Yes, she was basically a prostitute. Not any more, thankfully.
Liz’s descent began just before the Milennium. She started going out into town at the age of fourteen, would dance with blokes for a drink and then try to steal their wallets during the ’slowie’. Or, if nobody was playing, another trick was to walk into people and drop a bottle then get an expensive replacement drink off them. She especially enjoyed doing that one to naive students. It was a laugh.
Time went on, and it would be easy to suggest she just got into the wrong crowd but in reality it came from her. She persuaded her friends to start doing other things in exchange for drinks, ciggies, the taxi fare home. They would meet guys and get their numbers then get back in touch when they needed money. They all worked together, Liz, Kate, Siobhan, but had to keep this ‘project’ separate from their colleagues.
They had to keep it private.
It was Liz that came up with the idea of the notes. She used to love writing notes to her friends in school, often telling them about what had happened the previous weekend. These notes, though, were slightly different.
I found them in three places mainly, and marvelled at the explicit nature of them. What was even stranger was that often there would be two or three together, identical. And bizarrely, upon analysis it became clear that the three girls had very similar handwriting. Liz had written a few too.
But eventually, the notes dried up.
It seems that one wet Wednesday afternoon, Liz saw me picking up one of the notes intended for her. I was depriving her and her friends of intimacy, of pleasure, of money. So, the girls turned to the internet for their communications, safe in the knowledge that interception was less likely now. Liz was the leader of this too, now 19 her ICT course at college was coming in handy.
They started going out and began stealing coats in bars. She’s actually still got a nice purple one they ‘found’ down Mathew Street. But the novelty soon began to wear off and Liz just couldn’t take it any more. What really did it for her was the night she was hospitalised by one of the guys they’d met, he had seemed decent too. As she lay in the bed recovering, she decided she didn’t want to put herself or her friends in such a position ever again.
Kate and Siobhan couldn’t move onthough, they liked the lifestyle too much, they know the risks and take the best when they can. Nothing bad’s happened to them so far.
This photo was of the three of them together. Liz ripped it up after a couple of gins. She’s got a job, office work and she enjoys it, still cringes when she thinks of how she used to earn her crust. Laughs a little when she has to take notes. She misses her friends, but prefers her new ones. They go out only every so often, blokes try to chat her up in particular but she gives out other people’s phone numbers, scraps of paper she finds just like that bloke she saw with her own, she doesn’t want anything yet.
Too many scars to heal.
Plus, it’s a laugh, isn’t it.
I remember you finding those notes,always did wonder what you did with em.
ha ha it only took six years! hope you’re well and had a wonderful time. they unearthed grenades at school so its been a mad week. love to all