Asking For It by Louise O’Neill EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author Name: Louise O’Neill
- Book Genre: Contemporary, Feminism, Fiction, Young Adult
- ISBN # 9781848668201
- Edition Language: English
- Date of Publication: 2015-9-3
- PDF / EPUB File Name: Asking_for_It_-_Louise_ONeill.pdf, Asking_for_It_-_Louise_ONeill.epub
- PDF File Size: 1.3 MB
- EPUB File Size: 280 KB
Thursday
My mother’s face appears in the mirror beside my own, bright red lips on
powdered skin.
Her hair is still in its neat bob despite the sticky heat. She gets it done
every Saturday. ‘I deserve a treat,’ she says as she leaves the house. ‘I don’t
care how expensive it is.’
Karen Hennessy gets her hair blow-dried three times a week. She never
mentions the cost.
I’m flushed, patches of red breaking out on my cheeks, the greying vest
top I wore to bed sticking to me. I look from her face to mine.
You’re so like your mother, people always say. You’re the image of her.
‘Morning,’ she says. ‘What are you doing, just staring at yourself in the
mirror?’ She frowns at my chest, at where the nipples are outlined through
the sweat-stained fabric.
‘Nothing,’ I say as I wrap my arms over them. ‘What do you want?’
‘Just checking you were awake.’
I point at my desk, my open laptop, the folder full of notes, a copy of
Fiche Bliain ag Fás and an Irish–English dictionary next to it. ‘I’ve been
awake since five,’ I say. ‘O’Leary is giving us an oral test today.’
Jamie will get full marks, of course. O’Leary will close his eyes as she
speaks, leaning back in his chair. He always looks surprised when he looks
up again and remembers who is talking. He can never quite believe that the
best Irish he has ever heard from a student is coming from someone who
looks like Jamie.
‘Oh, never mind Diarmuid O’Leary.’ She half smirks. ‘Does he know
you’re my daughter?’ I don’t answer.
‘I brought you your vitamin tablet,’ she says. ‘You’re supposed to have it
before your morning meal.’
‘I’ll take it later.’
‘Emmie, come on. The Health Hut had to order these in especially for
you.’
‘I know that, Mam.’ Her lips go a little thin, so I make myself smile at
her. ‘And I really appreciate it.’
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‘I’ll leave it here, shall I?’ She places the tablet and a glass of water
down on my bedside locker, next to my iPhone and a collection of
mismatched earrings.
She stands behind me again, placing one hand on my left hip, the other at
the base of my spine, and tucks my pelvis in. ‘You need to watch your
posture, pet.’ She smells of flour and cinnamon, undercut with the same
floral perfume she has used for years. I can still picture her sitting at the
vanity table in her dressing area, a silver silk dress spilling over her body, a
slash of bright lipstick, her pale brown hair twisted into a chignon.
Her hair
was longer then. Dad would call up the stairs, ‘We’re going to be late,
Nora,’ and she would reply ‘I’m coming, dear,’ using that special voice she
used with him, with all men. (And I would wonder why she never used that
voice with me.) The last thing she would do was take her perfume,
unscrewing the gold top, and spray some on to her wrists. I’d sit at the top
of the stairs,
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