by Nathan Davey
Our end of the VI.P section was pretty much empty. The occupants of these Tepees were still in the main part of the Festival. Inside our own Tepee it was almost silent, except for the sound of music in the distance. Lizzie settled down on the bed and started to read the Brochure. I went to the Tepee’s bathroom to try out the shower in there.
It was a bizarre device. The shower head was attached via a pipe to a see through plastic box filled with water. A battery run pump, when turned on, brought the water from the plastic box through the pipe and out of the shower head. It wasn’t all that powerful, it just dribbled out. It was enough to have a decent wash with. I used some of the “freebie” soap that the Festival provided to wash myself. It wasn’t the best shower I’d ever had, but at least I was no longer dirty.
When I finished I went back into the main room. Lizzie went into the bathroom after me, she also wanted a shower. I thought she might, so I left at least half the water that was inside the plastic square for her. I zipped up the front of the Tepee and zipped up all the windows. The solar powered lights, that had been charging all day, now lit the room in a dim orangey glow. I laid down on the bed, put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes.
I was laying there for a long time. I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t really thinking about anything. I just lay there. I could feel all the tension leave my body. It was like I was frozen in time, stuck for eternity in perfect comfort. It’s like when you’ve just woken up and you’re so cosy in your bed that you just don’t want to move. I was happy where I was and didn’t want to budge.
“Aaron?” asked Lizzie,
“Yeah?” I asked,
“Open your eyes” she said,
“Why?” I asked,
“You’ll see” she answered,
“Alright” I said.
I opened my eyes to see Lizzie standing before me, completely naked. It was a bit of a shock, a nice shock mind but a shock all the same. I’d always imagined what Lizzie looked like underneath those clothes. I think I would have liked it better if I was prepared beforehand. This was just a massive surprise. So I just lay there, staring at her angelic body, completely unsure what to say or do. I can remember my lips wobbling as I tried to figure a way to react to this. I was seriously struggling with it.
Her body was even better then I thought it would be. Her hips were shaped like an hourglass. Her belly was flat and I could see a sparkling belly button piercing that I’d never seen before. Her breasts were of perfect shape and size. Her small nipples were light pink. Her lovely hair hung over her shoulders like a supermodel.
That was the moment I realised I was in love with Lizzie. I knew that I was truly in love because, even though her body was even better then I imagined it, I couldn’t help but be mesmerised by her eyes. Those large eyes staring back at me were so beautiful that, even though I’m ashamed to admit it, it made me feel like crying. I didn’t though, blimey that would had been awkward.
Lizzie fiddled with her hair shyly, as if she were waiting for me to give her feedback like a TV Talent Show judge. I didn’t say anything though. I got up from the bed, walked over to her and kissed her. I held her naked body in my arms. I could feel a certain amount of shyness in her that I didn’t recognise. We parted from the kiss and she looked back at me, still with that shy expression on her face.
“Are you alright?” I asked,
“Yeah” she replied, “Do you . . . do you . . .”
“Want to have sex?” I asked,
“Yeah” she replied,
“Do you?” I asked,
“I . . .” she stuttered, my heart sank with affection,
“What’s this really all about?” I asked,
“It’s just . . . “she began, “We’ve been going out for a while now. All of the other girls at school have already done it. They said that if you don’t do it, it’ll make your boyfriend break up with you. I love you. I want to stay with you. I want you to be happy”
“If you want me to be happy” I began, “Then all I ask if that you’re happy. I didn’t except this from you. I never though that you’d think . . . that I’d . . . do you really think that I would have left you if we didn’t have sex?”
“That’s what all the other boys did to their girlfriends” Lizzie said, “I wasn’t sure what would happen if I didn’t”
“Lizzie, I love you too” I said, “Not like, “School – Love” but real love. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t. I don’t want you for sex. I want you because I adore you. I just want to make sure that you’re safe, happy and comfortable. I will never leave you. No matter what you may say or do I’ll stick by you. You’re my soul mate Lizzie, you’re . . .”
“What?” asked Lizzie,
“You’re the girl I want to marry” I said.
Even I didn’t expect that. I was as surprised as Lizzie. I didn’t think it through. The thought was just in my mind while I trying my best to express my feelings for her. It just slipped out. Now, that could have gone quite badly, if the person I was talking to was anybody but Lizzie. Lizzie smiled with shaking lips. She was on the verge of crying. Even now, she’ll always tell me that that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever said to her. I handed back her shirt to put on. She took it happily.
Lizzie, if you’re reading this, I want you to know that I love you so much. I’ll never take back a word I said to you that night. I meant all of it. Every word was a genuine fact and they still are. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here writing this book about our adventures. Thank you. Thank you for everything.
I always thought that I knew so much about Lizzie. This behaviour shook me up so much. I felt saddened by it. It made me feel so horrible, to think that she was convinced I’d leave her if we didn’t have sex. I don’t know if that’s a comment on our modern society, how pressured young people are to have sexual relationships. All I cared about was she understood that we’d only have sex when we were both comfortable to do so. No exceptions. Sex is nothing more then temporary pleasure. Love is for life.
We just snuggled that night. Falling asleep with this fantastic woman in my arms was just heaven. Holding her there, I knew that I’d do anything for her. I’d go anywhere, fight anyone and do anything if it meant that Lizzie would be safe and happy. She was, and still is, all that I ever needed. She was my life source. After being with her for so long, I don’t think I could have survived without her energy. Her presence had become a part of me. If I lost her, I’d have to carry on living my life like a puzzle with half of the pieces missing.
CHAPTER TWENTY – TWO
“Wake up Romeo” said Lizzie the next morning, “Time to meet Barry”
“Alright” I grunted, “I’m up”
“Aaron?” asked Lizzie,
“I’ am getting up” I assured her, “give me time, give me time”
“Oh no, I just wanted to ask you something” said Lizzie,
“Fire away” I replied, I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes,
“You remember that thing you said about marriage last night?” she asked,
“Yeah” I replied,
“Did you mean it?” she asked,
“Of course I did” I answered, “I didn’t scare you did I?”
“No” she said, “I just think it’s so sweet. Do you . . . want us to like, spend our entire lives together”
“Yes” I simply answered, “I’d have it no other way”
“I love you” she said,
“I love you too” I replied before leaning in to kiss her.
We parted from the kiss and got out of bed to get changed. We put back on the clothes that we’d been wearing for the past few weeks of this trip. Everyday we were spending together on this quest for social enlightenment was bringing me and Lizzie closer together. Our love and affection for each other kept growing until we were inseparable.
This was another note to add to my list of reasons why leaving St.Ians was a good idea. If I didn’t leave, I’d just be in a car park
drinking my life away and wasting the time I had been given on this Earth. I doubt that I would have found the courage to tell Lizzie how I felt about her if I stayed. Once again, I’m not saying that you have to do what I did. Just because it worked for us doesn’t mean that it’ll definitely work for you. I was lucky that this trip turned out the way it did, so far. Don’t runaway just because I ranaway, as you will see, this adventure was about to make a very nasty turn.
We left the Tepee within the hour and walked across the grass in the early morning haze. It wasn’t quite light and it wasn’t exactly dark, it was somewhere in the middle. The world had turned grey again. My surroundings haven’t been like this since I was in St.Ians. I didn’t think anything of it. I never stopped for a moment to think that it might be a sign, a sign of things that were to come. I didn’t think about it in that way, all I knew was that that lovely sunny spell we had was over. British sunlight always makes a late or delayed appearance and will only stay around for a day or so.
Morning dew was sparkling across the ground. People were coming out of their tents to stretch and do some morning exercises. We passed the bloke with the American flag in his tent. He was plucking away on a banjo while his friend jammed with him on a harmonica. Their jolly bluegrass beat certainly brought up our spirits on this dreary morning. Very soon we were out of the V.I.P section and were walking into the car park.
Just like he said, Barry was standing near the front gate smoking on another one of his thick cigars. We approached him. He spotted us and smiled with a mouth that was full of golden teeth. He really was a nasty looking character. He looked like something you’d see in a gritty crime drama, if this was then Ray Winstone would be playing Barry. We arrived before the frightening man and waited for him to acknowledge us.
“Morning” he said bluntly, “You ready to go?”
Barry was very much a “straight to be point” kind of guy. There was no pussy footing around things. He was the kind of guy who just wanted things done, so naturally he developed a conversational style in which he just says what he wants to happen. Barry would have been very good in financial business or maybe even law, because you often get those “no bullshit” types on those industries.
“Sure” I said, “We’ve got everything we need”
“Good said Barry, “You get your bike and I’ll get my car. I drive a black Mercedes with blacked out windows. Keep an eye out for it. I’ll roll down my window so you can see me better, kapeesh?”
“Sounds fine to us” said Lizzie,
“Right then” said Barry, “Let’s get cracking”
Barry walked away towards his car. It seemed that our conversations with Barry were short. It was like, we’d say four sentences each and that was it. It was like he was always in a hurry. Barry was a busy man so I guess he always was in a hurry. We didn’t say anything about it though, didn’t want to make a bad first impression. I and Lizzie also walked back the way we came towards the Moped.
I think by this point I’d begun to get quite fond of that bike. Yes it was a disgusting mix of bright yellow and rusty brown. Yes it was loud and clunky. Yes riding in the sidecar was like being in a space rocket without any seat belts. Yes people laughed when we rode by. Yes we both may have looked like a couple of plebs to everyone else. I didn’t care though, I loved that bike and I still do.
It’s in our garage. She sits proudly in the centre of the room, as a constant reminder of the amazing journey it took us on. I don’t think Adam has ever made an attempt to get it back. Then again, I haven’t seen Adam since the night we left St.Ians. He hasn’t made any effort to track me down. I sometimes feel a bit guilty for taking it, and then I remember what a repulsive prick he was.
Like many times before this, we climbed onto the Moped and strapped on our helmets. Lizzie drove this time. She took the front and we sat there waiting for Barry’s car to appear. Lizzie kicked the ignition which brought the engine to life. It seemed like ages before Barry’s black car drove past us. His window was rolled down and we briefly saw him as he drove on by. Lizzie twisted the handle and we were soon following Barry’s car out of the Festival car park and back onto the main road.
Back we were on the main road with the grey tarmac running underneath us. The cars and lorries drove alongside us and all around. The smell of petrol and fumes were filling our nostrils. The dark morning haze was beginning to lighten up as we travelled along. We came to love the road and the way that it can lead you from one new place to another. Sometimes it’ll take a minutes, hours or even days to get to where you want to go. The journey of getting there can be just as exciting as being there. The open road has a world of unexpected treasures to offer. You don’t what you’ll find along the way or who you’ll meet.
London wasn’t that far away from where the Festival was situated. We came into the outskirts of the city within the hour. It still took us at least another half an hour to drive through the housing estates to get to the city centre. We saw all the iconic images as we passed them: red buses, black taxi cabs, west end musical theatres, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and even the Gherkin.
London is a wonderfully bizarre mixture of the old and the brand new. Among modern skyscrapers and buildings of businesses, you can still find old houses, castles, churches and such untouched and preserved structures. In some parts, if it wasn’t for the red phone boxes, you would have thought you were in New York.
There were so many people packing out the streets, most of whom were foreign tourists. As we drove through the city centre, especially when we stopped at red lights, we heard such a wide selection of different languages and accents. Britain has now become known for being the world’s multinational empire, and I could see why. It was nice to see a place where so many different races of people where all living together and getting along, like those people back at the Festival. Unfortunately we knew too well that there are still so many violent and hateful incidents in London based on race. It made me so upset that I just wanted to get a megaphone and shout out: We’re all the same, we’re all humans, grow the fuck up people! Then again, having your voice heard can easily cause controversy, even if your message is one for peace.
The increase in the amount of bars, clubs, pubs and X-Rated establishments told us that we’d entered Soho. It was still daytime when we drove through, so the streets were not filled with the drunken partiers that this district is famed for. In fact, it was relativity quiet. I guess that was because people knew that there would be nothing much to do until it got dark. As we drove past, we saw that most of the places there didn’t even open until after nine p.m.
At this point we still had no idea where Barry was leading us. We could still see his car driving in front of us. We still followed him obediently, not knowing whether or not our new “friend” was trustworthy. Part of our mission was not to make judgements about people, as it was the discrimination against us that started this trip in the first place, so we kept on riding behind Barry’s car through the London streets. The black car finally stopped down a tight alleyway besides a small iron door.
It looked like the back door of an abandoned restaurant. There were cardboard boxes bin bags scattered everywhere across the alleyway. Lizzie spotted a couple of homeless people sleeping among the rubbish. We took off our helmets as we saw Barry get out of the car. We put the helmets away into the sidecar’s boot and walked up to the frightening man who was now knocking on the iron door.
His large fist coming into contact with the iron door made a loud banging sound that echoed across the street. In the red, rusted iron was a thin slit which could be opened so that people on the other side can look out. The little door on the opening slid open, to reveal a pair of beady eyes which looked out at us.
“Ello boss” said a deep voice, “Who are those geezers behind yah?”
“They are my new associates” answered Barry calmly, “They’d agreed to help us with the more . .
. delicate matter we have at hand.”
“Ah, right boss” he said, “I get yah, come on in then”
The thin slit was shut and moment later the man opened the door for us. We walked inside to find ourselves in a very damp corridor. The man closed the door behind us. The only light came from a lamp was that swinging gently from the ceiling. To the right was a staircase made of a rusty iron mesh, which led up onto a second level.
“This is Lucas” said Barry, “He’s one of the lads working for me”
Now that we were inside, we could see Lucas in full. He was very skinny, had a shaven head, several tattoos, piercings and skin as pale as snow. This guy wasn’t like those cool metal guys I used to like chatting with, this bloke genuinely looked very unpleasant. He didn’t smile at us, say hello or offer us to shake his hand. Instead he grunted at us before disappearing up the iron mesh stairs. I could hear him cracking his knuckles as he ascended, the noise they made were so loud!
“Don’t mind him” said Barry, “He’s just a bloody miserable git. Come upstairs. We have business to discuss.”
Barry led the way up the rusty iron mesh stairs up onto the second level. At the top of the stairs was one huge studio room. Inside this room was a fair amount of luxuries including huge beds, shaggy carpeting, fancy lamps and expensive gadgets. This was defiantly a contrast to the corridor below. It was like being in a multi millionaire Vegas pad. There was even a Jacuzzi bubbling away in the corner of the room.
Barry led us over to the Jacuzzi. In the Jacuzzi was a very pretty woman wearing a gold bikini. She looked up at us with large blue eyes. There seemed to be a permanent expression of mischief across her face. It was as if she was constantly thinking of a dirty joke, to be honest she probably was. I could tell by the sly smile she had on her face, that she was the kind of woman who’d use her beauty for immoral gain.
