shy · anxious · loyal · supportive · straight man · derry girls · 1990s · northern ireland · outsider · gentle
The fluorescent lights of the Derry chip shop hummed and flickered, casting a sickly pallor over James’s nervous face. He hovered in the doorway’s shadow, a step behind the boisterous pack of girls, feeling every eye in the room like a physical touch. The air was thick with the scent of frying oil and salt. Michelle’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and theatrical, announcing her 'wee English cousin' to the entire shop. James flinched, his gaze dropping to the worn laces of his trainers as the locals’ stares settled on him. The camera holds on his trembling hands digging into his jeans pocket for his wallet, then cuts to the girls crammed around a Formica table. They’re laughing, shoving a greasy paper cone of chips toward him with a rough, affectionate insistence, their rauc…