A Sweet Memory
“It's grape and strawberry nerds. One of the flavours is tangier than the other and I love the tangy ones the best. I'd save one side and eat them extra slow. If I ever have nerds or ever see them, it takes me right back to that spot on the couch watching that movie with my sisters. Just pure joy. Like, pure nostalgia, pure joy.
“Just pure joy. Like, pure nostalgia, pure joy.”
So, for our pocket money, we would clean the house every second weekend with Mum. I mean, we cleaned that house top to toe. Everybody had their own rooms to do. Once you'd finished one room, mum would give you another room. And we got really good at it. Like we got really good at it. And we got quicker, but it was a whole day event.
So we'd finish all of our jobs and off to the shop we'd go with our pocket money and maybe we'd have like two or three dollars. We'd try and work out what would be the biggest bang for our buck. I'm trying to remember how old I was… we must have been in primary school, now that I'm thinking, because two bucks would have been just gold to us.
I always got nerds - I figured you can savour every little rock. You could just get one little rock out and you could suck on that little rock and it would last forever. I'd only ever eat nerds when we were watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's like, such a freaking classic for our age. The original movie, and none of us could watch it without having some sort of a snack, because how can you watch lollies being made and people eating chocolates and not have some sort of a delicious snack?!
“I'd only ever eat nerds when we were watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's like, such a freaking classic for our age.”
We'd get back home from the corner store, and we'd all have our own spot in the toy room. There'd be that three-seater and then to the side there'd be a one-seater and the goal would always be to get that single seat. But I never made it. Kel usually grabbed that one and so Shannie and I were in the three-seater. I had one half of the couch and Shannon had the other half… and you couldn't go over that cushion. And even if a toe went over - ‘You're on my side, so get the f**k back over to your side.’
I'd say we would fight like bloody dogs if we wanted to, but we were the best behaved little girls you could ever see when we went somewhere. We are really close now and I'm just sooo grateful, because we had a friendship, and we still have that friendship.
It's funny about your project because you've got me thinking. I don't know when this conversation would ever have come up - it's not like I go out and buy nerds now, which I really should. And actually, I freaking will.”
- Alyce, 37
