The Kids On The East Side Of Town, Chapter 9, Memories, Seems Like Yesterday

It was 10 pm at night, it was really quiet, there were about one or two cars out on the road . We were getting ready to go to the arcade, we were all walking up to the car . Emmett drove this time. Travis’s car was out of petrol. Emmett was messing around with the car, swerving down the road without using hands on the steering wheel like a complete maniac. He’s probably had thousands of run ins with the police, I don’t know that, for sure, but from seeing what he does, I can get an idea. It’s enough evidence to say that Emmett is mad .

” Hey guys, let me show you this trick, I learned it yesterday, on the way to the petrol station, get ready to have your minds blown, let’s see what this baby could do, 88 miles per hour, you’re gonna see some serious shit ”, Emmett said .

” Oh, not again, Emmett, how many times have you been doing this ?”, Dominick asked .

” Thousands, that’s how many ”, Emmett replied .

” Right, and what if the police see us doing this at 10 pm at night, what are we gonna do, play for kicks ?”, Jamie asked .

” I don’t care, I couldn’t give a shit, no fucker can ruin this moment, f the system, f the police, f the authorities ”, Emmett said, as he swerved the car and almost crashed the car into a lampost. We all knew that it would happen, at some point. Unpredictable, bloody umpredictable .

” Who the hell put that there ?”, Emmett said .

” What the hell happened, did we just crash into a lampost, who taught you how to drive, Prince Phillip ?”, Liam shouted .

” You’re talking pure bologne, who the hell is Prince Phillip, I don’t even know who that is, I’m not that familiar with the royal family, don’t even test me ”, Emmett said .

” You know what, never mind, just carry on driving ?”, Liam said, and Emmett started driving again .

” Guys, do you know what, I’ve been thinking of qualifying to be a taxi driver, how does that sound ?”, Emmett said .

” Bahaha”, Kevin said, as he broke out laughing. ” You, a taxi driver, are you taking the piss ?”, Kevin asked .

” No, I’m not, I’m gonna take a driving test and I’ll apply for the job, these people need more recruits, what do you reckon, I reckon I have a chance at this ”, Emmett replied .

” I mean, I’m not really gonna take the piss, it’s up to you, really, it’s your choice and it’s your body, you can do whatever you want with it, it’s your life, your rules, I don’t have the right to judge you, I say go for it, the world’s your oyster ”, Johnny said .

” Thank you, Johnny, at least somebody gets me, unlike you guys, taking the piss out of everything ”, Emmett said .

” Ok ok, we’re sorry, didn’t mean to upset you, we just don’t see you as a taxi driver, it’s weird, we’re just not used to seeing it, that’s all, there’s no need to get all testy about it ”, Jamie said .

” Ok, it’s fine, it’s just some banter, I’ll let you off on this occasion. ” Ok guys, I’m gonna turn on the radio ”, he said, then he turned on the radio. Bohemian Rhapsody came on and everybody started head banging and singing. After that, Travis totally cheered up. After their carpool karaoke moment, they finally arrived at the arcade and they also went bowling and they gambled, they played on the machines, they had a great time . When they were done, they drove back home, Emmett and Johnny were talking about films. They have the best chats, unless it’s about a cat walking on it’s hind legs, or how far Emmett can kick his shoe off his foot and lands in the dust bin. They were having quite a pleasant conversation, I’ll take that over Emmett’s shoe conversation any day .

”  Johnny, what’s your favorite film ?”, Emmett asked .

” That’s a trick question, I like so many films, but if I had to choose one, I would have to say The Karate Kid, either that or The Outsiders, why not both ”, Johnny replied .

” Nice, I’d say Scarface ”, Emmett said .

” Great choice, how many times have you seen that film ?”, Johnny asked .

” Oh, I’ve seen that film about 10 times, since it came out in 83, I can watch it about 100 times, without fail, I can’t seem to get enough of it ”, Emmett replied .

” That’s a lot, you must really love it, huh ”, Johnny said .

” I do ”, Emmett said .

” You do know that it’s based off a true story, right ?”, Dominick asked .

” What, get out of it, really ?”, Emmett said, as he turned around .

” Yeah of course, one of the most notorious crime lords in mob history, Mafioso Al Capone, involved in the drug trade in 1980 in Miami, bloody mad, all of that just done in the day ”, Dominick replied .

” Oh shit, that’s brutal, I can’t look at it the same way anymore, sick film though, Al Pacino absolutely killed it ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, it’s more melovelant then you think, there’s more to the story, I just won’t go into detail, we’ll all go home, having sleepless nights for 10 weeks until it’s fully erased, you’re gonna have to sleep with one eye open tonight ”, Dominick said .

” Yeah, what’s your favorite film, Johnny ?”, Emmett asked .

” I’d say that The Karate Kid is my favorite film ever, whenever I watch it, I get goosebumps, it’s legendary, have you seen it ?”, Johnny asked .

” Uh yeah, who hasn’t seen it, I watched it when I was like 12, it stuck with me throughout my whole childhood, always made my grandfather hold planks of wood and I used to pretend that I was doing the crane kick, I was a wild child when I was little, god blimey ”, Emmett replied. ” Mr Miyagi was my childhood idol ”, Emmett added. ” ah hah, Bonsai Daniel San ”, Emmett shouted .

” Ah hah hah hah, Bonsai, nice one Emmett ”, Johnny said .

” What are you guys rambling on about ?”, Liam asked .

” Liam, are you alright, you seem a bit lost ?”, Emmett said .

” I’m fine, Emmett, it’s just hard to hear stuff when there’s a bunch of voices menouvering around in a car, can you run that past me again ?”, Liam asked .

” We’re talking about films, do you have a favorite ?, what’s the one film that you rave about, one that makes you go Wow ?”, Emmett asked .

” This is a torture question, why you gotta do me like this, is this where you get your pleasure from, I bet you’re loving this, seeing a man bleed to death by one person’s torture and stupidity ”, Liam said .

” Look, Liam, just go with it, it will end, just tell us what your favorite film is, then we can get this over with, be the life of the party, not the one who makes it flop ”, Emmett said .

” Right ok, um, I like so many films, but I’d have to say Top Gun ”, Liam replied .

” That’s a good one ”, Travis said .

” Dominick, what about you ?”, Emmett asked . ” It doesn’t have to be a film that you like, it could be a film that you hate ”, Emmett added .

” Anything with love in it, it really pisses me off, somehow ”, Dominick replied .

” Why, why do you hate love so much, what did love ever do to you ?”, Emmett asked . ” Love Conquers all, for god sake, why do you hate it ?”, Emmett added .

” It’s because they always bloody get some woman to fall in love, head over hills for some geezer who’s been an absolute piece of shit to her, film critics say that it’s romantic, but it’s the bloody opposite, it makes me vomit in my mouth every time, they did that with The Breakfast Club, made Claire fall in love with that bloody rat, I know that you should never rule out love making between a man and a woman, but the topic just makes me wanna jump out of a window ”, Dominick replied .

” Wow, what a tough life, Dominick ”, Kevin said. ” All around me are familiar faces ”, Kevin sang to wind him up .

” Oh shut up ”, Dominick said .

” Ok Kevin, what’s yours ?”, Emmett asked .

” My favorite film is Back To The Future, cause I’ve always believed in flying cars and time machines, even though they don’t exist, but who knows, maybe in the future, we’ll have them, but only the future knows ”, Kevin replied .

” Hahaha, he believes, haha, I believe, I believe, I believe, haha ”, Johnny shouted, as he waved his arms about .

” Yes, we all believe, he believes, he believes, that woman believes, you believe, I believe, but the thing is that we don’t know what to believe in, you can believe in fuck all, as far as I know ”, Liam said .

” I believe in flying cars, they already exist, they’re called dust bins, see, what you do is, you put a person in there, don’t let he or she escape, keep them in there for as long as possible, don’t muck it up, then what you do, is you boot it into the air, it goes for miles and miles, but you have to put enough force into it, and it floats in the air, it takes you to whatever destination you want to go to, there you go, flying car ”, Emmett said.

” That’s not a flying car though, that’s just bloody stupid, you’ll just be seen causing havvock across town ”, Jamie said .

” They really need to get a move on with that, I wanna stick around for a few more years to experience flying cars and robots, everyone’s gonna live in green houses, communism is gonna be on the rise, we’ll have idiots running the country, singers are gonna have to sing into broom sticks, yeah, what an extraordinary future ?”, Johnny said .

” Yeah. I love films, as long as it’s not that one where some geezer is dancing on a plank of wood, like bloody wood tappers, then there’s this man who’s dancing in the street, imagine if you’re trying to get to the hospital, gran’s dying, then there’s this geezer who’s in the street and he’s like ” Eh bee, eh ”, like get out of the bloody road, if a film doesn’t include all that shit, I’ll be the first in line to watch it at the cinema ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, maybe we should go to the drive in, sometime, Emmett ”, Johnny asked .

” Yeah, absolutely ”, Emmett said. suddenly, a song came on. It was Heroes by David Bowie. Johnny couldn’t help but get up and stick his head through the roof top of the car and dance .

” Oh my god, Heroes, oh I love this song, I need to do this, I have to do this ”, Johnny said .

” Do what ?”, Dominick asked .

” Dance, I’m gonna stick my head out of the roof of the car, this is my moment, I need to do this, at least once, before I die, I’m living in the moment, cease the day ”, Johnny replied .

” Johnny, what the hell are you doing, man ?”, Travis asked .

” Cease the day ”, Johnny shouted .

” Oh cool ”, Dominick said .

” Oh my god, man, what is this kid doing ?, he’s dancing on the roof ”, Liam said. Emmett unlocked the car roof and Johnny stood up and stretched his arms in the air and he was cherishing the moment, as the wind blows in his face, he felt alive . Everybody was laughing and they were having so much fun. Johnny started singing from the top of his lungs. The boy thinks he’s Van Halen, he can’t sing like Halen and he definetely don’t have the moves like Halen .

” We can be heroes, just for one day, we can be heroes, forever and forever, whatcha say ?. ” I, I won’t be king, and you, you won’t be queen, nothing, no nothing will tear us apart, we can be heroes, just for one day ”, Johnny sang, as he dazed into the sky with his arms in the air .

” Johnny, you never told us that you could sing ”, Jamie said .

” Yeah, I don’t really sing much, but I feel like now is my time to shine, I feel so alive, I’ve never felt so alive ”, Johnny said .

” Hah, are you taking the piss, Johnny can’t sing to save his life, sounds like a hoover sucking up dirt ”, Kevin said . ” I mean, have you heard him, it’s like, ” woah Woahwoahwoah woah ”, Kevin said, as he mocked Johnny’s voice .

” Hey, I heard that, I can hear, you know ?, I’ve got pretty good hearing, I can detect what you’re saying from a mile away ”, Johnny said .

” Whoops ”, Kevin said .

” Woop woop woop, wowowowow, epic fail, guilty ”, Dominick said, and they all laughed all night long, having a cracker of a time. When the song ended, another song came on and it was A Little Respect by Erasure, everybody started singing along with Johnny .

” Oh my god, Erasure, I love this song, what a coincidence, am I right ?”, Dominick said .

” Yeah, I made this special mix tape, it has a bunch of 60s and 80s pop and rock tunes, I made it a few months ago, I used to go on drives at midnight, ever since I got my license, I have been driving ever since ”, Emmett said .

” Oh my god, ok, I need to dance, otherwise, this song will end and I’m gonna go to bed, really gutted, all I wanted  was to dance to Erasure in an open car, I get the most unexplainable feeling, if only you were here to experience this, you’re missing out, greatly ”, Johnny said .

” Nah, I’d rather I didn’t ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, save some for later, you know what I mean ?”, Travis said. Johnny got up once again and stuck his head through the roof of the car and started singing his heart out, he was having the time of his life, he didn’t want it to end. 20 minutes later, the gang got out and sat on the car. Emmett smoked a cigarette and they all got some fresh air, they all watched the stars. The stars were beautiful tonight, almost too beautiful, if you know what I mean . Jamie, Dominick, Travis, Johnny and Kevin were lying on the car, watching the stars and listening to some tunes on the stereo in the car, mainly a bunch of songs from the Tornados, including Telstar and The Ice Cream Man, me and Emmett were having a chat about gambling .

” Hey Emmett, have you um, ever gambled before ?”, I asked .

” Oh yes of course I have, casino, all night long, but every single time I go there, I lose about 100 quid, there’s not been one time where I’ve won anything ”, Emmett replied .

” Well, you know what they say, you win some, you lose some, that’s how it goes, innit ?”, I said .

” You’re bloody well right, you are ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah so, which one do you go to then ?, you go to the one down Soho ?”, I asked .

” Oh um, I actually can’t remember what it’s called, but there’s one in Dalston, I go there, sometimes, and like, there’s always these people in suits, standing in the corner of the room, waiting to rob you, they had many of those in the 70s, but if I go to a casino, I always go somewhere else, those geezers give me the creeps, I swear, they have seven eyes, one looking at ya, one looking for ya, one looking over ya, one looking at you from up there, gordon bennet ”, Emmett replied .

” Yeah, it’s sort of like that episode of Minder, do you remember that, they had those people who just rob you relentless of your money, you walk into the casino, with more then 10 bob in your wallet, then you come out of the casino, empty handed, no money for food, no money for electric bills, just wasted on casino hipsters, or whatever they’re bloody called ”, I said .

” I’ve always felt like Arthor and Terry were one of the best duos in television, they were hilarious, like two mad narcotics detectives, but like gangsters instead, even though they hated each other, they were great as a duo, don’t you think ?”, I asked .

” Yeah, I felt like Arthor was so tight, what a dodgy, snide git, haha, I loved that programme, it used to come on when I got back home from school, I used to have like beans on toast and watch a marathon of them, and I still do, believe it or not, just not as much as I used to, and um, half of my mates had no idea what I was watching, they were like ” Why are you watching that shit for ?” ” What a load of old shit ”, but then I showed it to them, I showed the first ever episode, when it first aired in 79, the one with the laundrette and from that moment on, they got glued to it, they were like ” This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen ”, I was like ” You gits, it took you that long to like something ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, we should watch it one day, that’ll be wicked, I love it, it always used to be a right old laugh ”, I said .

” Yeah, it always used to take my mind off of problems and stuff, the tv was my teacher, growing up, tv never beats you up, tv never manipulates you, tv never lied about coming home, tv was always there for me, till the very end ”, Emmett said . ” Hey Liam, remember that drama that started in the early 80s, this programme called Boys From The Black Stuff, remember that programme ?”, Emmett asked .

” Oh yeah, Boys From The Black Stuff, I remember, God, what a piece of television, ay ?”, I said .

” Yeah, I love that programme, it was great, mad though, bloody hell ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, is it that programme where it had that bit where everybody was made reduntant and they were all in this pub ?”, I asked .

” Yeah, the Green Man pub, the last episode was by far my favorite, cause like, that bloke is in it, um, what’s his name, ughh, I’ve gone blank now, um, oh yeah, Iggy Nevaro, he played the character Shake Hands ”, Emmett said .

” Oh yeah, that thing, yeah that thing was so funny, he used to like crush everyone’s hands, haha ” Shake Hands ”, iconic, probably one of the best moments in tv history ”, I said .

” Innit, so wicked, man, you took the words straight out of my mouth, yeah, I’m gonna do that from now on, if I go in a pub, I’m just gonna go up to someone and force them to shake my hand, even if they don’t want to, then I’d buy them a beer ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, that would be hilarious, everybody in that pub is mad, one person’s singing, the other is shouting, the other is whistling and then you have some chap hiding under the table from Shake Hands, absolute chaos, that episode was really good, George’s Last Ride, I think it was called, it’s really underrated, it needs more recognition, just shows you how it was in the early Thatcher days, pretty grim, and to think that it was a only a few years on from now, it’s mind bobbing, but we went through the real thing, did we, ay ?”, I said .

” Yeah, we went through all that, we didn’t have jobs but we all grew up, seeing it happen all around us, feast and famine, love and loss, we’ve seen it all, it’s just every man for himself, around here, it’s a dog eat dog world, I’m telling you ”, Emmett said . ” I just watch those sorts of programmes to make me forget about my problems and stuff ”, Emmett added .

” Um, Emmett, if you don’t mind me asking, is everything alright back at home ?”, I asked .

” Well, no, not really ”, Emmett replied .

” What’s going on at home, are there any problems ?”, I asked .

” Well, this is between you and me, there is stuff happening at home, and it’s not good stuff, I tell you that ”, Emmett replied .

” Okay, what’s happening, is anything happening with your parents or anything ?”, I asked .

” Yes, yes there is, and um, I don’t really share this sort of information with anyone, soley because, nobody has ever asked me if I was ok and I cover it up, I wasn’t always the same bad boy you know today, back when I was in prison, I was doing time and um, my dad was like ” My son is a disgrace, he’s a jail bird ”, like jabbing his fingers in my face, I often found him talking about me behind my back, on the outside, I try to act strong and tough, like bloody Stretch Armstrong or some shit, like I’m supposed to bloody stretch and bounce back into my natural form, which I couldn’t do that if I tried, I just fail miserably, but it’s like I try to act tough, like nothing can touch me, but on the inside, I’m really in pain, I mean, imagine getting disowned by your very own father, the person that was supposed to be there, since birth, but ended up leaving after pregnancy, after wanting to conceive, gone, no where to be seen, but who am I to blame ?”, Emmett explained .

” Sounds like an absolute scumbag, what a piece of scum ”, I said .

” Yeah, I know, that’s what we all say, but nobody really understands the concept of it, but that’s life, you wake up, one morning, feeling great and then, suddenly, life throws a massive piping steaming shit in your mouth and life is totally unfair ” Emmett said .

” Yeah, for the most parts, yes, but I have been taught that defeat does not exist in this gang, does it ?”, I asked .

” No, of course it doesn’t ”, Emmett replied . ” Defeat is for pussies and I’m not a pussy ”, he added .

” You’ll be absolutely fine, life is tough, but it can’t get to Emmett Yohanson, not him, you’re bigger then that, you can just shoo it away, it doesn’t belong here, you show life who’s boss ”, I told him .

” Yeah I guess, but you can’t predict for that to happen, it’s full of shocks and surprises, it’s full of smoke and mirrors, I could either get in a car crash or get stabbed or shot by someone, I can’t live like this, Liam ”, Emmett said . ” I’m telling you, Liam, if I’m not back again, this time tomorrow, just carry on ”, he added .

” No Emmett, that will never happen, I thought that you weren’t scared of those sorts of things, you roam the streets like nothing happens, there’s all sorts of shit happening out there, gang violence, riots, skin heads, all of that stuff is happening as we speak, aren’t you scared of it ?”, I asked .

” Well, just because I’m an 18 year old bad boy, doesn’t mean that I’m not scared to face the world, I have my days, it’s not what you think, there’s more to me then meets the eye ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, do your parents know that you are out on the streets, swanning around like willy nilly, nicking petrol stations and doing hit and runs, or are they three sheets to the wind ?”, I asked .

” Well, even if they did, they wouldn’t care, they wouldn’t give a shit if I get in a car accident or a collision, they don’t care if I get banged up in prison, they don’t care, but that doesn’t bother me, nun ?”, Emmett shouted .

” Look, you don’t need your parents to care, you can live your own life, you’re 18, even though that’s a bit young, but still, it’s better then being in a bubble with two abusive parents who hit you all of the time ”, I told him . ” It’s not worth it, Emmett, it really isn’t, the toll it’s gonna take on you, it’s not worth it ”, I added .

” Yeah, thanks man, I appreciate it ”, Emmett said, and he went in for a hug, the poor boy just wanted a hug, he’s been through a lot, he’s been through a lot of pain, and for what ?. He doesn’t deserve any of it .

” So, what’s it like in prison ?, if you don’t me asking ”, I asked .

” It’s everything, it’s dark and it’s cold, you can hear the sound of faint footsteps of the prison guards going back and forth from prison cells, I made some friends as well, I once got in a punch up with a guy named Sketchy, he had a bit of a temper ”, Emmett replied .

” Really ?, holy shit ”, I said .

” Yeah, holy shit ”, Emmett muttered . ” On the first day of staying in prison, I had many grudges, I was very unsure whether I was gonna spend half of my life in a gory place like that, it was an absolute shit hole, but on my 10th day of living in prison, I started to get used to it, I made some friends, we play cards together, we talk about drag races, I started to really get a grip on my life and my surroundings, it may not be suitable for blokes like you, but it’s fine for youngsters like me ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, it would be harsh for youngsters like you to spend nights in a prison, don’t you think ?, it’s a lot to take in ”, I said .

” Oh no, definetely not, I mean, my home isn’t any different to the prison I go to, it’s the same thing, really, the banging on the doors, the roar of the mould on the walls, it’s definetely the same, there’s no difference, and I feel better staying in a place that’s made for me ”, Emmett replied . ” Prison is like home to me, home sweet home ”, Emmett added .

” Well, let me tell you something, there will be one day where you are not delinquent material anymore, and you can live like a normal young chap, just like one of us ”, I told him .

” Really ?”, Emmett asked, as he looked at me .

” Yeah, of course, you’ll be great, you have a great future ahead of you ”, I said. ” In five or six years time, you will be stinking rich, I see you in May Fair, in a massive mansion, driving an expensive car, making money for your dream job, get a bird, get married, right ?”, I said .

” Yeah, exactly, I’d love that, I wouldn’t love anything more, I just don’t want to live in fear, that’s all, that’s all I want, really, nothing more, nothing less, not living in fear ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, it’ll happen, one day, just hang in there, you have a lot to look forward to, you’re only 18, you have a long way to go ”, I said .

” Thanks for the sympathy, but it’s just bobbins, there’s no easy way out for me, there are encounters that I just can’t escape, I’m just a jail bird, and I can’t do anything about it ”, Emmett said .

” What a load of pony, you’re not a jailbird, your parents have no idea what a jail bird even is, they probably think it means house proud or something, that’s not what it means, you know what I’m saying, it’s just complete bobbins, honestly ”, I said . ” What happened to class, nowadays, whatever happened to standards, no one has intelligence, no one has a brain, what on earth happened to society, where is it leading us to ?”, I said .

” Hah hah hah, yeah, either way, I’m not listening to anything, I’m just going with my gut, if it speaks to me, I listen to it. ” I’m useless ” . ” Did I tell you about the time where I wanted to be a rock star ?”, he asked .

” Yeah, I think you might have told me bits of it, I remember you telling me that you were helpless about what job you wanted to have, did you want to be a rock star ?”, I asked .

” I’ve always wanted to be a rock star or something between the lines of singer or artist, I’ve dreamt about making a crowd roar, when you’re up there and you’re doing your thing, and everyone’s just going blotto, it takes a lot to impress an audience. I wanted to be the one who paves the way for many new singers and stars. I’ve had high hopes, so I told my dad about it, I sat down with him in the sitting room and said ” Dad, I wanna be a rock star ”, my dad was in denial, he was like ” You wanna be a rock star, you’ll never make it out in the real world, my son, go to your room, you stupid dreamer ”, so I was like ” But dad, I really wanna be a rock star, just give me a chance, I can stand on that stage and I can win people’s hearts by giving them what they want, I’ll be the new David Bowie ”, but then, he he goes ” No no no no no no, you must serve Jesus, why do you wanna be a rock star for, you couldn’t rock to save your life, you useless, stupid, good for nothing pum ”, so here I am, I didn’t consider getting into the arts, instead, I’m here, digging shit from the ground, jumping over fences, egging the post office, I have no idea where I’m going in life, I feel like a failure ”, Emmett explained .

” Bloody hell, what an arsehole, I can’t believe he told you that, I really can’t, he should be happy that you have big ambitions, he should be rooting for you, not drilling you six feet into your memory foam, you’re 18,. kids go through hundreds of phases, it’s a part of life ”, I said .

” Yeah, he wanted me to be a vicar, can you believe that, bloody hell, I don’t wanna be a vicar, I don’t wanna do sermons and wave a bouquet of flowers at a crowd of people in a church, I wanna be a singer, I wanna get on that stage, I wanna be on Top Of The Pops, I wanna be in the lights, everything’s waiting for me ”, Emmett said . ” But I’ve heard it’s very hard that the entertainment industry is very hard to get a foot hold in, they’re looking for people who have real talent, so if I can’t do that, then what else am I gonna do ?. ” What happens when you can’t do what you love anymore ?”, Emmett asked .

” I don’t know, get proper jobs, I suppose ”, I said .

” Hm, I think we all just disappear ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, just carry on being yourself, there’s a lot more waiting for you, if you do good in the world, the good will come to you, you just gotta be patient, you’ll get to where you wanna be ”, I said. ” I see a lot of myself in you, I was young and hopeless, thinking that everything has to be based around one thing, but then, I realized that it gets better, and before you know it, you’ll be stronger then ever, so take a deep breath, look inside of you, and search for the good things, and once you have balance, everything will be better ”, I said .

” Yeah thanks, I’ll try and do that, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, you are the only person who believes in me, some people don’t even think I exist, some people think I am a little ghost, and they think that I am dead, I am a menace to society, that’s who I am, they’re all scared of me, but they don’t realize that I am a human too ”, Emmett said .

” Well, I believe in you, and I know that you are strong and amazing, and even if you’ve done bad things, there’s always a story behind them, nobody kills and steals something for no reason, there must be something there, and it’s your parents, once your mum gave birth to you, they all thought that you wouldn’t make it, one day, on this Earth, but they are wrong, cause, look at you now, you’re here, you are alive and you are sitting down on a cliff hedge, talking to me and honestly, that’s a big improvement, honestly, do you have any idea how we ended up here ?”, I said, then Emmett started tearing up, the emotion got to him .

” Oh my god, are you crying ?”, I asked, as I looked at him and noticed a few tears rolling down his face.

” I’m not crying, really, there’s just something in my eye, a bit of dust, that’s all, I’m alright ”, Emmett replied. ” There’s all sorts of shit floating around here ”, he added .

” Hey hey, let me tell you something, Just because you shed a few tears, it doesn’t mean that you’re weak, you can cry yourself a river, it doesn’t mean that you are not the tough boy I’ve always known, you could be a man and still have feelings ”, I told him. ” Oh my god, Gordon Benett, look at us, just sitting here, rambling on like Stephen bloody Fry ”, I said, Emmett started laughing .

” Hahahaha, oh stop it ”, Emmett said. ” Well, some things just don’t change, don’t they ?”, Emmett asked .

” No, I guess not ”, I replied. Whilst we were having a chat, Travis and Johnny were having a chat whilst watching the stars, whilst lying on Emmett’s car .

” Hey Johnny, remember the first time we met Emmett, remember that ?”, Travis asked .

” Uh huh, I remember, we found him at the petrol station, that one in Haringay, and we found him rummaging through the casheir’s teal, they found him with 10 bob, spent it all on hasheesh and guns ”, Johnny replied .

” Yeah, that’s right, yeah, he was, he was a skin head, but he was more then that, he was cool, he was bold and I knew from then on, that there was a back story behind it, nobody acts like a total jack ass for nothing, right ?”, Travis asked .

” No, definetely not ”, Johnny replied .

” You know, when you see all these cool, young lads wandering around on streets like these, who do you they remind you of ?”, Travis asked .

” Emmett, the cool geezers remind me of Emmett, that’s exactly who they remind me of ”, Johnny replied .

” Hm, you know, he scares me sometimes, he gives me the fright ”, Travis said .

” Yeah, he doesn’t really scare me, to know where he comes from, and for me look back upon my life, I understand him, behind that driven, young criminal, there is a story and I just know that there was once a time where he wasn’t the bad boy we know today, he was just a normal, innocent young lad, but history repeats itself, so you just gotta keep your hands open wide and catch it like a butterfly, in the first wallow of spring, because it will fade some day ”, Johnny said .

” Yeah, that’s true, exactly true ”, Travis said .

When they had their honest chat, Travis had a vision, the memory of his parents car accident came back to haunt him, he was about 15 when they passed away, and he has had the visions ever since, it’s just constant, the feeling of knowing that something bad is gonna happen. Before the accident, his mother told him that her and her husband were going to go and run some errands, like pick up some essentials and go grocery shopping, so Travis waited at home, for his parents to return, but when hours went past, there was no sign of them, and then he looked out of the window and saw the car burst into the flames, they simmered in the distance, Travis knew from then on, that he was never gonna see his mum and dad again, he also had nightmares. He was the only child, so he was grieving by himself . When he got to the age of 19, he had to move on, but he never lost touch with their accident . Me and Emmett were still sitting by the cliff hedge and he was smoking his cigarettes, he called them, lung cancer sticks, soley because they cause lung cancer, or any other cancers .

” It’s getting late, I think we should get back in the car, I think we should start heading back, what do you say ?, wanna bust out the old stereo and play some tunes, what do you reckon ?”, I asked .

” Yeah, good idea, gor, it’s freezing, man, feels like an avalanche of wind ”, Emmett replied, and we got in the car and started heading back. It was really dark outside, very dismal, almost made it possible for someone to crash into something, like a lamp post, yeah that’s right, I’m looking at you, Emmett .

” Bloody hell, it’s so dark out here, can you see any cars in front of us ?”, Emmett asked .

” I can’t see shit ”, Travis replied .

” For god sake, see this is the thing that I hate, you get these stupid drivers on the roads, you know what I wanna know, I wanna know on how these idiots passed their driving tests, did they cheat or did they drug their driving instructor ?, I wanna know, cause then, I could get them sued, it’s like a cave of wonders, it’s silly, no one should be driving like this, no one, absolutely unacceptable, you know what I’m saying, put it this way, yeah ?, you’re on the motorway, you’re in a rush, you wanna get somewhere, you’re likee ” here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go ”, but you’re not bloody going anywhere, you know why, cause there’s this geezer who comes along, he’s in his pants, bloody stinker, stupid gits, ignorant beats ”, Emmett explained, then he hit the steering wheel . ” Hey hey, I’m driving here, I’m driving here, stupid idiots, where you going ?, bloody spaz ”, Emmett shouted .

” Wow, this is going well, everything’s gone into some sort of diversion and we’re talking about people drugging their driving instructor, how did it come to this ?”, I said, sarcastically .

” Well, unless we’re talking about the serpent here, then yes, he did drug his driving instructor ”, Dominick said .

” No no no no no, you’re getting all of this mixed up, he drugged his police officers and prison guards, he didn’t drug his driving instructor, they were probably no where to be seen whilst all that shit was going on, cause he went back and forth from Nepal and Kathmandu and all that shit, I don’t know, he probably steals cars and then he makes people pay extra ”, I said . ” But, we don’t know the other side of the story, not until they suddenly dig it out of the archives, something that has happened like five years ago, it happened five years, right ?, yeah ”, I added .

” Hold on, hang about, hang about, hang about, why are we even talking about Charles Sobraj, we’re literally driving on the motorway, going 50 miles per hour and we’re talking about people drugging their driving instructors, it’s perpostrous, I mean, do we even know where we’re going, stuck in some homocidal wasteland ”, Jamie said .

” Welcome to my world, Jamie, welcome to my world ”, Emmett said, and we pulled up and parked the car and sat in there for a while . A girl walked past, Emmett had his eyes on her, of course he did, bloody hawk eye .

” Hey guys, do you think that she fancied me a little bit ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yeah right, like she even laid eyes on you ”, Travis replied, as he was in denial .

” I think she did, you know, they always do this, they play hard to get, they want bullies and thugs, real women want bad boys and criminals and skin heads, they want geezers who have done time, they want bastards, they love it when they get treated like shit ”, Emmett said. Emmett was fiddling around with his gun that he put in the glove compartment, it wasn’t really loaded, but he just used it to scare people off. He was almost caught when a 7 year old girl approached his car and asked for change. Emmett had a trick up his sleeve. Whether it was gonna work, that’s a different story .

” Hey, don’t worry about it, it’s not loaded, I took the bullets out, this morning, see ?”, Emmett said . Emmett was hoping that the kid would leave and go somewhere else, but she didn’t, this time, she got closer to his car, even worse then before, if that’s possible, and even I was sitting there, thinking ” Oh my god, we’re stuck with this little girl now, what are we gonna bloody do ?”, plan A was to try and scare her away, plan B was not to fuck up plan A, and what did we go and do, we fucked up plan A, bloody typical .

” Oh for god sake, who’s this now ?, ok, I’ve got this, I’ve got this, watch and learn, my son, watch and learn ”, Emmett said, and with that, he opened the car window .

” Bloody hell, who is this girl ?”, I said .

”  Perhaps, she’s here for you ”, Kevin said .

” Shut up, Kevin, bloody hell ”, Dominick said .

” Oh I know who that is, it’s bullshit girl ”, Kevin said .

” What ?”, Dominick said, in a high pitched voice, as he turned around}

” Hey mr, do you have any change ?”, she asked .

” No, I don’t think I have any money on me, you know ?, I’m skint ”, Emmett said, as he rummaged through his coat pockets but found no change .

” Do you have a dime ?”, she asked .

” Jesus Christ, what is this bloody thing ?, what is this bloody thing ?”, Emmett shouted .

” Do you have a dime or ?”, she asked, once again, I could already tell that Emmett was losing his mind, he was already on his last straw .

” No, go away, get outta here, get out of it, bugger off ”, Emmett shouted, as he shooed the child away and he put his shades on. ” That was a close call, man ”, Emmett added, as he put the gun away .

” What was that all about ?”, I asked .

” No clue, what the hell is a dime ?”, Emmett asked .

” No idea, honestly, I’ve heard it’s like a duck ”, I said .

When Emmett started driving, he saw some girl walk past, Emmett is always up to his old tricks. The girl wore a white jumper with a skirt. She had blonde hair . Emmett got out of the car and walked up to her and started flirting with her .

” Oh look, some cute blonde, huh ?”, Emmett said, and he got out of the car .

” Emmett, where are you off to ?, oh not again, he’s up to his old tricks again, bless him ”, Travis said .

” Does he always do this ?”, I asked .

” Yeah, so you don’t know him properly, you haven’t knowm him long enough, let me tell you, he does this all the time, all the time, waits for a girl to walk by, then he just picks them off, just watch, in 2 seconds, he will lay his hands on her, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ”, Travis counted, and Emmett layed his hand on her, just what Travis was expecting to see . ” See ”, he added .

” Oh my god, you got that spot on, Gordan Bennett, that aged well ”, I said .

” Aged like fine wine, actually no, it aged like spoiled milk, it’s like Leche,innit ?, it’s like bloody leche ”, Travis said. Emmett was touching her, the girl seemed to like it, but she just played hard to get .

” Uh excuse me, are you a real blonde, huh, are you real ?, or are you some mannequin or something ?”, Emmett asked, as he leaned against her and as he was about to light a cigarette, he slid off the car and she started giggling, everybody else in the car starting laughing as well. They were having some sort of tension going on, like she enjoyed it, but then, suddenly, she switched up her attitude. Emmett didn’t give up, he carried on being silly .

” How can I find out if this is your real blonde hair, like if this is the same blonde hair that you have on you, like your eye brows too ”, Emmett said, as he touched her face .

” What do you think ?”, she asked .

” I don’t know, I can’t see any difference from the looks of things, wanna head over to my place, I don’t know about you, but three hours with some alone time, I’ll die a happy man ”, Emmett said, he started touching her in weird places and the girl was getting annoyed .

” You’re not gonna get anything ”, she said .

” Oh ok, you’re fiesty, aren’t ya, do you know who I am, do you know who I am ?, I’m Starsky ”, Emmett said .

” Hah hah, yeah right, you’re not Starsky ”, she said, with disbelief .

” Okay okay, you might not believe me, but I am. ” So er, what’s your cute arse doing out here ?, doing shit on the motorways or something ?”, Emmett asked .

” What’s it to you ?”, she said .

” Wow, ok, I asked you a simple question, I asked you what you were doing around here, I didn’t ask you to give me a hard time, you are very touchy, let me tell you something, the witch doesn’t come in a black cloak and a witch’s hat, she wears a white dress and drives a Lotus Turbo Asprit ”, Emmett said, as he put his feet up on the front part of the car, the girl wasn’t happy about that, she was fuming .

” Just get your feet off my car and shut your trap ”, she said. ” Yapa yapa yapa, whatever it is, it’s not sexy ”, she added .

” Who’s gonna make me, huh, who, your boyfriend, I highly doubt that he’s around, he has no clue about what’s going on here, it’s probably best if it stays that way, to be honest, looks like it’s just you and me, witch ”, Emmett said .

” Why don’t you just leave us alone, be nice and leave us alone ?”, the girl shouted .

” Be nice ?, what is this, the happy hands club ?, I can’t afford to be nice if I tried, this is total bullshit, man, you’re a bullshit man ”, Emmett said. ” The moral of the story is, I’m never nice ”, Emmett added. ” Can I offer you a ride home ?, just like I said, no pressure, but you know, I was thinking ”, he said, but the girl talked over him .

” Piss off ”, she shouted .

” Woah, sorry, heh, I didn’t know, I didn’t know that you had this problem of yelling in my face, you seem to have a big mouth, ok, but I missed the part where that’s my problem, cause it’s not, ok, I’m going, I’m going, I know when I’m not wanted ”, Emmett said, and he walked off. Travis wanted to go and apologize to the girl for all the things that Emmett did .

” Gordon Bennett, did he really just do that, I can’t believe what I’m seeing, honestly, yeah, no, uh uh ”, Travis said .

” Where you going, Travis ?”, Johnny asked .

” What does it look like I’m doing, I’m gonna go and apologize ”, Travis replied, as he got out of the car .

” For what, you didn’t do anything wrong, there’s no need to apologize, but you did nothing, what are you apologizing for ?”, Johnny asked .

” For that son of a bitch ”, Travis replied .

” Ok, see ya ”, Johnny said .

” I’ll be back in a sec, I’m gonna go and apologize, for this utter tragedy, see ya in a bit ”, Travis said, and he got out of the car and headed out .

” Ok bye, Travis, whatever you do, don’t get in a punch up ” Johnny said . Travis didn’t even hear Johnny and he walked up to the girl and he put his hands in his pockets and spoke to her. The girl looked the other way, she flipped her hair back and turned around .

” Are you gonna start it off now too ?”, she shouted .

” No ”, Travis replied .

” You don’t seem like the type anyway, what’s your name ?”, she asked .

” My name is Travis ”, he replied .

” Nice name, my name is Sandy, so, what are you doing around here ?”, she asked .

” Oh um, nothing really, that was my friend there, he just approached you and he started doing weird shit, felt uncomfortable, so I had to stop him ”, Travis replied .

” Cool, cool, so um, who is your friend, that handsome geezer who was here a short while ago, what’s he doing round here ?”, Sandy asked .

” Emmett’s my friend, I’m an Eagle too, we’re all friends ”, Travis replied, as he looked down .

” Oh sorry, I didn’t know, oh well, each to their own, you know ?”, Sandy said .

” Hey, have you met my other friend, he keeps asking about you, I think you should give him a little shout ”, Travis said .

” Who, which one, is it the one with the black hair and red leather jacket ”, she asked .

” Oh, are you talking about Dominick ?, I think that’s what you’re trying to say ”, Travis said .

” Oh yeah, Dominick, that’s his name, yeah, I’ve seen him around, you know where I see him, I see him at the petrol station, always makes sure that he says hello, nice lad ”, Sandy replied .

” Yeah, I’ll say hello from you, it was nice meeting you, it was a pleasure talking to ya ”, Travis said .

” Yeah, nice meeting you too, oh hey, do you want my number, maybe we could call each other, some time ”, Sandy said .

” Oh yeah thanks ”, Travis said. ” Oh and sorry about that, my friend can be a little silly sometimes ”, Travis said. ” He acts like he’s never seen a woman before, honestly, I apologize ”, he added .

” Yeah, it’s ok, don’t mention it, ughh, men ay ?, god bless them, what would we do without them, with their ways and their, their mysterious seasons, John Travolta, Paul Young, George Michael, Russel Mael, Nick Kershaw, Mr Rogers, all the different types of men, smashing, really smashing ”, Sandy said .

” Yeah, tell me about it, they can be wild sometimes, I’ve been there before, believe it or not, but it’s nice to have a bit of balance, you know ?, wild and crazy can be good sometimes, you know what I mean ?”, Travis said .

” Yeah, I know what you mean, bleeding heck, you’re so funny, I love you already, you know, some people say that love at first sight doesn’t exist, but haha, they’re wrong ”, Sandy said .

” Oh really ?, stop it ”, Travis said, as he was flattered. His cheeks were rosy, like bright red, but you could hardly notice it .

” Yeah, I mean it, usually, I get set up by my friends a lot and, I have dated many young geezers and they’ve never really worked out, it’s an absolute terror, like, what do you need to do to get on their wavelength, like honestly, I’ve never met any of these geezers in my life, I’ve only been with them for like one day, two days, that’s it ”, Sandy explained .

” Yeah, I know what you mean, dates can be embarrassing and terrifying, sometimes, but love is love, at the end of the day, it’s nothing different ”, Travis said. ” Oh hey, do you want me to give you my phone number and address, keeping in touch without those can be a hassle ”, Travis added. ” Here, look, that way, you can call me whenever you like, you’ll know where to find me ”, he said, as he handed her his number .

” Oh thank you so much, I’ll call you, some day, I’ll give you mine as well, here you go, here’s my number, oh well, I have to go now, my friend is just calling me, she wants me to get in the car, it was nice knowing you, look after yourself, bye ”, Sandy said, as she walked off . April was in the car, April was Sandy’s friend, they went out shopping together. The car wouldn’t start, they were out of petrol and gas, so as a random act of kindness, Travis offered his help to get them up and running .

” Oh for goodness sake, why does it have to happen when we are quite far from home, we should of done a re fill before we arrived ”, Sandy said. ” Can’t believe this bloody thing ”, she added .

” What is the problem ?”, Travis asked .

” The car won’t start, it seems like we have run out of gas, now, we’re stuck here, in this dump, what are we gonna do now ?”, Sandy said .

” Oh dear me, oh what a palava, ok, I’ll tell you what, you stand there, I’ll give it a little push ”, Travis said .

” Really ?, thank you so much, that would be, that would be amazing, you’re a life saver ”, Sandy said .

” No problem, now, I tell you what, you get in the car and I’ll nudge it from the back, just let me know if you’re getting anything ”, Travis said and he walked and stood behind the car, Sandy had her hands on the steering wheel and April kept the doors open .

” Ok, when I say go, you start driving, not too fast, not too slow, ok, ok, not yet, not yet, not yet, ok go ”, Travis told them .

” Okey dokey, here we go and we’re off, whoo ”, Sandy cheered and they drove off. Everybody in the car was cheering and were proud of Travis, he did some good in the world, some day, the good will come to him, he just has to be patient . Nature will take it’s course .

” Woooo, go on Travis ”, Johnny cheered.

” Go on, my son, that’s it ”, Jamie shouted .

” Man, that boy is amazing, he can get a whole car to start, those things are built different, it’s really tricky, especially the ones with the metal ”, Dominick said .

” My god, that was something else, I didn’t know that you can get a car to start back up, that was sick ”, Johnny said . ” When did you learn how to do that ?”, he asked .

” Don’t know, first time ”, Travis replied .

” Man’s like doctor Green thumb, except, he doesn’t work with plants ”, Kevin said .

” Looks like she fancied you, how did it go ?”, Jamie asked .

” Yeah, that went well, what did she say ?”, I asked .

” She’s really nice, she seemed quite chilled about the situation, she didn’t punch me or anything, so that’s good, and I got her number as well ”, Travis replied .

” Nice, nice one, Travis ”, I said. At this point, you would think that the girls got away and carried on with their day, but surprise surprise, they didn’t , the car broke down once again. This time, Travis just wasn’t bothered, Johnny nudged Travis .

” Hey Travis, is that her car, right there, I think it’s her, you know ?”, Johnny said .

” Oh shit, it is as well, but what’s her car doing here, I thought I helped them get the engine up and running, that’s odd ”, Travis said. ” You know what, I think they’ve broken down, to be honest with you ”, he added .

” What, again ?, are you taking the mick ?, you pushed the car and they drove off, it’s enough assistance that would last them a whole hour ”, Johnny said.

” Where’s Emmett, that son of a bitch has been gone for hours ”, Jamie asked .

” You know what he’s like, he’ll be back before you know it, trust me ”, Dominick replied . Then suddenly, Emmett came back, out of the blue and carried on having a dig at Sandy .

” Oh that’s him, that’s Emmett, god, what’s he doing ?”, Johnny said. Sandy and April were out shopping, they didn’t break down after all .

” See, you see that, they didn’t break down, they went shopping, they went shopping, you know ? ”, Dominick told Travis .

” You better leave her alone or I will call the police and get you arrested ”, April warned .

” You what ?, oh my god, I am so scared, what am I gonna do now, Liam, huh ?, this girl’s making me shake ”, Emmett shouted, as he stared at the car, waiting for someone to have their say. ” What are you gonna do, are you gonna call the feds on me ?, yeah yeah yeah sure, whatever you say, love ?”, he added with disbelief .

” Yes we will, if you don’t leave us alone ”, Sandy said .

” Ok, I see, you are a fiesty little bitch, ain’t ya, but I like that, I like that ”, Emmett said, as he walked closer to Sandy and put his hands on her .

” Owwww, get your greasy paws off of me ”, Sandy shouted .

” Leave her alone, Em ”, Johnny told him, but Emmett got angry and a bit aggressive .

” What did you say, you little shit ?, what did you say to me ?, wise ass ” Emmett shouted, Emmett didn’t stop, so Sandy got some water and chucked it at him . Emmett did not see that coming, and neither did we, to be honest. Totally unexpected, didn’t even see the bottle, we just saw Emmett’s hand, Emmett’s perverted hand .

” I can cool you off, Eagle, you learn to talk and act nicer, then I might cool off too ”, Sandy shouted, and Emmett was drying himself off, he was soaking wet .

” Hahaha, she totally got you, man, what is this, shower ?”, Kevin said, as he started laughing . He was the only one who was laughing, the rest of us were generally terrified. Emmett was fuming .

” Oh is it, you like that, huh ”, Emmett said. ” You little bitch ”, he snapped and Sandy slapped him in the face. Emmett started cackling and laughing. After the whole kerfuffle between Sandy and Emmett, they carried on driving, Emmett parked up and we had burgers and chips. Emmett was in a dilusion, he believed that Sandy liked him, everybody else was in disbelief .

” What’s that girl called again, that blonde girl, what’s her name ?, I think it was sandy something, what was it ?”, Emmett asked, man doesn’t even remember the girl’s name, typical, what kind of fuckery is this ?. Luckily, Travis remembered her name.

” Sandy Crawford ”, Travis replied .

” Yeah, that’s her name, Sandy, yeah, do you think that she fancied me a little bit ?, I don’t know, she seemed cute, hah hah, tried to give her a ride home, like a gentleman and then, her weird ass friend turned up with a bat, splashed water in my face, Jesus, women sometimes ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah right, you believe that every lady has the hots for you ”, Travis said, as he was in disbelief. When Emmett carried on driving, he spotted an old mate of his coming back from the petrol station, his tires were slashed and he needed to pump them back up .

” Oh shit, Harry Edwards, that’s my mate, that’s my mate, that is, Harry !!! ”, Emmett shouted, as he got out of the car to talk to him .

I’ve never met Harry before, Emmett kept mentioning his name, it’s in almost every conversation, it’s always Harry this and Harry that, never actually knew the geezer though, I can only picture him as a demented, highly strung skin head, or like a football hooligan, don’t know why though, it just comes to mind . He keeps telling me ” Oh man, you need to meet him, Liam, he knows proper banter, he can do break dancing and he can balance his hand on a concrete balcony railing ”, and I’m like ” nah man, he’s demented ”, I only speak to someone if they’re worth getting involved with. I don’t want some random geezer knocking on my door every day and use me a door mat, not happening . Maybe I’m reading into things a little too much, I’m sure that Harry is a lovely chap, but I’m not trusting Emmett with his non fascinating views. If I meet him and he appears to be a really cool and friendly geezer, then cool, but I’ll believe it when I see it, but anyway, back to the story, Emmett went to go and speak to his mate, he stood there, with his hands in his pockets, looking stiff .

” Oh for goodness sake, Emmett, where’s he off to ?”, Jamie asked .

” I don’t know, he said that that is his mate, that’s all he said ”, I replied .

Emmett and Harry used to go to school together. Emmett always used to mix with the demented kids, they always used to get in punch ups and in a lot of trouble, always in deep shit and it’s hard to figure out whether it was Emmett’s idea for all that stuff, depends on who we’re talking about here, one is more mad then the rest of them .

” Hello Governer, whatcha doing round here, boy ?, you alright ?, yeah ?, how’s things ?”, Emmett asked .

” Hey Emmett, what are you doing around here, ay ?, you lunatic ?”, Harry asked .

” Oh, you know, a few things, here and there ”, he replied . What are you doing round here ?”, Emmett asked .

” Nothing much, just had to get air in the petrol station, my tires have gone flat, what are the chances of that happening on the motorway, ay ?, typical ”, Harry replied .

” ughh, 100 to 1, see, that’s the problem with those things, you never know when you’re gonna run out, you can go from 100 % to 2 % in a space of about 20 minutes. ” Oh yeah, I totally forgot to ask you, um, did you see that ludicrous display, last night ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yeah, what was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on that early ?”, Harry said .

” You see, the thing about Arsenal is that they always try and walk it in, Typical Arsenal, ay, the walkers ”, Emmett said .

” Damn right, did you win anything from the match, win 100 bob or a tenner ?”, Harry asked .

” No, I didn’t win anything, placed five bets on Arsenal, my mate placed a bet on Liverpool, I lost about 200 quid, my mate won about 30 quid, now I’m skint ”, Emmett replied .

” Yeah, oh Gordon Bennett, I put a pony on Liverpool, I knew that I’d never see that again, what is it about betting, these days, costs an arm and a leg, rip off, haha, anyway, I better head off, take care of yourself, yeah, nice talking to ya ”, Harry said .

” Yeah, good to see ya, man, take it easy, yeah ?”, Emmett said, and Harry walked back to his car and drove off and then, Emmett got back in the car .

” Who was that, Emmett ?”, I asked . Even though I already knew, but I couldn’t be so sure, couldn’t I ?. It could be some random geezer who is posing to be Emmett’s old friend and instead, he’s a gangster or something, you know, that would be terrible .

” Oh, no, that was Harry, man’s put a pony on Liverpool, he’s only gone and put a pony on Liverpool, nuts, man, nuts ”, Emmett replied, as he stood by the car door, then he got in the car and carried on driving .

” Hey guys, you know what, I got Sandy’s number, check it out, yeahhhhh ”, Travis said, as he hovered it over everyone .

” Nice, nice one, Travis, see, I told you, when someone steps out of your life, someone new comes into your life, life’s not based around one person ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah, I know, it’s wicked though, she was stunning, was she ?, totally took me under her wing ”, Travis said .

” Yeah, she is ”, Johnny said . ” You know, I’ve been thinking of handing myself in ”, he added .

” Why, hand yourself in for what ?”, Emmett asked.

” You know, that thing that happened a week ago, when I killed that Reject, maybe I should hand myself in ” Johnny replied . ” When I do that, I’ll be let off easy, you guys were saying that it was defense. ” Gloria and Travis could justify to that and if you won’t say that you helped us and we’ll give you back the gun, so you won’t get in any trouble, Em ”, Johnny added . Emmett wasn’t agreeing to any of it, didn’t like the idea of Johnny handing myself in .

” No, are you sure, is that you wanna do ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yeah of course, I’m sure, it ain’t fair for Jamie and Dominick worrying about Travis all the ruddy time ”, Johnny replied . ” Any of the folks don’t worry about me or anything ”, he added. ” None of you are worried sick about me or anything, you couldn’t care less ”, he said .

” Bullshit, me and the boys are worried, if you end up disappearing into thin air and you disappear off the face of the earth without trace, it’s our responsibility, your parents are no where to be seen, they don’t care if you go missing. ” You know that Kevin wanted to go down Northampton to hunt for you, I talked him out of it in the end, cause it’s silly ”, Emmett shouted . ” When you were scared and you were scared to walk the streets by yourself late at night, we were there, when you ended up getting jumped by those geezers, we were there, when you had no where to stay, we were there, so what are you talking about ?”, Emmett said .

” Yeah well, I asked if the parents asked about me ”, Johnny said . ” So, did they ?”, Johnny asked .

” No, they didn’t ask about you, so what, you think my old man would give a shit if I er, end up dead in a car wreak or three sheets to the wind, found half dead in a dust bin or behind bars in a prison or something, he doesn’t care, but that doesn’t bother me, nun, I just move on with life, whatever that’s supposed to mean ”, Emmett shouted . Everybody was just awkward in the back . After he managed to calm down, he told Johnny to forget about the whole thing and to forth it, took him long enough . Something he should have done, but instead, he took all the rage out on Johnny. The man’s got a stiff upper hand.

” Come on, you guys are not going anywhere, you’re staying here . ” Get you hide in, get you a hide out, man, bloody hell, you guys are like cadillacs, you want to go somewhere but you don’t know where and why, I can’t handle you little shits, you know ?. ” You did it for self defense, Gloria said that those geezers were drunk, that caused them to go mad, that’s cool, I guess, they have nothing against it ”, Emmett added .

Then we carried heading back. Emmett was still unsure and protective over Johnny’s idea, he didn’t want him to go to prison, which is understandable, when youngsters go to prison and they do time, it’s something that they can’t overcome. So I understand Emmett’s instant rage. I just wish that he took a different approach .

” Johnny, you don’t know what a few months in prison can do to you, man, I just don’t wanna see it happen to you, like it could happen to me, man, you understand ?, you have to be clean, stay out of that place, while you can ”, Emmett said. Suddenly, it got dark outside, pitch black, we heard voices of young gang members, the voices got louder as he got closer. Just between you and whoever is reading this, I wouldn’t wanna get in a ruckus with those geezers .

” Oh shit, what’s that noise ?”, Johnny asked, as he looked around him, as he swerved from side to side .

” I don’t know, man, sounds like it’s coming from down there ”, Travis said .

” Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, this isn’t good ”, Dominick said. The voices got more loud each time, until it got to a point where we had to get out and have a look . Because what the hell, like what else are you supposed to do in a situation like that .

” What the fuck is this shit, bloody hellhole, I’m gonna beat the shit out of who ever’s doing this, not you in all ”, Emmett shouted .

” Stupid kids, this isn’t funny anymore, it was amusing at first, but as it goes on, it’s getting annoying now, why don’t you go home and play with your He Man doll or play football or something ”, Jamie shouted. We took five steps forward and we saw the most menacing thing, the Rejects were sitting on the roof, of one of the nearby houses and they were holding glass bottles in their hands, clinking them against each other .

” Eagles, come out to play ay, Eagles , come out to play, ay, Eagles, come out to play, ay ?”, Samuel said, and every time he said it, his voice got louder and louder and louder .

” Oh for crying out loud, these ponsies, you think that you’re gonna fool us with that old trick, ain’t gonna happen ”, Jamie shouted .

” You think that you can scare us, you porto Fugos, you fucking West Ham, get a load of this ”, Emmett shouted, then he went for a little while and then, he came back, he suddenly turned up with his gun and he had his shades on. He didn’t have his pistol, oh no no no, he had a BB gun, like a machine gun, the ones you use for Clay Pigeon shooting, fuck knows why he’s carrying that with him .

” Iiiiiitt’s Emmett Yohanson, Motherfuckers, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, get outta here, piss off ”, Emmett shouted and he chased all the Rejects away, including Samuel, they all ran off .

” Ohhh, oh shit, oh god, let’s go, you have it fair and square, let’s go fellas ”, Samuel shouted. Travis was speechless .

” Yo, what, what happened there, why ?”, Travis said. He was so confused that he couldn’t get his words out, he could barely finish the sentence .

” Looks like the boy is back in town ”, Emmett said. We got in the car and started driving. Everybody was shocked about Emmett’s bad entry, it just shows you when it comes to Emmett, nobody messes around .

” Wow, I have no words, how did you do that ?”, Johnny asked .

” I don’t even know, if you get tough, nobody can mess with you ”, Emmett said .

” That’s wicked, man ”, Johnny said . Kevin, on the other hand, was mostly fascinated about how the Rejects got up on the roof .

” What I wanna know, is how they got up on that roof, did they fly up there, I bet they are draculas, that’s pretty sick stuff right there, man ”, Kevin said .

” Yeah, they’re like mini Yorgas, you know, like Count Yorga, if you had like hundreds of them, they would cause chaos, they are yorgas ” Travis said .

” Out of all the things that you could talk about, and you chose that, seriously ?”, Dominick said .

” What, it’s more interesting then talking about when you turned into the terminator and you almost blew their brains out with your BB gun and looking absolutely demented, anyway, that shit is so last year ”, Kevin said .

” That only happened like two minutes ago, what do you mean, last year ?”, Johnny said .

” Yes, that’s what I mean, one year feels like two minutes ”, Kevin said .

” Nah man, you’re dicked in the knob ”, Johnny said .

” And that’s why you need a left hand man like Emmett, you get away with shit like that ”, Jamie said and we all started laughing .

When we returned home, Jamie was doing some of his break dancing demos, Kevin was in the kitchen, Emmett was singing and dancing very vigouressly in his room, to the song, Mickey Mouse by Sparks, Travis was just combing his hair. I was quite tired, so I went upstairs to take a nap, I was out of it . Emmett was blasting the song in his room. He was dancing, singing and jumping everywhere .

” Let’s have a party and be happy, can we invite my closest friends and we can ask Donald Duck, Pluto and all the gang, da na, and my name is Mickey Mouse, to my right is Minnie Mouse and we own a little place in Disney Land California, na na, yeah ”, Emmett sang . It started off quite well, then eventually, it just went into god knows what . The lyrics weren’t exactly accurate, but if Emmett is having fun, then I have no part in it, I don’t wanna be a killjoy . Emmett was dancing and singing as if he was in Footloose, sort of like a young Kevin Bacon, except he wasn’t leaping 10 feet up into the air, otherwise, he would of damaged my house. You can never be too sure with Emmett, he’s bound to break shit .

” So if you feel the need, come back, I’m here, for, you, and you, and my name is Mickey Mouse, to my right is Minnie Mouse, don’t get ”, he sang, but then he switched to a completely different song, he started singing Jet, or whatever it’s called .

” Jet, da na na na, da na, Jet, uh huh, Jet, da na na na, okay, oh fuck, I mean, fuck it, oh bloody hell, how did it go again, da na na, Jet, the way of the Jet, baby ”, Emmett sang, as he stopped to remember the lyrics to Jet, which I doubt is a real song and even if it is, it’s probably made by Hazel Atkins, or like, cult favourite, rockabilly hero, alcholic pest. It goes like ” You love me, baby, I love you, baby, shake that thing, da na, throw your partner out the door ”, yeah nah, don’t want that song, don’t want it, don’t want it .

Emmett continued to dance like an absolute lunatic . I found it hard to sleep whilst that was going on, but I fighted it and I pretended that I couldn’t hear a thing. Emmett started singing more songs that were made by Sparks . Travis and Emmett are mad about Sparks, they were rather strange, they just went and done their own thing, at the end of the day. Ever since they did their debut in 74 on Top Of The Pops, we were like ” Oh bloody hell, who are those geezers, man, why’s Hitler playing the keyboard ?, they’re like the Hindooja brothers ”, we were beyond confused. We’ve never seen these geezers in our lives, bloody weird, but that’s what we thought. Emmett’s favourite song is Number One Song In Heaven, it’s either that or Mickey Mouse, what you just heard him sing a few minutes ago. I don’t really listen to their music that much, but I’m just starting to find out about them, I think they’re bloody brilliant, if I’m honest, they really know their stuff. It’s absolute magic that comes out of those speakers, pure magic . Johnny is starting to get into them, he’s not so keen on that kind of music, but he’s not afraid of giving it a listen . He listens to a lot of 80s rock, like Reo Speedwagon and Matallica, a lot of pop, like Erasure, Wham, Fun Boy Three, Spandau Ballet, those sorts of bands, he’s got really good taste .

Emmett strived to be a rock star, but he was afraid that he might turn out like Screaming Lord Sutch or something like that, like wear a cloak and stand in an alleyway, waiting for someone to walk past and get scared or something. He strives to be a singer, which is quite rich, coming from Emmett, to be honest, usually, he’s the one who’s telling me that being a musician is a load of bullshit, he’s like ” Why do you wanna be a musician for ?”, like he’ll take the piss out of people who want to be in the entertainments business, but this time, he actually wants to be one . He dreams of being a star, he pictures himself on a massive stage, on a music programme like Top Of The Pops. He has dreams and big ambitions, but he lived in a troubled world and everyone around him just took the piss. What happens when we can’t do what we love anymore, I reckon that we just all disappear . I say good luck to the geezer, I reckon he can do it, he’s gonna smash it. All he needs is confidence, when you have confidence, you feel like you are on top of the world, you can accomplish anything. Emmett was the golden boy, he has a future ahead of him, he just needs to look forward, there’s no time like the present, if he wants to do something, he better get up and do it . Emmett’s gonna be bigger than Billy Idol, he’s gonna be a star .

As Emmett carried on dancing and singing, I was still taking a nap. There was a lot of noise, I heard footsteps coming from downstairs, but I didn’t care, I carried on sleeping. A few minutes later, I woke up, feeling refreshed, then I see Emmett standing in front of me, holding his pistol in his hand, pointing it against my head, I was like ” What the hell ?”, that’s not something you see every day, well, if you don’t live with Emmett, that is, here, in this house, we see it every single day.

” Surprise Motherfucker ”, Emmett shouted. I sat there, looking at him in confusion, he is a total maniac, and the fact that he came all the way upstairs to my room, made it even worse, but Emmett was clearly out of his mind, he was loving it, properly watching me shitting bricks .

” Woah there, oh my god, what are you doing, man ?”, I asked, opening my eyes a slight inch, only to see Emmett standing in front of me, with a sinister grin. If you’ve ever seen Emmett’s sinister grin, I’m telling you, you’d run a mile . He looked like he wanted to do me in, without any reason.

” Nothing, how did you sense that I was here ?, do you have the five senses or something ?”, Emmett asked .

” I heard you walking upstairs and I found you with a pistol ”, I replied .

” Wow, that’s really something, isn’t it ?, bloody hell ”, Emmett said. ” Oh yeah, you know what ?, we need to go to the shops, we need to pick up a few bits and pieces, are you coming ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yeah ok, I’ll come, just give us a few minutes, will ya ?, I’ll be downstairs in a little while ”, I replied .

” Alright then, see ya in a bit ”, Emmett said, and he left.

Jamie and Travis were talking to each other, they were talking about Jamie’s break dancing demos. Jamie has completely lost the plot, he does a demo, pretty much every single day, he just jumps up and down, spins around on his hands, whilst he keeps one leg up in the air, I’ve never watched them before, but I can tell that they are gonna be awful and cringeworthy . Jamie thinks he’s the creator of Malcom Meclaren’s Buffalo Gals, but really, he isn’t, instead, he’s that geezer, you know that one geezer who is secretly dancing in the backround, with a white shirt on, that one geezer who just doesn’t know why he’s there, and that dance he does, that’s the dance you do when you’re at a club or a disco and no fucker wants to dance with you, that’s exactly what it reminds me of. If you’ve ever seen Jamie dance, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about. He looks like a man who thinks about his private life, whilst he’s taking a shit in on a Khazie. He’s a proper nostra fucking darmas. I have nothing against the man, he’s alright, if I’m honest with you, we get along really well. It’s not that, it’s just, he really needs to stop making those demos, cause god knows how many he’s made, and then, at the end of the day, he makes us watch them, and they’re like 5 hours, each one is about five hours and 35 minutes and it’s just him spinning around whilst he’s in a bridge position, honestly, it looks like something straight out of a horror film. They also don’t have music or anything, the man can’t play any instruments or anything, so he just hums his fucking tapes . He doesn’t always spin around on his head, sometimes, he spends half of the tape recording, talking about these intrumental songs, then he talks about Buddy Holly for like five minutes, then he spews out a lot of bullshit about fishermen and what people do in the West, then he talks about what it would be like if he was the first man to ever invent the satelite, then he talks about Telstar for like 10 minutes, then he just plays the flute, just to pass the time, man can’t play the flute, but he tries, then he’s seen bouncing off the walls, I honestly don’t even know what he’s bloody trying to do, I would walk in, sometimes and I would see him doing some weird shit, I don’t know what to make out of it, it’s driving me round the bend . If Jamie enjoys doing them, then Woopi Ki Yay, good for him, but it’s a no from me, I’m afraid .

” Hey Jamie, why do you waste your time, making demos all the time, what do you get out of it ?”, Travis asked .

” I’m not wasting my time, Travis, it’s actually really good, it gets the blood pumping, the more excercise, the better, don’t wanna get a blood clot in your leg, do we now ?, I’ve heard that blood clots are common for over fifties, even though I’m not fifty, but still, you know ”, Jamie replied .

” Yeah right, you just jump up and down, going ape shit, what is that, exactly ?”, Travis said .

” Epicness, that’s what it is, and I’m loving it ”, Jamie said .

” Yeah yeah, stop that, you’re gonna make me sick ”, Travis said . ” you’re not gonna bloody do this, how is that gonna contribute to society ?”, Travis added, as he mocked Jamie doing the dance .

” Yeah, that’s not how you do it, you gotta have a spring in your step, more grime, like you gotta do the criss cross ”, Jamie said.

” This is exactly what you do, and there’s no music, as well, how do you do it ?”, Travis said . ” What’s a tape without music ?”, Travis asked . ” It’s not exactly a tape, isn’t it, if it was a tape, it would have been called a tape, but now, it’s just called muck duck and fuck dut ”, Travis said .

” Yeah well, the man can’t play any intruments, so he just hums his fucking tapes ”, Kevin said .

” Balderdash, I can play intruments, I can play the flute , if that’s what you mean”, Jamie said .

” Yeah, not so good though, it sounds like you’re dying ”, Travis said .

” Look guys, just stop going on about this tape, go up to your room, find something else to do with your time ”, Jamie said . ” Otherwise, I’ll make you watch my tape ”, he added .

” Oh fuck no, uh uh, no way, man, I’m not watching no tape, get it away from me, come on, Kevin, let’s watch Top Of The Pops on the tube ”, Travis said . ” I’ve heard that Tears For Fears are gonna be on today, they’ve come out with that song innit, mad world ”, Travis said .

” Ah wicked, man, I remember those geezers ”, Kevin said . And they just left the kitchen .

A few minutes later, we hit the road for essentials, such as food and other stuff. Emmett entered a corner shop and he was planning to nick something, like always does, every time . He’s always up to mischeif, he doesn’t really care if somebody catches him, he just runs out of the shop like a headless chicken, he does his business in one area, then he goes to another area for more. The person behind the counter wasn’t really aware of anything, she was in her own world. Emmett was going to nick a chocolate bar from the table in front of him, he picked it up and held it in his hand, he wasn’t gonna pay for it, bold move coming from Emmett, totally a bold move . The assistant behind the counter was expecting for him to take out a few coins to pay for the chocolate bar, but Emmett didn’t . The assistant was a little bit ignorant, she didn’t really have any manners either. I don’t really get how she was hired in the first place, she could get her arse out of there, I couldn’t care less. Bye Bye .

The person who worked in the shop looked demented, she had really big eye brows and wore a lot of makeup, like eye shadow and lip stick . She looked like a witch, her personality wasn’t any different from a witch .

” You’re gonna pay for that, aren’t you ?”, she asked .

” Er what ?”, Emmett said .

” You need to pay for that, it’s the law ”, she said .

” Yeah well then, fuck the law, man, I couldn’t give a shit ”, Emmett said, as he snuck up his middle finger .

” Excuse me, one last warning, you listen to the rules, you do exactly what they say, and you pay for it or you get kicked out of the shop, what will it be ?, the law or get your ass kicked right out that door ”, she asked .

” Kiss my arse, you’re not gonna get my two quid ”, Emmett said . Then suddenly, the assistant called the shop owner to come and deal with him .

” Mr Johnson, come and deal with this geezer, he’s refusing to pay ”, she shouted, the shop owner came in, he came out with a baseball bat. Emmett wasn’t afraid, the baseball bat wasn’t gonna take him down. Plus, he’s been through much worse, he’s been thrashed and threatened with all sorts of shit .

” Oh look, it’s father bloody Christmas, oh shit, he’s got a bat, bloody hell ”, Emmett said .

” Now, you listen here, sunshine, you disrespect my property, I disrespect you ”, Mr Johnson said, as he got his hand on Emmett’s jacket . ” Are you gonna pay for that or what ?”, he asked .

” For what ?”, Emmett shouted, and he threw the chocolate bar at the shop owner and the assistant and he ran out of the shop. ” Yeahhhh, that man stinks, he stinks, he smells, change your trousers, man, you stink, hahaha ”, Emmett shouted .

” Fucking delinquents ”, The shop owner mumbled .

” Mr Johnson, how many times do I have to bloody tell you,  you must take pride in the customer, the customer is always right, at the end of the day ”, Some bloke said .

” What, but the customer is not right, he’s talking bloody bollocks ”, the shop owner said .

” Nah, he’s alright ”, some bloke said .

” Jesus Christ, I don’t know how you do it, honestly ”, the assistant said .  After all that, Emmett got in the car with the gang, he managed to get away from the owners in the shop. They all started driving back home .

” Bloody hell, did you see those idiots in that shop, that geezer with the bat, man, that man’s so dense, light has to be bend around him ”, Emmett said. ” The bird said ” You’re gonna pay for that, aren’t you ?”, then I said ” What what ” , and then she said ” It’s the law ”, and I didn’t bother giving her any money, so guess what she did, she bloody called the shop owner, man came out with a bat, that didn’t phase me, one bit, so I said to him, I said ” Listen, man, you wanna fuck around, come and see me when I have a pair of tweezers, you fucking no good pum ”, he said .

” Honestly, today has just been great, you had a run in with the people in the shop, man chased you out with a ten inch baseball, all hell broke loose, the owner thought that you were a rough neck sort of geezer, he’s most likely to call the police on you, what more could we want on a day like this ?”, Kevin said .

” Yeah, they can chase me with a baseball bat, how many times they like, doesn’t bother me ”, Emmett said .

Then suddenly, the shop owner appeared, he was still around, he wasn’t fully gone just yet, everybody started panicking. This geezer came out running so fast. If I tell you how fast he was going, you wouldn’t believe me. He came out running like the road runner, it looked like the man was trying to run away from his problems, at ultra speed, but we all know that you can’t run away from your problems, neither can he, especially if you have just chased an 18 year old out of a shop with a baseball bat . When he came running out, I thought that there was a police chase. I’m not surprised if I’m honest, all sorts of shit happens around here. Of course there a chase, but not like that, it was slightly different . It’s like Duck Duck Goose, but with someone getting thrashed in the end. The geezer was running at maximum speed, even there was a point where his legs just left his body and started running by themselves. His trousers were falling off as well, it was utter chaos, the whole time, I was thinking ” What the heck is going on this day ?”. I wasn’t the only one who was confused about the whole thing. Johnny was confused and he was like ” Who is this geezer ?”, and he was like ” Liam, is that my cousin ?”, and I was like, trying so hard not to answer that question, cause I just didn’t know what would come out of my mouth at the time, I’d end up disturbing him, saying that he’s gonna turn up in his room and watch him sleep, that would of scarred him for life, he wouldn’t wanna sleep ever again, so I’m glad that I didn’t say anything .

” Oh for crying out loud, not him again, I thought we got rid of him ”, I said .

” Well unfortunatly, some people just can’t get enough, they come scurrying back for more ”, Emmett said .

” Look, just carry on driving, we’ll lose him ”, Johnny said, and Emmett drove through this alleyway, where we were safe and sound, the shop owner was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, everybody was relieved .

” I think we lost him ”, Emmett said, as he was out of breath .

” Oh thank god for that, Jesus Christ, how can people do that, he made me shake on the inside ”, Travis said .

” Yeah, I think he’s gone, we’re ok ”, Emmett said. Then suddenly, the car almost crashed into a wall, everybody was freaking out, the shop owner was back and this time, he had a hockey stick in his hand, he waved it in the air . I have no idea where he found the hockey stick, the man’s an absolute nut case .

” Get out the way, you bloody pov ”, the man shouted, as he held the hockey stick with two hands .

” Ahhhhh fuck ”, Emmett shouted. ” What the bloody hell ?”, he shouted .

” What the hell happened there, oh shit, he’s there again, he came back from the dead and he’s got a bloody hockey stick ”, Dominick shouted .

” Who wants to bet that he doesn’t play hockey ?”, Johnny asked .

” Me, a geezer like him doesn’t play hockey, are you mad ?”, Kevin said .

” Oh crap, this is a nightmare ”, Travis said .

” Don’t worry, chill, I’ve got this ”, Emmett said .

” Oh for goodness sake, you’re not gonna do that thing, are you ?, that thing where you turn into the terminator and you act like a total git ?”, Dominick asked .

” You know what, Dominick, yes I am, I am gonna do that, cause it’s the only way to go, you want this looney chasing us, every minute, you’re gonna need to bend the rules slightly ”, Emmett replied, and he got out of the car and put his shades on and held his gun in the air, hoping to scare him away with his act .

The shop owner stared at us with such anger and hatred. You can tell that he was demented, by how he looked. The man has the ability to make notorious serial killers like Dennis Neilson and Jack The Ripper look harmeless. It just goes to show how a very safisticated, thick skinned geezer like him, can be demented and unhinged too . It doesn’t do him any justice for talking to all the old ladies about flowers and The Beatles, now I know what’s really like. Bloody Sherry glasses .

” Do you have anything to say for himself, young man ?”, Mr Johnson asked. Mr Johnson ?, more like Mr unhinged nutcase, his crude personality doesn’t suit his name, sounds like a bloody kids daytime television presenter . Like the bloody music man. It’s like ” I’m the music man, get off the table, kid, if you wanna live to see tomorrow ”, what a recloose . Emmett stood there, we all wanted to see what he would do and say. Either act like the terminator and bollock him or deal with it like a man .

” Drop dead, you pisser ”, Emmett said. Is that really all that he came up with ?, ” Drop dead, you pisser ”, I can’t believe that shit. You can’t just say that, you need to have the introduction, the beginning, the middle and the ending. I thought that he would go out with a bang, after all, he threatened to thrash Emmett with a baseball bat, why wouldn’t he cause more damage ?, god only knows .

” Well, I never ”, Mr Johnson said, as he gasped .

” Emmett, what are you bloody doing ?, why did you do that ?”, I asked .

” What do you mean, I’m telling him straight, this geezer bollocked me and I’m gonna bollock him back ”, Emmett replied .

” I know, but this isn’t the way to go, you can’t wish someone dead, that’s dreadful ”, I said .

” Shhhhh, hush, hush, Liam, shh ”, Emmett said, and he put his finger on my lips and silenced me .

” Look, I’m really sorry, sir, what my friend did was bang out of order, he won’t do it again, I swear, especially after this ”, I said .

” Oh, that’s alright ”, he said .

” Right so, you’re okay with this ?, that’s cool, I guess, I thought you’d say otherwise ”, I said .

” Yeah nah, it’s alright, you can’t stay mad forever, you have to move on, eventually, onwards and upwards ”, Mr Johnson said .

” Oh, that’s brilliant, that is, wicked ”, I said .

” You alright, Mr Johnson, how’s it going, how’s work, you know, with the shop and that ?”, Johnny asked .

” Yeah nah, it’s going good, just had my shift, I’m absolutely knackered ”, Mr Johnson replied .

” Ah, tell er in doors I said hi ”, Johnny said .

” Will do, will do ”, Mr Johnson said .

” Ha well, this is nice, little chin wag, haven’t seen you in a while, you alright, John, how’s it going, long time, no see ?, what have you been up to ?”, I asked .

” Oh well, I have been busy with the shop and stuff, just taking care of a few bits and pieces, you know ?”, Mr Johnson said .

” Of course, of course ”, I said .

” Um excuse me, sir, can I just ask you something before I go ?”, Mr Johnson asked .

” You’re not getting my two quid, you pisser ”, Emmett said, and he pointed his gun at him .

” You know what, I’m not even gonna try it, you keep the change, kid ”, Mr Johnson said, and he ran off in plain sight. After he said bye, that is, he would never just run off, the man’s not built like that .

” Sucker ”, Emmett said .

” Woah, that was wicked, but terrible, how do you do that ?”, Johnny asked .

” Beginners luck ”, Emmett replied .

” That’s sick, man, sick ” Johnny said . Then, he got in the car, there was no sign of the shop owner anywhere, looks like he disappeared without trace. Emmett showed him who’s boss and they’ll never mess with him again . When he got in the car, everybody was laughing about Emmett’s defense against the shop owner, they all knew that he was unhinged, but he was cool at the same time, he knew how to get around .

” Emmett, that happened two times in a row, what happened ?”, Jamie asked .

” Hey Jamie, let me let you in on a little secret, ok, real men don’t wanna mess with me, they see me rocking and rolling around Stamford Hill, they don’t know who they are seeing, they may pretend to be tough, but when someone puts up a fight, they are the first ones to run away, so it just goes to show how you have to actually be tough, otherwise, it’s all show show. ” I mean, even when someone moves their fists, they flinch, without even doing anything, what a bunch of shitters. ” I’ve dealt with loads of them in my day, let me tell you, you have geezers who don’t even know how to throw a punch, their arms are floppy ”, Emmett said .

” Uh huh ”, Jamie said .

” It takes a lot to be a tough guy, you know, from different walks of life, they say the city’s tough, but I’m tougher ”, Emmett said .

After a long drive, we returned back home. We had a crazy day, let me tell you that. We found ourselves in trouble with the shop owner, he was a bit of a git at first, but after a little opening up and a chat, I’ve come to the conclusion and he’s not as bad as I thought . After with what happened to Emmett, I’m sure he didn’t mind it, the man is under a lot of pressure, I mean, he owns in a shop, for goodness sake, giving the customers what they want, it’s hard graph. I can never imagine myself working in a shop, ever, I’m not cut out for it. I’ve already been to university, that’s enough as it is . Johnny and Travis were mucking about with this microphone that I had, lying around in the sitting room, it sort of managed to peak both of their interests .

” Hey Johnny, come and check this out, it’s sick ”, Travis shouted, then Johnny came running in .

” What is it, Travis ?”, Johnny asked . ” Oh what is that ?”, He asked .

” What does it look like, it’s a microphone, pretty cool, ay ?”, Travis replied .

” Yeah, I like the look of that, where did you find it then, that microphone ?”, Johnny asked .

” It’s Liam’s, I found it on the tea table in the corner of the sitting room, looks quite new, I doubt it’s been used, well, do you wanna try it out ?”, Travis asked .

” Well yeah, I’m sure he won’t mind, well go on then, test it out ”, Johnny said .

” With no wire ?”, Travis asked .

” Well yeah, what do you mean, no wire ?, of course you need a bloody wire, otherwise it’s not gonna work, isn’t it ?”, Johnny asked .

” I know, that’s kinda the point, there’s no wires or a power supply, how are we gonna get this thing to work ?”, Travis said .

” Just use your voice, that’s the only thing you can do, if there’s no music, you make your own music ”, Johnny replied .

” And how do I do that, exactly ?”, Travis asked .

” Sing !!! ”, Johnny replied .

” Okay well, I’m not that good of a singer, I don’t think I’m ready for this ”, Travis said .

” Bullshit, you were born ready, just sing something into that microphone, it won’t bite ”, Johnny said .

” Ok um, here I go, come right back, I just can’t bare it, I got some love and I long to share it, come right back, I’ll show you my love is strong, oh yeah, have I the right to kiss you, you know I’ll always miss you, I’ve loved you from the very start, ughhh, come right back, I just can’t bare it, I got some love and I long to share it, come right back, back where you belong, oh yeah, you belong, oh yeah, you belong ”, Travis sang, everyone started stomping their feet, even though they weren’t in the room . Whilst Travis was singing, Johnny was hearing all the stomping and he was thinking ” What the bloody hell is happening ?”. It was like an orchestra, or like a medley .

{ Travis’s read}

As I started singing, I heard stomping. I had no idea where it was coming from, but when you’re in the moment and you’re enjoying yourself, you don’t have time to get up and try and figure out where the noise is coming from . My guess, it could of been the boys, cause who else would it be, there’s no ghosts or anything, so . I imagined myself, singing on a stage in front of tons and tons of people, it could never happen, because I have stage fright, but I imagined myself on a stage . I felt absolutely amazing. All around me was an orchestra. I didn’t find the music, oh no, the music found me . Johnny was right, if there’s no music, you make your own, the music will come to you .

” Wicked, man, it sounds sick with the microphone, never knew Liam was a dark horse ”, Johnny said .

” Yeah, do you wanna have a go ?”, Travis asked .

” What, with that thing ?, no way, you’d run a mile ”, Johnny said .

” Oh come on, Johnny, I did it, you don’t have to do much anyway, you can do a sound check if you want, you can just go ” One two, one two ”, Travis said .

” Ok then, I’ll do that, ok, this is pretty sick, this is, one two, one two, one two, one two ”, Johnny shouted, as he did a sound check to see if the sound was ok, cause he couldn’t get himself to sing .

” Hahaha, don’t do it too loud though, Liam’s probably wandering what we’re doing, you’ll break the floor boards ”, Travis said .

” Oh yeah, sorry sorry, did you hear the stomping, it’s wicked, innit ?, it’s like a bloody orchestra ”, Johnny said .

” Oh it’s hardly an orchestra, they have geezers waving this stick around like that, this is hardly an orchestra ”, Travis said, as he pretended to be a conductor . ” Wowowow wowahhh, ickishy ”, he sang .

I was in the cellar, trying to fix something, when I heard loud banging coming from the room above. So I thought ” What the hell is this ?, what’s this now ?”, so I had to step in and check on the boys to try and find out what it was . I heard stomping, banging and really loud singing, it sounded like a zoo . I thought ” Who could be doing this ?”, so I gave them a shout .

” Oi, Guys, what are you doing down there ?”, I shouted .

” Oh shit, sorry Liam, sorry ”, Travis shouted.

” Ok, you had your turn, it’s my turn now, move over, ok so, what am I gonna do, oh um, ok, I’ve got it. You are now listening to Eagle FM, with me, your host, DJ Louise and I’m here with the crack heads, this is DJ Louise and the crack heads, rah rah rah, boo boo boo boo boo boo boo, boo boo boo, the greatest DJ in the area, Johnny Branson ”, Johnny said, with a radio voice .

” Hahaha, oh stop that shit ”, Travis said and he slapped him, very softly because he thought that Johnny was messing around . Whilst they were doing that, Emmett walked into the room and made an announcement .

” Guys, group meeting, now ”, Emmett said and we all followed him into my room where the meeting was gonna take place. What is it this time ?.

” What is it that you wanna tell us ?”, I asked .

” Well um, just to start things off, um, so you know about this whole gang war thing ?”, Emmett asked .

” I’ve heard of it ”, I replied .

” Oh my god, Emmett, when are you gonna stop it with this gang war, there’s no gang war, the war’s over, Jesus Christ ”, Dominick said .

” But we need to do this, Dominick, do you wanna get smashed, left right and center, by these idiots ?, is that what you want ?”, Emmett asked .

” No, of course not, it’s just, like you always come up to us and tell us about this gang war thing, this constant, constant gang war nonsense, what are we gonna get out of it ?, it’s just like drilling a hole in a wall and you can’t fix it ”, Dominick said .

” Dominick, I really think that it’s best not to get involved, you don’t know you’re causing more and more damage ”, Johnny told him, to calm him down .

” Oh, I’m doing damage, I’m doing damage, alright, I see, well then, don’t come running to me when one of you gets roughed up by one of them, cause I won’t be there to pick up the pieces ”, Dominick shouted .

” You know what, if you’re gonna punch Johnny, don’t, cause it’s probably illegal ”, Travis said .

” You wanna see something that’s probably illegal, pass me that fucking stapler over there ”, Dominick shouted, as he pointed at the stapler .

” Oh, you’re going down with the bang, baby ”, Travis said .

” Alright, you know what we’re gonna do, I’ve heard that you love musicals, Dominick, so this is Tonight from West Side Story, ok, and I’m going to brrring the bloody house down, so you can’t rain on my parade, funny girl ”, Travis shouted . ” You know what we’re gonna do, when all of this over, we’re gonna take you down, we’re gonna take you down to funky town, funky town centre, here we come, choo fucking choo ”, he shouted .

” Is that really all you could think of, a choo choo train ?, you’re just as bad ”, Travis said .

” Choo Choo, Choo fucking fucking mega choo choo ”,  Dominick shouted .

” Alright, come on then, come on ”, Dominick shouted, and they started fighting each other . ” I asked you to send a solid shit in one direction, not mundra fucking everywhere ”, Dominick shouted .

” Oh I’ll send a huge shit your way, it’s coming right back, I’m telling you ”, Travis said .

” Guys, guys, come on, oh right, we’re gonna fight now, are we ?, oh come on, we’re not in a prison drama, are we ?”, I asked .

” Yes, we are in a prison drama, actually, yes, this is the cam down redemption with more tunneling around and no fucking redemption, this is bloody lockdown ”, Emmett said .

” Emmett, please, why do you wanna do this gang war anyway, our lives is already gang war as it is, we’ve got these geezers on our backs, don’t fucking leave us alone, they’re smashing us left right and center, day and night. Are we just gonna call the whole thing off and go up to them and be like ” Alright, now let’s all have a cup of tea, tell us all about how you turned into selfish gits ”, is that what we’re gonna do ?”, I asked .

” Well no, I don’t wanna do that shit, I don’t want their fucking tea, if something like that ever came along, I’d put fucking lard in it ”, Emmett shouted .

” Ok look, you know what, you’re right, if we don’t get at them, anytime soon, we’re gonna be pieces of toast, maybe you’re right, maybe we should do gang war ”, Dominick said .

” Wow, it took you that long, terrible ”, Emmett said .

” It’s not my fault I don’t like gang war, you’re badgering us, saying ” Brahhh, this is gang war, gang war ”, Dominick said, as he mocked Emmett .

” I don’t talk like that ”, Emmett said .

” You actually kinda do, that sounds exactly like you, he got it spot on ”, Kevin said .

” You’re just doing this just so we could get killed, that’s exactly what you’re doing, you wanna see us dead ”, Jamie said .

” Oh don’t be so fucking ridiculous, that’s hardly the point ”, Emmett said .

” Yeah yeah ”, Kevin said .

” You know what, this is utter slander, I’m not doing this bloody gang war ”, Dominick shouted and he stormed off in a right mood .

” Well done ”, I said. ” See, see what you just did, that’s my friend that you’ve just lost there ”, I said .

” Well, we knew him longer than you have, I’ve known him since he was a little boy ”, Jamie shouted .

” And now he’s gone and you can’t do anything about it ”, I shouted .

Dominick locked himself in his room, well, he thought that he locked it, but he was filled with so much anger that he didn’t manage to lock it, his hand slipped right off the door knob, so with that, he just left it open. Dominick never agreed to this whole gang war thing, he thought that it was stupid. He just wanted to save it for the rumble . At this moment in time, I was kicking myself, I couldn’t help but think that I probably just lost four good friends. I didn’t mean to snap at Jamie and Johnny, but with all the anger that I was experiencing at the time, the words just flew out of my mouth. We all say all sorts of mean and nasty things sometimes, but we don’t mean it . I left Dominick to have some time to himself, let him get it all under control. I thought that it was best to leave him alone for a little bit, he’ll come in when he’s ready. But he’s been in there for quite some time now, five hours have just gone past, I don’t think he’s gonna come out any time soon, I thought I’d better go and check on him . For my sanity and his . I knocked on the door .

” Who is it ?”, Dominick shouted .

” It’s me, Liam ”, I said .

” alright, come in ”, Dominick said . I twisted the door knob gently and walked in .

” Dominick, sorry, is it alright if I sit here, can you just move up a notch ?”, I asked, as I entered his room .

” Yeah sure, come in ”, He replied, and he moved up a bit .

” Cheers. ” so um, how are you doing ?, like are you doing alright ?”, I asked .

” I’m doing fine, thanks, why did you come up here then ?, what’s this about ?”, Dominick asked .

” Um nothing, nothing, I just um, I just wanted to see how you were doing, didn’t hear much from you since the last time you were here ”, I replied .

” Well, I’m doing fine, so ”, Dominick said .

” Look, I know that you’re angry about this whole gang war thing, but if it’s something that Emmett wants to do and if he feels like he can do it, then I’m afraid I can’t talk him out of this, I’ve tried everything, there’s nothing I can do ”, I said .

” Why does he want to do this gang war thing anyway, what is he gonna get out of this, why’s he so invested in this shit ?”, Dominick asked .

” It’s because he’s hungry, he loves violence, he’s built all that confidence, he doesn’t know when to stop, he’ll kill someone if you give him the chance ”, I replied .

” Why is he like that ?, why is he the way he is ?”, Dominick asked .

” He’s lived in a world of ignorance, he’s lived in a world that never cared for him, he’s lived in a world that abuses his power, makes him feel useless, and usually, you have to swear blind that you’ll never turn out like your enemies, anyone who hated you whilst you were at your best, or when you at your worst, but it’s like kick the man whilst he’s down, you swear that you’ll never turn out like that, but unfortunatly, he has and every bit of it, he feels powerful, dragging someone down, makes him feel like the bigger man, what can you do ?, ay ”, I said. ” I’d like to think that there’s still time, still time to get him out of this phase, he’s heading down a dangerous path ”, I added .

” But there’s still time, we have all the time in the world ”, Dominick told me .

” Oh, I don’t know about that, Dominick, Emmett’s already bad enough as it is, he will be framed for all the wicked things he’s done, what goes around, comes around, nature has it’s own way of dealing with things, and when that karma hits him, oof, it’s gonna hit him hard ”, I said .

” No, that’s not gonna happen, don’t even consider, we still have time, don’t give up just yet, we’ll think of something ”, Dominick said . Poor Dominick, he is full of hope, he never gives up, he believes there’s still time .

” Jesus Christ, Emmett and his gang war, honestly, I mean, what’s he thinking ?”, I said, as I tried to cheer him up .

” It’s absolutely ridiculous ”, Dominick said, and he started laughing .

” Yeah, I know, it’s like a life goal, it’s like ” When I get to the age of 21, I’m gonna do this ”, it’s like a massive thing, like nothing else, just gang war ”, I said . ” He’s like, ” Buuu, gang war, gang war ”, I mocked Emmett .

” Hahaha, bloody hell, he’s absolutely mad, if he’s gonna do gang war and he’s gonna make us do it as well, what do you think he’s gonna do, what does gang war entail, exactly ?”, Dominick asked .

” Hm, no clue, it could be anything, I hear it’s this thing where you hang down from this high rope, like trapeze and you do like summersaults and backflips ”, I replied .

” Oh what, we’re gonna do that ?, oh no way, it better not be, I can’t do that, we’ll look demented dimwits ”, Dominick said .

” That’s exactly what Emmett has signed us up for, I can’t believe it, we’re gonna do circus tricks ”, I said .

” Yeah, we’re gonna do like Indian rope trick or like I wei wei, the only way is wei wei ”, Dominick said .

” Haha, ahh jesus, I swear to god, if it is that, then I’m gonna lose my shit, I’m telling you ”, I said .

” Hah, you know what, I’m actually looking forward to this now, I actually wanna go and do it, are you feeling the same way ?”, Dominick asked .

” Nah, what me ?, you must be joking, I ain’t going and doing that thing, we’ll look like maniacs ”, I replied .

” Well, I am, so beat it. ” I’m gonna have the time of my life, step on those peasants egos ”, Dominick said .

” Oh how the tables have turned, I thought you didn’t wanna do it, you made a whole deal out of it ”, I said .

” Oh don’t worry about that, it was a passing phase, that was a moment of the past, I’m looking forward, there’s no time like the ”, Dominick said, I already knew what he was gonna say .

” There’s no time like the present, I know ”, I said .

” Brilliant, you already know all my phrases, now we can move on with life ”, Dominick said, as he got up from his bed .

” So, are we cool ?”, I asked, as I held my hand out, waiting for him to shake it, only if he’s okay with doing that, that is .

” We’re enemies for a day, Eagles for life ”, Dominick said, and he shook my hand .

” Let’s just act like this conversation didn’t even happen ?”, I said .

” Cool, hi, I’m Dominick, what’s your name ?”, he asked .

” I’m Liam, nice to meet you ”, I said, and I shook his hand .

” Pleasure meeting you, gor, it’s freezing out here, isn’t it ?”, Dominick asked .

” Oh yeah, it’s bloody freezing ”, I said and we started laughing . When we had a chat, he walked into my room, I thought it was about time we apologized to one another, after all, you can’t stay mad forever, it’s time to make ends meet .

” Oh look who’s back, it’s Dominick, where have you been ?”, Jamie asked .

” I was in my room for a little while, I had lots of thinking time, lately, and um, I’ve been thinking about what I’ve been doing, what I did was bang out of order, I should have never snapped at Emmett ”, Dominick replied. ” Where is Emmett ?, is he here ?”, he asked .

” Yeah, he’s just gone for a piss, he’ll be out in a sec ”, Jamie replied .

” Oh ok, so how is he then ?, is he alright ?”, he asked .

” Yeah, he’s fine, you know what he’s like, it’s a small thing, really, he’ll get over it ”, Jamie replied .

” Oh ok ”, Dominick said . A few minutes later, Emmett walked out of the Cat and dog  and he was still upset . { Cat and dog is cockney ryming slang for bathroom}

” Hi Emmett, are you alright, yeah ?”, Dominick asked .

” Oh bloody hell, not you again, what do you want ?”, Emmett asked .

” Look, Emmett, I’m really sorry, what I did was bang out of order, I am not proud of it any shape or form ”, Dominick said .

” Well, you’re sorry, you wasn’t earlier though, was you ?”, Emmett said .

” I know, that’s the thing, I’ve thought about this a lot, I couldn’t help but think that I hurt your feelings ”, he said .

” Why are you so concerned about my feelings, my feelings are rock hard as shit, don’t you worry about them ”, Emmett said .

” Well, I am, cause you’re my friend, you’ve got me through some tough shit, how can I live without you ?”, Dominick said .

” Wow, that’s flattering ”, Emmett said, sarcastically .

” The thing is, is that I didn’t agree with the gang war idea, I felt like it was dangerous and stupid, but you see, Liam talked me out of it ”, Dominick said .

” Oh, did you, Liam ?”, Emmett asked, as he looked at me .

” I did, yeah ”, I replied .

” You know, I’m actually looking forward to doing this, I just piled on all that extra stress, for nothing ”, Dominick said .

” Ar well, that’s alright then, sorted ”, Emmett said .

” Right so, you’re not mad at us anymore ?”, I asked.

” Nah, yeah exactly, I’m leaving all that behind, I’m moving forward ”, he replied .

” Ah fantastic, well, that’s just brilliant, that is, I knew we’d get there in the end ”, I said .

” Yeahhh, the Eagles are back ”, Johnny shouted .

” This calls for a celebration, where’s my fucking chardonet ”, I said .

” Yeah, we’re gonna do the gang war first, then we can celebrate ”, Emmett said .

” Oh come on now ”, Kevin said. ” Enough with the war shit ”, he added .

” Yeah yeah yeah ”, Emmett said .

” Guys, sit down, the meeting’s not over yet, be quiet, alright guys, listen up . We all gathered around the bed room, some were sitting on the bed, some were sitting on the floor, some were standing up .

” We get there by car, we wake up a minute early, we arrive at the old warehouse on time, even earlier, if it’s possible and then we find somewhere to hide and then we wait, we better not muck this up, this is our only chance ”, Emmett said. ” Do I make myself clear ?”, Emmett asked .

” Yesssssss ”, we all yelled .

” Brilliant, alright everyone, go upstairs to your bed rooms, you’ve got to get some rest, you have a very important day ahead of you, alright goodnight, off you go ”, Emmett said, and we all headed upstairs to our rooms to get some rest and feel fully refreshed for whatever tomorrow throws at us .

!!! Tomorrow, the boys are going to go and do gang war, things may get messy, arrive at the Driscool wharehouse and join them, and don’t be late . !!!

End of chapter