Scandal (3 page)

   “Are you alright Ashleigh?”  The teacher’s voice was more caring now as he walked towards her.

   Despite feeling shaken she replied, “I think so sir, thank you.”

   “Come and find me if you have any more trouble.”

   “Thank you, sir.” 

   The bell rang for registration so Ashleigh hurried into school.  Mr Dobins had saved her today but Ashleigh was sure he wouldn’t always be around just at the right time.

Chapter Two

The two years following Lee’s arrest had been a struggle for Ashleigh and her mum.  Now at the age of seventeen, her school days were over.  She’d passed her G.C.S.E’s, achieving good grades but being able to follow her dreams of going to Drama school wasn’t permitted.  Linda had forced Ashleigh into finding work as soon as the ink had dried on the paper of her last exam.  The best she could do was a café, walking into a job days after opening the envelope on her exam results.  

   Ashleigh worked hard.  Long hours meant a social life was out of the question.  The friends made at school had long gone, most of them fleeing to college.  Feeling more on her own than ever before, Ashleigh found life at the café a little grim but bearable.  At least there was company and the owners were nice to her.

   The relationship between Linda and Ashleigh hadn’t improved at all since Lee was given life in prison.  Found guilty of manslaughter and guilty of possessing a fire arm had cost him dearly.  With his freedom gone and his family left high and dry, the remorse he felt for his actions was next to nothing.  The family of the manageress killed at the hands of Lee cheered in the court room as the verdict of guilty was read out.  Linda had broken down crying.  Ashleigh had felt a sense of relief wash over her.

   The rate of pay at the café wasn’t much, but the many hours Ashleigh worked meant a decent wage was taken home each week.  Extra tips came in handy and Reece the owner threw in a meal now and again for her.  Ashleigh didn’t have much money to call her own once bills had been paid and food had been bought, but on the odd occasion, there was a little something left over.

  One Saturday, after work, she dared to go shopping around Leeds.  With only ten pounds in her purse, she’d entered the large department store trembling with fear, eyes as wide as an excited child on Christmas morning.  She’d dreamt of this day for so long.  Her plain but small features had been untouched by makeup throughout her teenage years.  The magazines occasionally left on the tables she cleared away at the café had intrigued her.  With the faces of famous people plastered on every page, their clothes fine, hair glossy and makeup perfect, Ashleigh had wanted some of that too.  Her hair, which was now shaped into a bob, was always kept neat and tidy but it was her complexion and eyes she wanted to experiment with.  She wanted long eyelashes, painted lips and a complexion which made her look more alive.

   On that very afternoon as the automatic doors closed behind her, she knew she couldn’t turn back now.  Nobody seemed to stare at her as she mulled her way through the many bodies.  Unsure of where she was heading, Ashleigh went to the nearest makeup counter she could find.  Nerves had now taken over as she stood looking at the abundance of makeup on offer.  Glued to the spot, she began to feel confused as to why she was there.  It was the sound of the lady behind the counter who made her turn around instead of walking towards the door and out into the rat race of life. Her voice was kind, Ashleigh thought as the lady spoke to her.

   “Hello.  Would you like some help today?” 

   There was a look in her eye which made Ashleigh feel she could trust her.  Clearing her throat, Ashleigh spoke nervously.

   “I’ve never worn makeup before so I don’t know where to start looking.”

   Normally Ashleigh would have felt stupid admitting such a thing, afraid people would think her a freak.  Not today though, not now.  The assistant’s name badge caught Ashleigh’s eye.  She was called Simone.

   “That’s okay,” Simone began.  “What I can do, if you like, is to put some makeup on for you; try a couple of different shades just to see which colours you’d prefer.” 

   Ashleigh thought for a moment.  Her hand went to the purse in her pocket which held the ten pound note.  Wondering how much it would all cost worried her, making her certain she wouldn’t have any money left afterwards to buy what she’d originally come in for.  With a nervous look on her face, upset because as usual, things had gone wrong, Ashleigh knew she’d have to decline Simone’s kind offer. 

   “I’m not sure I’ve enough money on me to have that done as well as buying some makeup.”

   “It’s okay.  We don’t charge anything here for sample makeovers.”

   “Really?”

   “Yes really,” Simone confirmed with a broad smile.  Ashleigh began to feel the day was just getting better and better as she sat on the stool in preparation to have makeup applied.  Simone chattered casually as she applied soft colours to Ashleigh’s eyes.  “I haven’t gone too dark with the shades of eye shadows and I’ve only used a light coloured foundation.  Don’t worry, I’ll let you have a look in a mirror when I’ve finished.” 

   Simone was only young, perhaps about twenty, not much older than Ashleigh but she couldn’t help feeling how much older than herself she seemed.  She held confidence and looked like a real woman.  Her breasts were well developed, Ashleigh noticed, not like her own small cupped ones.  With beautifully long, manicured nails, her hands looked slender and elegant.  Ashleigh had to keep her nails short for work which only left her fingers feeling short and stubby.  The red stiletto heeled shoes Simone wore showed up the tatty trainers Ashleigh wore, making her tuck her feet underneath the buffet out of sight.  Ashleigh couldn’t help comparing her own hair with Simone’s.  Her short bob was nothing special, always wearing it with a kink at the back where she found it hard to style.  Having read about straightening irons in magazines, Ashleigh knew they’d be the right tool for the effect she wanted for her hair.  Money would never stretch to such luxuries, of that she was certain.  She did like the colour of her hair though, with its soft blondes and warmer caramel shades.  Simone’s hair was a very dark brown and hung in long curls.  It was the kind of hair every girl dreamed of having, including Ashleigh.  On that very day, as she sat having makeup applied, she made a vow to herself to grow her hair long.  Perhaps it would make her look a little more feminine, perhaps catching the attention of males, just like Simone.

   The sound of Simone’s voice broke Ashleigh’s thoughts.  “Would you like to have a look now?”

   “Yes please.” 

   The girl who looked back at her in the mirror didn’t look like the girl who’d walked into the shop twenty minutes earlier.  She was really pleased with the result, feeling that somewhere within her was a girl who could look half decent.

   “What do you think?” Simone asked.

   “I love it, thank you.”

   “Good.  Those colours really suit your hazel eyes.  They look beautiful.  I bet your boyfriend is bedazzled by your eyes and prominent cheek bones.”

     A blush to the cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by Simone.

    “I don’t have a boyfriend actually,” Ashleigh admitted. 

   There was a genuine look of surprise on Simone’s face as she replied, “Really?  Well mark my words sweetheart, you will if you go out looking like that.” 

   Ashleigh felt Simone was just being kind.  She’d never had any male attention at school, why should a touch of makeup change anything?  Boys had never shown her any interest, other than to mock her and name call.  With her small frame and plain face, most had just teased her, telling her time after time how she looked like a boy.

   As Simone cleared away the samples of makeup, Ashleigh looked for the colours that had been used on her.  The double eye shadow was four pounds and ninety nine pence, the mascara half price at four pounds.  This meant she wouldn’t have enough money for the soft pink lipstick.  Simone watched as Ashleigh put the lipstick back, feeling a little stab of sorrow touch her.  She liked Ashleigh, knew she wasn’t quite as lucky as a lot of girls her own age who would have money bulging from their purses every week.  Not having enough money was the story of Ashleigh’s life, once again making her feel extremely uncomfortable.  Simone could see how Ashleigh was contemplating which makeup to put back and what she could afford.

   “I’ll tell you what I’ll do, as long as you promise me you’ll come back to see me if you ever need any advice on makeup.”

   “I promise,” she replied, a little unsure of what Simone’s offer would be.

   “I will
give
you the colours I used on you.”

   “You can’t do that.  You’ll get sacked.”

   “I promise I won’t.  They’re only samples that would get thrown away.  Please take them.  I want you to have them.” 

   Unsure of why she always managed to become a charity case, she took the makeup gratefully.

   “Thank you Simone.” 

   It had been the first time Ashleigh had said Simone’s name and as the words left her lips, she cringed, thinking she’d been too familiar with this kind stranger.  Simone searched Ashleigh’s face, wondering who the lost soul was inside this young girl.

   “You are very welcome.  By the way, what’s your name?” Simone asked.

   “Ashleigh.  Ashleigh Sloane.”

   “I hope to see you soon then Ashleigh.”

   “You will.  Bye and thank you.”

   “Bye.” 

   With a spring in her step, Ashleigh left the shop.  Simone moved onto her next customer but found herself thinking about her earlier encounter with Ashleigh.  There was something sweet about her; something that made her want to treat her how a big sister would treat a younger sister.  As she put the money away in the cash register from her latest sale, Simone hoped she’d see Ashleigh again.  Something told her that she would.

   Ashleigh was still buzzing as she climbed the many steps to the flat.  Knowing her mother would be very drunk was something she’d gotten used to.  They didn’t communicate much anymore, if at all.  Ashleigh found it hard knowing what to say to her most of the time.  Linda only spoke words of abuse, but she never laid a finger on her.

   The television was on but Linda wasn’t slumped in the chair as usual.  An empty vodka bottle sat on the table.  Underneath it sat three ten pound notes.  A man’s jacket had been thrown on the floor and as Ashleigh bent down to pick it up, a strong smell of cigarettes wafted from it, mingled with the smell of cheap leather.  Judging by the man’s coat and large pair of shoes by the door, Ashleigh surmised her mum had company - again. 

   The door to Linda’s bedroom was closed but that didn’t hide what was going on in there.  It didn’t take a genius to work out what Linda was up to.  Oh God, the shame.  Ashleigh’s cries to her mother to find a respectable job had gone unheard.  Linda had just laughed as time after time Ashleigh had spread the weekly newspaper out in front of her, pointing out the jobs she could apply for.  They were all mundane jobs but jobs none-the-less, which would mean she could earn a living with respect. 

   “What I do,” she’d slurred one evening, after throwing the newspaper onto the floor, “is earn money quickly.  I can earn thirty pounds for an hour’s work.  How long would
you
have to work for that?”  Ashleigh hadn’t answered her.  There was no point.  “Exactly,” her mother had spat, before spraying some cheap perfume in between her wrinkled cleavage. 

   Feeling disgusted every time she came home from work, only to find her mum’s bedroom door closed yet again, Ashleigh would take whatever she’d made for her tea into her bedroom, turning the radio up louder than she normally would.  It didn’t drown out completely the banging of the head board against the wall, or the moans and screams, but it acted as a form of distraction to what was going on in there.

   The bond between mother and daughter could not be any further away, even if Ashleigh had sat her mum down and begged her to change.  Just after her father had been sentenced, Ashleigh had actually felt happy at the thought of her mum going out and getting a job, thinking it would be the start of a new life for them both.  Linda could have made friends, something she’d never had.  Instead, she’d turned to prostitution.  To Linda, this was a certain way for her to earn money to feed her addiction of alcohol.  The thought of what her mother was doing made her feel sick.  Linda was free of one abuser but now she’d welcomed it into her life and home another way.  Anger fuelled Ashleigh’s veins for a moment at the realisation of what her own life meant.  It was spiralling out of control; a nightmare that just kept getting worse.

   Ashleigh’s thoughts went to Simone.  She hoped she could meet her again.  As money was always the biggest obstacle in her life she knew it wouldn’t be easy.  Perhaps she could just pop in one afternoon to say hello.  Maybe they could go for a coffee.  That would seem desperate, Ashleigh thought as she wrapped the noodles around her fork; and a little too weird.  People just didn’t do things like that.