by Nathan Davey
“Sick” said an old woman who was walking past, “sick and disgusting!”
“Don’t take it to heart” said her husband, “they were probably trying to make a point”
“What point?” barked the old woman, “it was just offensive, that was what it was! You fought against those nutters back in the war, now we’ve got the modern generation glorifying them? It’s mental! It’s deranged!”
“I’m sorry to interrupt” I said, taking a couple of steps towards them, “but what are two talking about?”
“You’ll see!” yelled the woman, “you’ll bloody well see! They’re marching up the street as I speak!”
It was then that I began to hear a wave of boos and shouting coming from the crowd behind the old couple. It was increasing the volume as more people took up the cry of rage. I looked up to see hands punching the air in anger. More hands rose into the air, when they saw what everyone was getting angry about, like a Mexican wave. I could see people getting whatever they had at hand and throwing it towards something that was in the centre of the street. I peered out from the crowd, knowing very well who I was going to see. I knew who it was I was going to see, but I had no idea what it was I was going to see.
The children were dressed in striped uniforms. Their hair was completely shaven, the hair they had before must have been wigs of some sort. They were marching in a lined procession up the street, led by several boys dressed as Nazis. The boys dressed as Nazis were goose-stepping and had their hands rose in a Hitler salute. At the back of the procession were two people, who were holding up large banners brandishing the swastika. Joe was at the back as well, holding an amplifier which was plugged into his MP3 player. From the MP3 player, Joe was playing Adolf Hitler’s Rally Speeches at full blast. The man with the monk haircut was whipping the young actors with a fake rubber whip, while singing the German national anthem.
The one thing that Joe hadn’t counted on, was a large group of German students and tourists being on the Royal Mile that day. If they had done this on a day in which the street was occupied by British people alone, all they would have got was a fair amount of tutting. Instead they got a massive backlash of hatred from the crowd.
One German man with a grey beard came out of the crowd, grabbed the amplifier from Joe’s hands and smashed it over his head. Joe went tumbling to the ground, as bits of broken plastic fell all over the cobblestone street. There was a massive cheer from the crowd.
Even though I shouldn’t have done, I smiled at the sight of it. Serves you right I thought, you insensitive bastard!
The young actors began to look around then at the furious faces in the crowd. Soon people began to gang up on the ones dressed as Nazis. Their faces were inches away from the complete strangers who they’ve seriously irritated. The young actors dressed as prisoners snuck away through the crowd. Then they headed towards a festival tent where all of they’re clothes were, to get changed out of their offensive costumes as quickly as possible.
The ones dressed as Nazis were left on the street, getting themselves trapped in a tightening circle of angry faces. I have no idea how the fight eventually started. All I saw was one man viscously head butt the man with the monk haircut, which then caused the entire crowd to go absolutely mental. The crowd became nothing more then a sea of violent rage, where many noses were broken and many faces smashed in.
I could see the young actors in the distance running away, escorted by members of the police. The young actors were full dressed with their wigs back on their heads, some in awkward angles. After a little research, I discovered that the parents approved the shaving of their children’s heads. Some were even present at the hairdressers when it was being done! Pushy drama parents will do anything to get their kids in the spotlight, its repulsive init?
As casually as possible, the three of us made our way towards the bottom of the street, where Lizzie said she parked the Moped. Police vans, stuffed with policemen with riot helmets and shields, then came onto the scene to sort out the situation. We kept on moving down the street, as if we had no connection whatsoever with the Mock Nazi Rally, as the newspapers soon called it.
We arrived at the end of the street where the Moped was parked. By the bike were all of the young actors, who all looked terrified. They had seen my bike and just hoped that I would come back. All of them looked at us with fear in their eyes, on the verge of panic.
“Is everyone alright?” I asked.
From the actors came a mixture of “yes” and “no”. Most of them were so scared that they were beyond the ability to reply. They just shook with fright. I didn’t blame them, after what Joe made them do. I no longer had any grudges against them, for the rude way they’d been acting to me and Lizzie, I just wanted to make sure that they were all safe.
Lizzie went among them and checked that they were all OK. I was looking around to check that there wasn’t any strays. Thankfully, after doing a headcount of all the young actors, Lizzie confirmed that everyone was there. That made me feel a little calmer, as I tried to figure out what to do. For me, the first thing to do was to get everyone back to the Boarding School. At least then, we’d know that all the kids were in one place, away from the harm of this horrible crowd.
“Does everyone still have their bus tickets with them?” I asked,
“Yes” they replied,
“Are they returning tickets?” I asked,
“Yes” they replied,
“Right” I said, “Head back to the school, there won’t be any show today!”
“I’ll take them back” said Lizzie, “if you take David back on the bike”
“Fair enough” I replied, “is everyone ready?”
“Yes” they replied,
“Ok then, let’s do it!”
Lizzie led the frightened young actors down the street and towards the bus station. I took the driving position and David sat behind me. No one had to sit in the dreaded sidecar. I started up the engine as quick as possible and zoomed off down the street, back the way we came. We drove away, leaving the fighting crowd and riot police behind us.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
We finally arrived at the Boarding School half an hour later. We knew that it would take a while for the others to arrive, so I parked the Moped and waited for the others. We’d only been there a few moments when I came up with an idea. An idea to help cheer the young actors up, after the horrible event they’ve just been through.
“I’m just going to sort something out with the cooks” I told David, “You stay here with the bike, I’ll be back in a minute”
“Ok” said David shakily, I don’t think he was very happy with me leaving him alone in the middle of Scotland.
I ran across the courtyard, down the steps into the tunnel, through the tunnel, up the stairs at the other end, across the other courtyard and into the canteen. The cooks were sitting around chatting among themselves at one of the tables. They were nibbling at biscuits and drinking cups of tea.
They stood up when I entered and were taken aback by my haggard appearance. I was puffing and panting. I stood there in the doorway trying to catch my breath. My hand was holding onto my chest as I tried to spit out the words I wanted.
“What’s up with you?” asked the larger female cook,
“There was a nasty incident at the Royal Mile” I began, “Joe’s troupe, they . . .”
“We know!” interrupted the cook, “we just heard it on the radio. B.E.N has been broadcasting Live from the Royal Mile all morning, they were the first to report it. Are all the children alright?”
“Yeah, they’re with Lizzie” I replied, “They’re coming back on the bus. I just came here to ask, could you make something for them all. Maybe like, some hot chocolate or biscuits maybe?”
“Yes” replied the cook simply, “I’m sure that can be arranged, we’ll start right away. Come on girls, hop to it!”
The cooks finished up their teas and took their things as they rushed to the kitchen. Momentarily there w
as a loud clanging and clinking of china, as the cooks rushed around to prepare the drinks and snacks. Soon the room smelt strongly of hot chocolate, the sweet smell was enough to lift the spirits of a man who’s lost everything.
“Thank you!” I shouted,
“You’re Welcome!” was the answer from the kitchen.
I ran back out onto the courtyard. I needed to get back to the front, so that I could tell everyone to go to the canteen when they arrive. I ran back the way I came down the tunnel and up the other side. Back in the first courtyard I found David still by the bike, but now surrounded by members of the orchestra and crew.
All the musicians, make up artists, costume designers, parental helpers and such like were all in the front courtyard. From the distressed looks on their faces, they had heard the same radio report as the cooks had.
I saw David point to me when he spotted me heading back. The others looked at me with sad eyes. Laura was among them. The nasty glare of disapproval was gone from her face, all that was left was a look of genuine worry and fear. When I arrived to the spot where they stood, I was bombarded with questions from all direction.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Where’s Joe?”
“Where’s my little Abigail?”
“How did it start?”
“Is anyone hurt?”
“Every one of the children who were playing prisoners is fine. They are on their way here with Lizzie on the bus” I said, “Unfortunately, the ones in Nazi uniforms were in the epicentre of the fight, I would have thought the Police would have taken them aside”
“Where have you just been?” asked one of the parental helpers,
“At the Canteen” I answered, “I’ve arranged for the cooks to make some Hot Chocolate for the young ones when they get back. They’re sorting it out right now as we speak.”
“I’m calling Joe” announced Laura who was getting her phone out of her handbag, her face was bright red with fury, “I’m going to find out where the bloody git is, and see how soon we can get everyone back to Epping. There’s no way we can do this show after that. No way. These kids are going home”
“I fully agree” I said, “Just got to wait for the others to get back, then lead them to the canteen”
Everyone replied with various words and phrases to express agreement and understanding. We stood there for a few good minutes, worrying beyond belief. All the time he had to listen to Laura, she was shouting her head off down the phone to Joe with alarming passion. Her arms were flying about everywhere with clenched fists. It was like watching someone do a very good impersonation of Basil Fawlty. Many of the people surrounding her were stepping away slowly, in fear she might accidentally hit them in her rage.
“YOU STUPID MAN!!” she was screaming, “YOU BLITHERING, THICK HEADED, OBESE PILE OF PUSS!! HOW DARE YOU ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN! YOU STUPID, STUPID BARSTARD!! GET YOURSELF AND THE OTHER BOYS OUT OF THAT POLICE STATION RIGHT NOW!!! WE ARE GOING STRAIGHT HOME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? STRAIGHT HOME!!! YOU . . . YOU . . . FAT GIT!”
She hung up the phone and for a second it looked like she was going to smash it on the ground. She knew better though, so she placed it back in her handbag and took several deep breaths. After calming her self down, she took out from her handbag a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and began to smoke. She looked at us and pulled a weak smile.
“He’s at the police station” she said, her teeth were gritted but she was still trying to remain calm, “the older boys who were dressed as Nazis are there with them. He says that they are not hurt too bad, just some bruises here and there. They’ll get back as soon as they can. Joe will pay for everyone’s tickets, I’ll see to that. We’ll leave when we’re ready”
“I suggest that we spend one more night here” I said, “just to rest up. The younger ones might want to have a bit of a cool down after what happened. They can just hang out, watch television and play football on the grounds. They can just chill out. I think they need it”
“I agree” said Laura, “best we go easy on them”
It was only a little while later, when we finally saw Lizzie come up the pathway with the children behind her. The children came in through the archway, some were stunned and others were crying. Lizzie was holding hands with two young girls who were crying, she was trying to comfort them with kind words to no avail.
All of us walked up to them and met them in the middle. The parents, who were present as helpers, went straight to their own children to make sure they were OK. Many of the others quickly went around the children and checked for any injuries or complaints. Thankfully all of the young ones seemed unharmed.
The first thing that everyone commented on was the hair, they hoped it would grow back after what the Director made them do. The parents felt so guilty for letting the Director do it, that they hugged their children and promised them that they wouldn’t have to work for Joe ever again. It came to a point where people were getting so angry at Joe, that they were about ready to lynch him.
“Everyone!” I announced, I sensed the intense atmosphere developing and decided that it would be a good time to defuse it, “the lovely cooks here at the school are preparing some Hot Chocolates and snacks for you all. So, if you’ll just follow me to the Canteen, we’ll make sure that everyone is sorted out”
I led the children across the courtyard towards the tunnel. David came to my side. I put my hand on his head to check for a wig, but there wasn’t one there, his hair was real. This confused me a little bit.
“Why wasn’t your hair shaven like the others?” I asked,
“I didn’t want it done, nor did my mum” he replied, “That was when everyone started to ignore me. They said was going to ruin the show because I’d be the only prisoner who still had his hair. Amber was the only other one who didn’t do it, but she’s really pretty and popular so they let it go. I still have my costume underneath this though, look”
David brought down the collar of his shirt down a bit, so that I could see the stripy uniform underneath. He was meant to be in that procession as well, but he didn’t do it because he was with me and Lizzie. That made me feel a bit better. At least I avoided one person from being stuck in that horrible crowd. At least I prevented David from being apart of that horrible experience that the others had to go through.
I led everyone down the steps, through the tunnel and up the steps onto the courtyard on the other side. The cold air was still bitter and the wind still blew with tremendous force. The little group of people behind me were all huddled together, to keep themselves warm. Thunder crackled in the distance as some rain began to pour onto the courtyard. It was as if the weather knew exactly what had happened that day, and wanted to add to the ambience of the situation.
We reached the canteen, where I opened the door wide open, so that everyone could just run through. They all made their way inside to get away from the wind and rain. Once I was sure that everyone was inside the building, I went in myself and closed the door behind me.
The young actors had already created a very neat line, all of them were chilled to the bone and needed some nice, hot refreshments. One by one, the kids got their hot chocolate and headed to the nearest table. On each table were little bowls full of chocolate biscuits. Soon everyone had their fair share of items and was sitting at table getting warm. Many of the adults were sitting with the kids, trying to comfort them and calm their shattered nerves.
Lizzie stood next me in the doorway. Her face looked sad and I could tell that she was on the verge of crying. I put my arm around her and gave her a gentle kiss on his cheek. She smiled weakly at me before staring glumly at the floor.
“Are you ok?” I asked,
“I’ll be fine” she replied, “It was just . . . so upsetting to see all of those kids crying like that. I still can’t get over the fact that Joe made all of them cut their hair. I just . . . can’t believe it. That man should not be allowed to work with children”
“After this” I said, “I don�
��t think he ever will again”
“Bloody good thing too!” said Lizzie.
We all stayed in the canteen for a good hour or so. Afterwards the kids had stopped crying and felt a lot better. They were still considerably shaken by the whole thing, understandably, but they at least felt a little better. Everyone was chatting among themselves, when I took some steps into the room to make another announcement.
“I think” I began, “that our lovely cooks deserve a “thank you” for the Hot Chocolates and snacks”
“Thank you” they all said in unison,
“Not a problem” called the cooks from the kitchen,
“You guys can do whatever you want now” I said, “we’re going straight home on the train tomorrow. So until then, you can chill out and do whatever, as long as you stay within the grounds of the school.
“There are football and basketball courts behind the Dormitories and I’m sure that the school won’t mind if you borrow their balls as long as you put them back. There’s a television in the Dormitory House, as well as a pool table.
“Do whatever you feel you need to do to calm yourselves down and relax. If you need anything, just go and ask one of the adults in this room. I just hope that your all ok, thank you”
Unexpectedly, I got a huge round of applause. Everyone in the room were clapping, shouting and whistling. I was not expecting that. The kids, the adults, the cooks and even Lizzie all clapped and smiled towards me. It was deeply moving and was deeply touched by it. It certainly has become one of the most memorable moments of my life, as brief as it was.
The people in the room dispersed in their own time, leaving the canteen and heading back to the Dormitory House. A lot of the adults shook my hand before leaving the room. The larger female cook, who I talked to before, simply came out and gave me a thumbs up before disappearing back into the kitchen. Laura came up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. She also placed her other hand on Lizzie’s shoulder.
