Xenia Bond – Maybe Never Wrote a Song
Open: 6th - 12th September, by appointment
G wakes up and peels the duvet cover from the scab on her knee. Picking out the fluff.
She checks her co-star app. “Pressure in work and trouble in sex & love. Add your friends to see who’s experiencing similar!”
G sits out the back in grey Nike socks. Her head in her hand, pushing her cheek about and blurring the orange grip tape out of the corner of her eye.
G puts shoes on and goes to the shop for D, buying milk and a 10p banana from the girl who doesn’t remember her.
G walking back up the house, in headphones at the pedestrian crossing, singing along to AJ Tracey (https://youtu.be/n5hUK4utN5g)
No one knows the pain
No one sees what i see in you
No one feels the same
No one sees myself like you do
Orange shoes on orange leaves,
Across the road, past the chippy.
Her cat outside someone elses house.
In her front gate.
Back at the house D is swimming in dishes and looking for help.
D- Gis a hand
G- oki
D - You wash I’ll dry
G- naw you wash I’ll dry
He starts with the big things.
D-How was your festival weekend?
G-It was class you know. I saw most things i really wanted to see and my body was so tired from
dancing.
Me and this wee boy from work have been teaching each other dance moves .
He does one really good one that looks like a Jungle dance but I don’t really know what Jungle music
is.
D- What's Jungle music?
G- I don’t really know what Jungle music is.
Apparently it’s massive.
It was cool at the festival I found a dance to bring back for him. I showed him in the shop.
D- Remember that boy from my work you met last time you were here?
G- Aye. Vaguely. Why wah
D- He’s leaving his wife. 30 years they’ve been together. Isn’t that mad?
G- Aye that’s mad. Why?
D- they just don’t love each other anymore.
G- Right
D- They had this really amicable conversation about it
G- Whats amicable mean?
The “conversation unpeels”.
When his students couldn’t peel their oranges, Mr Kelley would bet his students 20p that he could take the whole skin off in one go without breaking it. If he broke it he had to give them 20p , if he didn’t they gave him 20p.
He must have made a pound a day.
G- Where would you live but?
D- It’s actually nice looking about for somewhere you know. I don’t think it would be up here, I’ve been
looking over the border.
G- Have you viewed anything?
D- Naw but we could take a drive down and look at this lighthouse I’ve seen when we’re done this.
On the way out the door G smashes two messages together while their still connected to wifi. “Wtf I think my parents are breaking up”
“My co star keeps being right about everything”
In the car G starts -
G- Omg so the other day I was at a Costa on my lunchbreak-
D- Costa? On your lunchbreak? Who do you think you are what do you be getting there then? G- Naw I was so skint, I got a meal deal from Sainos and sat down at the wee seats outside where somebodys tray was lying empty. I was literally texting you about being skint and I look down And there’s a pound.
D- you are a rat that was somebodys tips
G- Ano well I obviously realised that after
(And then the other day I made the quickest joke I’ve ever made, and tried hard to write it into this but just couldn’t do it. But I want to tell it anyway. The other day me and a friend were walking along and talking about tips, maybe even that Costa story, and he said Do you think bus drivers ever get tips?
And i said
Aye, ‘if you take a left up here it’s faster’)
In the drive back G is concentrating on holding the aux cable at the right angle so it still plays music.
And when they get back to the house it’s after 12.
D opens the front door and walking up the stairs.
G following in the dark. Her phone starts dinging and lighting up as they reconnect to the wifi.
The notifications are mostly replies to her messages.
“They probably wont.”
“What’s co star?”
“When do you get in tomorrow? Feels like you’ve been away ages” “Lol did you see that photo I sent you?
Co star notification: “Your day at a glance: its time to face the music.”
D- Are you all packed for tomorrow?
G - Aye aye
For G, Praying has become a horozontil habit.
G lies down ontop of her bed and starts on the small stuff.
God grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Then a list of names that have been on her mind, sending a thought up for them, in the hopes a blessing comes down.
D, W, her Brother. Her best friend. Her other best friend. Her other W. The girl from the shops who doesn’t remember her. Sam Smith. Ariana.
In his bedroom D climbs in beside W.
W- where’d yous go to?
D - Just out doing some messages
Lying beside each other
W- Gone sing me a song
D - What are you on about, naw
W- Gone
D- i cant think of anything
Big pause
D- You sing me something
She starts on the big thing
(https://youtu.be/-k8Mm1smZWY)
Ohh oh uh
Jae5
If you send me the location
Then i be right there
And make i come check you my baby
No time nooo
And my dawg is on probation
Another 5 years
I bring girls to his location
No time nooo
Text by Niamh Roberts
