she

her name was Andrea
but she liked her friends to call her Andy
because she thought it made her excitingly androgynous

her name was Andrea
and she always wore her hair in plaits
like mid-life-crisis Heidi when the cows come home

her name was Andrea
and she lived for the weekend
for her carefully-controlled rebellion and two point four units of alcohol

her name was Andrea
and she liked to arrange the coffee mugs neatly on the tablecloth
although she wasn’t entirely sure why

her name was Andrea
and she locked herself in the bathroom every night
and cried too many tears to count

her name was Andrea
and she’s a New York code thirty
always a number she hated

her name was Andrea
although they had to go by her dental records
which they re-filed neatly, white-gloved

her name was Andrea
and this is not her story