Junk - Melvin Burgess [33]
The really great thing was… he didn’t recognise me. Honestly. He was sitting at a window table and I sat at the table next to him and he stared straight through me like I was a stranger. I thought, Right, we’ll see how faithful Mr Man really is. I started staring at him hard, as if I fancied him. I could see him getting all nervous. He didn’t know what was going on. I stared and then I gave him a little wink and raised my eyebrows and he blushed bright red. Then, after a bit, he looked cautiously at me and gave me a sickly little smile. So the next time he caught my eye I winked and got up to come and sit next to him.
I thought he was going to die! But you could see the light dawning as I came closer to him and he squeaked, ‘GEMMA?!?’
‘Who do you think?’
Tar’s face. You can see everything on Tar’s face. He was gobsmacked.
‘I can’t ever go home now,’ I told him. It was right. I didn’t look like anyone’s daughter any more, let alone Mr and Mrs Brogan’s. We got up together and went to walk to the bop. Tar was a bit self-conscious. People were looking at me, and he was proud to be with me, but he’s shy about being proud, you know what I mean. Then after a bit he got used to the idea and then he started wanting to touch me. He grabbed me and started kissing me and trying to get his hands under my clothes but I smacked him off.
‘This is practically being unfaithful,’ I scolded him, and he giggled. But I didn’t want him to smudge the lipstick and stuff, see.
By the time we got to the bop I was flying. There was a reggae band on when we arrived. A few people were dancing about but most of them were still sitting, waiting for the main band. We got drinks, lager. I went to the bar and bought them. Looking like that I could have walked in and bought the building, let alone a drink. I sat next to Tar and held his hand between my thighs under the table.
I felt so good.
It was loud in there. I loved the noise. I loved the crowd. I loved being me. We got up and danced around a bit until the band left the stage. We went and leaned against a wall and had another drink and waited while the next band got ready.
It was a punk band. I don’t know who they were. They came on and started fiddling with their gear. There was a sort of buzz from all those people. They didn’t do any of that testing, testing, 12 3 and faffing about making sure the sound was right. They did a couple of chords, and then… it looked as though there was some sort of argument going on. The singer started shouting at someone in the audience through the mike.
It was… it just started getting out of hand. The band joined in and the crowd gathered up right under the stage and shouted back and I thought there was some real trouble on the way. The band looked about ready to trash the place. They weren’t playing. This bloke at the front was really winding up the audience. He was really going for it. The floor was full of people and this guy was SCREAMING abuse at them. He was sticking his fingers up at them and mouthing FUCK OFF and they started screaming back at him. The whole place was enraged. Then he leaned forward and spat – a big gobful – you could see it spraying over the people at the front…
Then the band started up.
I couldn’t work it out. It was so violent but they were playing this song that was just like screaming abuse but put to music. Suddenly the audience was pogoing up and down and the lights were flashing and the whole place was throbbing and the people up at the front were spitting at the singer so he was slipping and skidding, the stage was so wet with gob…
That was it. It was the act! I just screamed with pleasure. I never saw anything like that. I ran out into the mess and started with them, jumping bang abang bang abang up and down and howling…
That band. I wish I knew who they were. They must have been famous or become famous soon after because they were just so obscene and rude and wonderful. The music was like being beaten up, only it didn’t hurt, you know what I mean. It was a lynch mob out there except, funny thing, there were never