Aaron Connor (20 page)

Lizzie and I played a game of
football. At first the boys didn’t want a girl to play, but
eventually gave in. You should have seen the look on their faces,
when they found out just how good she actually was. Lizzie scored
five goals for her team in a row. I’ve heard about Lizzie’s
football skills, but it was only then that I actually saw her
play.

This has sparked a theory in my
mind, which has caused some controversy, among blokes I’ve
mentioned this to. The theory is this: girls are actually better at
football then boys. Girls are put on their own leagues and teams,
whereas the lads on the English teams do rubbish whenever they
qualify for the World Cup. I say, let’s stop the sexism and let
some girls who know the game inside out, to join the country’s main
teams. It’s just a thought, just an idea, that’s all.

After the game of Footy, some
more late night comedy shows were on the television. All of us
gathered in front of the television and laughed until we could no
longer breathe. During the breaks the banter was flying, jokes from
coming from all directions and each one was funnier then the last.
It was a quality night. Who would have thought, that such a
horrible day could end on such a high?

Once all the good shows were
over, we went back to our rooms. I and Lizzie went down the
corridor towards our room. Before we went inside, we saw a brief
glimpse of Amber and David going up the stairs holding hands. The
two of us smiled as we saw them go up the stairs together. We went
into our room, got changed and snuggled up again in the same bed.
Sleep overcame us almost instantly. It always does after you’d had
a really nice day.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“
Have we got
everything? Lizzie asked,

“
I think so” I
replied,

“
Are you
sure?” she asked,

“
Yes” I
answered, “I have the keys and the money which I’ve counted, all
£80 is there.”

“
Cool” she
replied.

It was the following morning.
We were standing outside by the Moped. We sat down on the stairs in
front of the Boy’s Dormitories, holding our helmets in our hands.
This was the only morning in Scotland so far, in which the sun was
shining brightly. It was a nice change for our last few hours in
the country. Very soon we’d be on the train back to Epping, Essex.
I don’t think I was in Scotland long enough to truly appreciate it.
I need to go back. Someday I might go back. I’ll go to the festival
with Lizzie again, maybe then we’d be able to enjoy it properly.
Maybe, I’ll think about it. I’ll see if I can find some time for a
holiday.

Anyway, I’m getting a little
bit off topic, back to the story. We had only been sitting there a
couple of minutes when the young actors began to file out of the
building. The adults came out as well. Both the kids and the adults
were carrying out their cases. The man with the monk haircut came
out after them, also carrying his large travelling case.

I don’t know about you, but I’m
getting fed up of putting “the man with the monk haircut” every
time I want to reference him. From now on his name is Dave. I don’t
know if his name was Dave but, in way of storytelling and the flow
of reading text, it’ll be easier for both of us if we just named
him Dave.

Dave came out and stood with
the others who had gathered just in front of the building. The
younger ones were on their phones or talking among themselves. The
adults were talking as well, most of them were still bitching about
Joe while others just discussed their dreams.

Dreams are always the
conversation that crops up early in the morning, only when they’re
nothing else to talk about. In the morning, dreams are the last
resort when it comes to topics of chit chat. The conversation is
usually very vague, symbolic and explaining someone your dream is
like trying to explain the theory of relativity.

“
I had a
really weird dream” said Lizzie,

“
Really?” I
replied,

“
Yeah, you and
me were getting married” she said,

“
Really?” I
replied, “Where were we getting married?”

“
Disneyland”
she answered, “It was all going pretty good, until you decided to
turn into a donkey!”

“
Erm . . . I’m
sorry?” I said,

“
It’s alright”
she said, “It was only a dream. As long as you don’t do it at the
real thing . . .”

“
The real
thing?” I asked,

“
Yeah” said
Lizzie, her face went bright red as she realised what she just
said, “But like, years from now”

“
Do you think
about us getting married?” I asked,

There was a pause. Lizzie
wasn’t really sure what to say. Her head hung and she stared at the
ground. When she finally replied, she daren’t look up from the
floor.

“
Maybe” she
replied quietly,

“
That’s cute”
I said, “your cute”

“
You’re not
mad?” she asked,

“
Why the
bloody hell would I be mad?” I asked,

“
Because” she
began, “boys always get mad, when their girlfriends talk about
marriage and that.”

“
You’re
forgetting something” I told her,

“
What?” she
asked, she looked up at me with those beautiful eyes,

“
I’m not like
other boys” I said, “I’m Aaron Connor!”

She giggled at that and allowed
me to give her a hug. She really was adorable. She was strong,
cool, independent, clever, sweet and kind. She was so unlike all of
those empty-headed Barbie wannabes, you see so much on the street
these days. Lizzie wasn’t just some girl. Lizzie, even though she
was only sixteen, was real woman. She had her personality fully
developed and was a woman of a modern age. As well as being
feminine she can play football and get down and dirty with the
lads. She’s the girl of everyone’s dreams. Well, of my dreams
anyway. You might have different tastes then me. I really did love
her though, blimey I adored her.

Joe came out of the building
last. His face was grey and his eyes were lined with red from
crying. He was no longer the man he once was. He was no longer the
pompous, arrogant, insensitive lout he used to be. He was now a
very sad man. A man who was sorry for what he’d done. He looked
like a man who’s been in prison for several years, finally
released, determined to change and be a better man. I have not seen
or heard from him since that trip to Edinburgh, I just hope that he
made the right decision and became a better man by learning from
his tremendous mistake.

Once we were all together, Joe
announced that it was time to go. Laura led the group out with Joe
dragging his feet right at the back. Me and Lizzie got onto the
Moped and sped through the archway and down the roads towards the
Train Station. All we had to do was take the same route that we
took on our first day in Edinburgh.

We arrived there in no time at
all. We found our train and, while we waited for the others to
arrive, we started to have the Moped stored away in the end
carriage. Once again we had several very helpful people to assist
us getting it in and tying it down. The moment it was securely
fastened down, we went and stood just by the one of the carriage
doors. We stood there so that when the others came, we could wave
to them and help them find where they’re supposed to be.

The large group of people from
our troupe eventually did arrive. Laura had become the soul leader
now, as she led everyone through walkways and towards our platform.
We waved to get their attention. Laura saw us and turned around to
the group to announce that she’s spotted the train. Once we were
stratified that they knew where the train was, me and Lizzie
climbed on and found some seats.

The others filed into the
carriage in their own time. A lot of them were laughing and joking
around. It was as if the event of the previous day hadn’t taken
place at all. Their faces were smiling, their spirits were high and
they were ready to head on home. Everyone found seats without any
problems. Joe sat in a seat completely alone at the end of the
carriage.

It wasn’t too long before the
train pulled out the station. When we were out of the city and
passing the countryside, the woman with the trolley began to make
her way through the carriage. The woman was looked quite young and
covered in orange make up. The orange face looked bad against her
blue uniform. No offence to her, as she was nice, but she looked a
complete Pollock.

When she came to me and Lizzie,
she asked us if we wanted anything.

“
No I’m ok”
said Lizzie, “What about you Aaron?”

“
Can I have a
cup of tea?” I asked,

“
Sure” said
the woman, “that’ll be £1”

I gave her one of the £5 notes
from my pocket. Lizzie was confused at first, as she thought we
were going to only spent money on things we needed. I didn’t say
anything though, as she’ll understand in a few moments. The woman
gave me £4 in change. She then handed me the tea in a polystyrene
cup with a sachet of sugar and a little thimble-sized tub of
milk.

Before Lizzie could say
anything, I got up and walked down the carriage with the cup of
tea. I walked down right to the end. Lizzie was staring at me from
her seat with a deep frown on her face. Then she finally understood
what I was up to, when I placed the tea, sugar and milk on the
table in front of Joe Pepper. I gave him a brief smile, which he
returned glumly, before heading back towards my seat.

When I sat down, I saw that
Lizzie had a silly smirk on. I laughed as I hadn’t expected to see
her pulling a face like that. She laughed as well.

“
What’s that
face all about?” I asked,

“”
You soppy
little git!” she said through laughter,

“
Hey, he
needed cheering up” I said, “He’s learnt his lesson, there’s no
point to keep on being mean to him, it’s unfair init? He did pay
after all and he gave us a place to stay for two nights. All
bastards have a good side you know”

“
Alright” said
Lizzie smiling, “Chill out, Freud!”

That tickled me and made me
laugh a fair bit.

The others on the train no
longer ignored us. Some of them came over to sit with us for a
chat. Once again we found ourselves having one of those “not really
about anything” conversation. The girl, who was rude to us before,
was telling us some funny stories about things that had happened to
her at school. The stories were good, some of them were dead
hilarious.

The entire journey back was
calm and laidback. Everyone was having a laugh, singing songs and
generally fooling around. Joe sipped at his tea and didn’t talk to
anyone. Dave sat crossed armed and grumpy for the entire journey.
Laura was chatting away and cackling loudly at a table with all of
the other mothers.

The time just flew by. It had
only just turned dark when we arrived at the Train Station in
Epping. All of the parents who didn’t come to Edinburgh were all
informed, via phone the night before, that we were coming home a
lot earlier then expected. When the train pulled into the Station,
we could see all of the parents standing on the platform. The faces
of the parents were smiling with a mixture of worry and relief.

All of the young actors flooded
onto the platform as soon as the train stopped and the carriage
doors opened. They all went straight into the arms of their Mothers
and Fathers. Within the warm and safe arms of their parents, the
children could feel safe and secure. As everyone else came off of
the train, I and Lizzie headed to the back to fetch the bike.

The Moped was soon on the
platform and ready to go. I went to the back of the sidecar, opened
the boot and took out the two helmets. I passed Lizzie’s hers while
I strapped on mine. I was about to go and say goodbye to everyone,
but I just couldn’t.

They were all so happy and
joyous, that I didn’t really want to interrupt. Besides, I and
Lizzie had done our bit. They no longer needed us. I turned to look
at Lizzie, whose sad eyes expressed that we were both thinking the
same thing. We both knew that it was time to move on to the next
adventure. There was nothing else we could do for these people
here. I smiled weakly at the sight of those children back in the
arms of ones they loved, where they belonged.

We both climbed back onto the
Moped and were about to set off, when Joe Pepper caught our
attention. He was looking at us, with an odd look on his face. It
was as if he was going to cry. At first nothing happened. His arm
rose up and he waved to us, we returned the wave with a smile. He
brought his hand down and whispered: “thank you”

I kicked the starter pedal and
the engine roared into life. I gave Joe a final nod before speeding
away down the platform. I turned left where it led out onto the
main road. Once again we were on the highway, travelling along on
our mission of peace and goodwill. Neither of us knew what was
going to happen next.

“
Where to
now?” shouted Lizzie, over the noise of the Moped’s
engine,

“
Don’t know” I
shouted back, “where do you want to go?”

“
How about we
go to where we wanted to go originally” she suggested
“London”

“
Good choice
madam!” I shouted, “We should be there in no longer then half an
hour”

“
Very good,
Jeeves” she shouted back, “Carry on!”

The destination was confirmed.
I twisted the Moped handle and went zooming down the road. We drove
past trucks, cars, lorries, vans, buses, coaches, motorbikes and
other Mopeds. The dark was closing in and soon the road was awash
in an orange glow from the street lights.