam sighed as he reluctantly rose from his seat.
"I'll be two seconds," he mumbled to Carla, before looking to his sister. "'Chelle, this is my friend Carla. Carla – Michelle. She's ten."
"I'm nearly eleven!" Michelle whined. She flashed Carla a shy smile as she scurried to her side. "I'll be going to big school with Liam in September." Carla smiled back at her, noting the logo on burgundy school jumper was for the posher primary school located in the next neighborhood with a better clientele than the little ran-down school that she has attended
"Oh, well that's good, you can join us walking to school. Liam needs someone to laugh at his jokes." Michelle seemed thoroughly pleased with Carla's response. She slid into Liam's seat and began chattering away about her day at school and how excited she was to move to theirs in September. Liam left them to it and shuffled over to his mother, who maneuvered him into the hallway and pulled the door to behind her, leaving the girls alone. She frowned at Liam once again.
"What?" he grumbled, avoiding her intense gaze.
"Next time, young man, I'd appreciate some warning before you go bringing the world and its' mother into my house."
"What, so you can make sure you hoover the carpets first?" Liam scoffed.
"I doubt a girl from a family like hers would notice a bit of dust on the coffee table," Helen replied, "I suppose she's a new girlfriend that you've taken a fancy to?"
"No!" Liam snapped, looking partly offended and partly embarrassed at the insinuation that his mother had made, "Don't be daft, she's just a mate."
"Yes, well, I'd appreciate it if you found your 'mates' in a different crowd. Her mother is trouble, and she's probably cut from the same cloth. You need to ask her to leave please, Johnny's on his way over-…"
"Carla loves Uncle Johnny, he's the one who introduced us in the first place!" Helen's eyes widened in surprised. "Mum, it's my birthday, and I want her here. Stop being so judgy." With that, Liam ducked underneath her mother's arm, which she was using to hold the door shut, and pulled the door open, heading straight to rejoin the girls at the table. In the couple of short minutes that he had been out of the room, Michelle had dug out her nail kit from a drawer in the living room and had already started to paint Carla's long nails a bright scarlet. Liam groaned. "Michelle, not everyone who comes into this house is here for you to practice on."
"It's not easy being the only girl and having two brothers, you know. You never bring girls round here," Michelle complained, continuing to smile sweetly at Carla. Carla laughed, looking up at Liam, who had perched on the kitchen counter, her eyes flashing mischievously.
"That's funny. He's told me he's dead popular with girls," Carla teased, causing Liam's cheeks to almost match the shade of the nail varnish.
"As if! Liam's not even had a girlfriend."
"I have too! Anyway, it's my birthday, you're meant to be being nice to me," Liam reminded Michelle, who turned to him and forced her smile to be even wider.
"I'm always nice to you," she replied, sickeningly sweetly.
"And I'm never nice to anyone," Carla shot back, causing all three of them to laugh. The doorbell rang, and Helen stopped pottering around the living room rearranging things to look seemingly no different to let in their visitors. Carla looked up in surprise as she heard a familiar booming voice from the hallway, filling with warmth as Johnny entered the room, clutching the hand of his two-year-old son, who was holding a messily-wrapped present in his arms. Johnny crouched down to Aiden's level and muttered something into his ear, causing Aiden to run into the kitchen and straight over Liam.
"Hap' birfday Leeeem!" he squealed in his adorable baby-gargle, standing on his tiptoes and holding the present up to his cousin. Liam laughed.
"Thanks, big man." As Liam eagerly tore into the wrapping paper, Aiden spotted Carla out of the corner of his eye. He was very fond of her, as Carla and Robbie were regular visitors at their house and spent many a weekend there with the family, so turned his attention to her.
"Car-Car!" he shrilled with excitement, clambering up Carla's legs and onto her lap, cuddling into her arms. Johnny glanced up in surprise, suddenly noticing the young girl's presence in his cousin's kitchen.
"Oh, hiya love. Didn't expect to see you here," he called across the room.
"She's Liam's latest flight of fancy," Helen muttered, though a little too loudly. She eyed Johnny suspiciously, but chose not to comment on his familiarity with her son's new friend.
"Oh, Mum, give over. Cheers, Uncle Johnny," Liam said gratefully, indicating the Manchester City scarf that he clutched in his hands. Johnny crossed the room and shook the young boy's hand.
"Happy birthday, kid," he said, affectionately. Johnny then pressed a quick kiss to the top of Michelle's head before moving to Carla's side. He mimicked his previous action and dropped an identical kiss to Carla's head. "How's school going, love?"
"Yeah, it's good, thank you. Liam's been helping me with my Science homework."
"And I've been helping to make her nails look pretty!" Michelle sung, reaching over the table for Carla's hand in order to resume her artwork. Aiden stuck out his own hand, squeezing and unsqueezing his fingers in his own version of a wave.
"'Ello, 'Chelley. My hand p'ease," he insisted, earning him a laugh from his surrounding family members.
"Lou sends her love, she's stuck at work for the evening unfortunately… Barry not here?" Johnny asked, peering around the corner in the kitchen as if his cousin was suddenly going to jump out at him from behind the fridge.
"He'll be home within the hour," Helen explained. She was stood alone in the living room, and was still watching Johnny warily, frowning at the way that he still had his arm around the back of Carla's chair.
"We can do the cake then," Liam decided, "It'll be nice to have all the family here." At his words, Johnny couldn't help but smile down at Carla, who was playing some kind of tickling game with Aidan. Family. She was right where she belonged.