Caught Glitter Handed

Val had never worn a proper blazer.

Even in high-school, before she became a sixth-former, she didn’t have enough money to buy that expensive piece of fabric that did nothing to keep out the cold and only made her shoulders look square. She’d nearly driven her teachers to an early grave wearing only a raggedy jumper over her rumpled shirt and faded trousers. But Ellie had told her that her old leather jacket wasn’t something she could wear to work and Val hadn’t argued when the red head deposited a stack of clothes at the last building on Bay Street. Now, mid-December, she was starting her intern. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud, standing in front of the towering building in the centre of the city, dressed in smart jeans and a burgundy blazer over a black shirt. She came from nothing – abusive, alcoholic parents, no roots, no inclination as to what her talents could be apart from brute force. Now, with all the mess between Jamie and Art and Gideon and Buster, she felt like