by Nathan Davey
“Mr Connor” said Roger, he was shaking his head and smiling, “We were not expecting that, from either of you. I really hope that your incredible messages get to the masses. We’re going to have a commercial break now, so could you please give another round of applause to Aaron Connor and Lizzie Penny!”
The monitor cut to the crane camera, which swept back over the set. The theme song came back on and the audience applauded again. A few moments later the studio fell silent and the Stage Manager announced that we were clear to get ready to for the next guest. We shook Roger’s hand before going to stand with Ernest to watch the rest of the show from here. Ernest smiled at us shook our hands.
“Very good guys!” he said,
“Thank you” I said,
“I was so nervous!” said Lizzie,
“You better get used to it” said Ernest, “Within the last few hours, you two have come the most talked about people in the UK. The news has only just reached the US. This is only the beginning. Just you wait. This thing is going to be huge! What am I talking about? It already is huge. Isn’t this exciting?”
“It’s scary” I said with a smile,
“Same thing” replied Ernest,
“Are you joking?” asked Lizzie, “are you telling us the truth or are you pulling our leg?”
“Just you wait” said Ernest almost laughing, “Just wait. You’ll see if I’m telling the truth or not. Just – you – wait!”
CHAPTER TWENTY – SEVEN
Ernest was telling the truth. Over the next few weeks we became the most recognisable faces in the entire world. It still feels weird saying it, let alone writing it. We were invited to more chat shows and appeared on several different news programs. Comedians and satire shows made cheeky comments about us, which we weren’t offended by as they were genuinely funny. Every time we left our Hotel Room, we found ourselves cornered from all sides by members of the Paparazzi with cameras and microphones. Within a month, media professionals officially stated in various papers what we had reached “celebrity status”.
The studios started to pay us for the interviews. Lizzie was picked up by an agent to do some modelling, which included perfume adverts in fashion magazines and posing in clothes for high street catalogues. I was beginning to appear in schools to talk to the kids there and answer their questions, which the schools paid for. Madame Tussauds paid both of us thousands of pounds each, for the rights to use our likeness to create waxwork replicas. They also paid lots to have the Moped on display next to the waxworks. Soon we were able to afford our own place.
We bought an amazing apartment on the South Bank. We wanted to live there, so we can be constantly reminded that this was the place that changed our lives forever. The place was modern with white walls, large rooms, great Televisions, a nice big bath and every unnecessary luxury we could afford. When you come from a life style where you had almost no money and then propelled into a lot of wealth, you become a little crazy and buy stupid things. I swear at one point I bought an illuminated Union Jack table for a ridiculous price.
Whenever I wasn’t doing an appearance at a school and Lizzie had gone to a studio to do a photo shoot, I’d sit in the flat for hours on end feeling confused. I was so baffled and confused about how fast this had all occurred. How we were once nobodies and overnight became two people who everyone wanted to meet. I couldn’t believe it. My first worry was that it might make me develop an ego. The last thing I wanted to become was a “Marvellous Person”. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet, this is because I still didn’t believe that it happened. Whenever I see the same comedians I used to love watching making jokes about me, I laugh and don’t fully realise that it’s me that they’re talking about.
As time went on, more people approached us to do more work. I did some voiceovers for television adverts, I just thought why not? Lizzie was seen on posters, calendars and computer wallpapers as more people become interested in her natural beauty. It was then that I began to wonder if we were “selling out”, I still don’t know. The way we thought of it, if someone offered us to do something cool we didn’t do it for the money, we did it because it was cool.
More people wanted to hear about my story. There was a fantastic group of people who adapted it into a stage play at the National Theatre. We saw the production and thought it was mind blowing. It was frighteningly accurate and all of the performers worked their arses off. There were some great scenes with a replica Moped on a robotic arm, moving around in front of a screen with footage of a road rushing by. It was a beautiful show. Once again, even though I recognised the story as my own, it still didn’t clock in my mind that these people were recreating a chunk of me and Lizzie’s life. The show got a standing ovation at the end. We got to meet the cast afterwards and have a good talk with them about the show.
Our lives were moving unbelievably fast. We had no idea how long this fame would last for. We had no idea how long the public would keep on being interested in us. All we knew was that what was happening was amazing and that we should make the most of it, just in case it all ends without any warning. We did this for half a year and had a well good time.
One day I decided that there was something I really needed to do. At breakfast I told Lizzie about the idea, she agreed with me. After we’d finished our breakfast we began to set the wheels in motion, in which to make the idea a reality. We booked some first class train tickets and hired a cab to drive us to where we wanted to go once we arrived at the station. Now that we were financially secure, for the time being, I just felt that there was someone I needed to see again. We got changed onto some regular looking tracksuits and headed out.
Within the hour we had arrived at Kings Cross Station to board our train. We had travelled across London with the aid of our hired chauffeurs, who drove us in our limos to the station. They accompanied us as we walked through the station wearing large sunglasses, so that hopefully people wouldn’t recognise us and go mental. Thankfully only one person saw who we were but was too shy to come over and talk to us.
We got onto the train without any hassle. The train pulled out of the station and I began to feel my nerves return to me. I sat in my seat twiddling my thumbs for the entire journey. Lizzie was reading a magazine and sipping from a glass of complimentary wine. The landscape whizzed by as my nerves began to build up inside me. Lizzie noticed this. She put down her magazine, rested her hand on mine and looked up at me with those adorable eyes.
“Are you alright?” she asked,
“Oh, yeah” I replied, “I’m just feeling a bit nervous is all”
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” she asked,
“Yes” I said, “It’s only right.”
“OK” she said, “But if you’re feeling funny, you know you can tell me anything”
“I will, I promise” I said,
“Alright” she replied, “I trust you”
“I appreciate that” I said with a smile.
Lizzie kept her hand on mine for the rest of the journey. She no longer had any interest in the magazine she was reading. All she was interested in now was making sure I was feeling OK. I knew that this was bound to make me nervous, but I knew that it had to be done. Lizzie also knew that what we were doing now was only right, and she wanted me to know that she supported me and my decision. Lizzie really was the best girlfriend a guy could ever have. There’s no exaggeration there. She was perfect, amazing, kind and (most of all) beautiful. She really was, and still is, my soul mate.
After an hour long journey, we finally pulled into the station where the train stopped for us to get off. We walked onto the platform, accompanied by our chauffeurs, walked through the foyer and out into the car park. A taxi was waiting for us. The driver was standing in front of the black car with a sign which said: “Connor and Penny” on it. The driver recognised us and went to open the car doors for us.
We climbed in with the chauffeurs, one sat in the back with us and the other sat next to the taxi driver. Th
e car roared into life and soon drove out of the car park onto the motorway. I and Lizzie held our hands tightly as we began to pass recognisable sights. We saw houses and streets we recognised. Memories of the past were brought to mind as we drove through the streets of a Town we knew very well indeed. It didn’t take long before we finally passed the sign which said; “St.Ians”
We passed the pubs, the market and St.Ians Secondary School. When we came across the School I got a sudden brain wave and told the taxi driver to stop the cab. I got out, leaving a very confused Lizzie back in the cab, and walked across the car park towards the front doors. What I had in mind was extremely childish. Nonetheless I knew that it would feel fantastic when it did it. Don’t judge me after I tell you this, because it still makes me smile when I think about it.
I entered the foyer, walked past the shocked receptionist and headed towards the assembly hall. I walked down the stairs and entered the hall without knocking or warning anyone that I was about to make my appearance. The hall was full of faces I knew very well. The faces had all turned towards me in reaction to hearing my footsteps enter the room. The faces looked at me in shock and the majority gasped. This was the reaction I was expecting to happen.
Mr Bertgill was standing at the front of the hall. I had interrupted one of his boring speeches. He stopped talking to stare at me, almost horrified. All of the teachers also shared the same expression that Mr Bertgill was pulling. There was a long dramatic pause in which nothing happened. The room was silent. It was like I had frozen everyone in the room where they stood. The power was incredible. Over a year ago I was the least important person in the room, now everyone was staring at me eagerly.
I stepped forward a few steps. Everyone in the hall leaned forward to see what I was about to do. I looked around the sea of wide eyed faces. Then my eyes focused on Mr Bertgill again. A smile spread across my face, as I raised my middle finger to him. The headmaster’s head began to shake, as if he was about to explode from the pressure. I raised my other middle finger. This was aimed more at the entire room, rather then Mr Bertgill himself.
“Mr Bertgill!” I called from the back of the hall, “Go fuck yourself, you miserable wanker!”
I walked out of the hall and allowed everyone to mumble and grumble in displeasure. That comment had broken the freezing spell that had affected the main hall. Everyone began to talk all at once, people were tutting and people were shaking heads. I didn’t care. I walked out of that room with my head held high. I had found my place in the world. I was no longer apart of that horrible past-life, with all its judgments and negativity. I was free at last.
I walked out the main hall, across the foyer, past the gobsmacked receptionist and out through the front doors. I walked across the car park with a massive smirk across my face. Lizzie saw me from the opened car door liking confused. Her face still expressed her confusion as I climbed back in my seat. I closed the door behind me and put my seatbelt on.
“What was that all about?” she asked,
“Oh, nothing” I said, “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Do you still want to go to the your location, the one you told me over the phone?” asked the taxi driver,
“Yeah” I said, “This was just a detour, carry on mate”
“Righto” said the taxi driver.
The taxi driver drove out of the school playground and back on the main roads. We passed more houses and playgrounds that we remembered so fondly. We drove down the same streets that we used to escape St.Ians, when we first took Adam’s bike and began our series of adventures. It didn’t take us long to arrive at the location I had told the driver about over the phone. The driver parked the taxi up on the curve, outside mine and Lizzie’s white, square houses.
We got out of the car and stood on the grass, looking up at the houses and holding each other’s hands. It felt so bizarre to be back here where this story began. After everything we’d been through, every place we went to and all of the people we’ve met, we nearly forgot about this place. That morning I decided that I needed to come back and remind myself of my roots, before it faded from my mind completely.
I didn’t expect to feel as emotional as I did. Chills ran up my spine as I walked with Lizzie towards the house. For some reason we couldn’t go any faster than a slow walk. The emotions that were building up inside our chests were making us feel anxious. Even with all the fame, the money, the luxury and the glamour we still recognised this attached council building to be our true home. Memories of growing up and my childhood filled my mind, the images were beginning to make me well up. I took a deep breath and wiped away the tears, as I approached my front door.
I couldn’t believe how much I missed my Mother. I was so caught up in my adventures that I completely forgot about her. It was then that I realised something dreadful: I hadn’t even called her to tell her I was alright. Had she been worrying about me? Had she seen me on the television? Had she been having the Police search for me? Why didn’t I give her a ring? I thought, just once, to let her know I was ok. It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel shameful. I knew that I wanted to make amends anyway I could.
Lizzie let go of my hand so that she could go and stand in front of her door as well. The chauffeurs stood by the taxi with the driver, the three of them just looked on impassively. Lizzie knocked on her door first. Then I knocked on my door. Lizzie’s parents came out and gave their daughter a massive hug, I could see their faces smiling and crying at the same time. It was so uplifting to see that. Then my door opened.
There she was, my Mother, standing there in all her glory. She was in a long dressing gown, there were large bags under her eyes and her make up had run down her face from crying. Neither of us knew what to say at first. We just stared at each other for ages. I think my Mum was in shock, I don’t think she was expecting me to make such a surprise appearance.
I gulped and said the first thing that came to my head:
“Hey Mum . . . I’m home”
She smiled at me. I returned the smile. Suddenly she bolted out the doorway and wrapped her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her. I could feel her body jolting as she cried on my shoulder. I have to admit, I began to cry myself. It was a lovely moment. She pulled back from the hug and looked me up and down. There was a proud smile growing across her face. Her lips wobbled as more tears ran down her cheeks. She was so overwhelmed with emotion, it was like she was malfunctioning and breaking down.
“Look at you!” she said, “My son, a millionaire! Who would have thought it hey?”
“Who indeed?” I asked smiling,
“I was wrong about you Aaron” she said, “I want to apologise. I haven’t been able to forgive myself after the way I shouted at you. I had the police looking for you for ages. They gave up the search the other day and . . . I thought that was going to the end of it. It was only when I saw you on the news that I knew you . . . were just fine. I’m so sorry Aaron. I’ll be the best Mum I can be from now on. I know you live in London but you can call me anytime you want. Anytime you need to talk, I’ll always be here. It won’t matter where you are in the world, what you’ve done or what you’ve said . . . you’ll always be my little boy . . . and this will always be your home.”
“Thank you”
“No Aaron, Thank you”
