Aaron Connor (30 page)

My mind was still reeling.
Everything was happening so fast. It seemed like a blink of the
eye, between being at gun point and then finding myself standing
before an entire Television crew. I tried my best to look strong in
front of Lizzie, who had saved my life. If I loved her before that,
imagine how I felt about her after she stuck her neck out to save
me from loosing my life. I was amazed that she wasn’t afraid to go
back into Barry’s place. I was blown away by the fact that she
still stood by me, even in our darkest hour. It was then that I
realised, that she really was my soul mate.

“
We’re about
to start” said Ernest, “Are you two ready?”

“
Yep” I
said,

“
Ready when
you are” said Lizzie,

“
Brilliant!”
cried Ernest.

“
OK we’re on
in 5, 4” said the camera man, as he counted down from five with his
fingers, “3, 2” and the last number was shown with his fingers
silently. A red light appeared on the camera. The boom microphone
was brought down so that it was above Ernest, but not so low that
it appeared in the shot. Once the red light came on and the
microphone was in place, Ernest began the report.

“
Hello, my
name is Ernest Tremlett. I’m reporting from Epping Forest, just
outside of East London. The notorious drug dealer, Barry Pepper,
who has been plaguing the City of London for many years, has
finally been captured. He was apprehended with the help of two
young people from St.Ians, in Cambridgeshire.

“
Other than
the event of the arrest of Barry Pepper, I have another story to
tell. This story came to us, here at Channel 4, completely by
surprise. We discovered that these young people have been on a most
incredible adventure across Britain.

“
They hadn’t
many qualifications and they couldn’t get themselves jobs. So,
instead of sitting around and making a nuisance of themselves, they
decided to go out into the country and do some good. They decided
to make it their goal in life, to go across the country and help as
many people as they could. They’ve been to many places, met many
people and their journey had ended right here, when they mistook
the famous criminal as someone who needed assistance. Thankfully
the authorities arrived when they did.

“
I’m here with
the two young people themselves, two sixteen year olds by the names
of Lizzie Penny and Aaron Connor. Aaron has agreed to tell you
about his exploits and what he plans to do now. Aaron, how are
you?”

“
A bit shaky”
I said, “I’m fine though. I just to say first, that if it wasn’t
for Lizzie here, I wouldn’t be standing here now. She saved my
life. I owe so much to her. I just wanted to make sure that
everyone out there, watching at home, know that I’m not the hero,
Lizzie is”

“
Wow, what an
elegant testimony” said Ernest, “What do you think about that
Lizzie?”

“
Well, he told
me that if things went wrong I was get away and go home” she began,
“I didn’t though. I love Aaron. I’d do anything for him. I knew
that this was going to be a mess that he wouldn’t be able to get
out of alone. I’m just so happy that he’s still with us. I’m so
happy that the authorities got here in time.”

“
I think we
all are” said Ernest with a smile, “Now Aaron, tell us the story of
the adventures that the two of you have been on”

Once again I told the story
like I did before. I tried to tell it the exact same say I told it
to Ernest just a moment ago. At the time I was telling the story, I
was just like I was talking to Ernest again. The concept that
everyone in the country was going to see and hear this didn’t
really clock in my mind straight away. When I had finished, Ernest
smiled at me and looked into the camera again.

“
There you
have it” he said, “An incredible story and social justice all in
one day. This has been Ernest Tremlett, Channel 4 News, Epping
Forest”

“
And cut!”
said the camera man, the red light went off and the boom microphone
was lifted out of the way, “Nice one Ernest, can’t wait to see it
tonight!”

“
Tonight?” I
asked,

“
Naturally”
answered Ernest, “This is big news. We’ve been after this guy for
years. This will be tomorrow’s big headline. You’ll be on
television tonight.”

“
Blimey” I
said,

“
Do you have
anywhere to stay?” Earnest asked,

“
No” Lizzie
answered, “we’ve just been kind of going from place to place,
why?”

“
Because I
imagine” Ernest began, “that you’re going to become quite popular
over the next few days. I know that we’ll want you for our chat
shows and other news based programs. Probably best if you get a
place to stay within a close distance of all the studios. We’ll
arrange it for you, don’t you worry”

“
Are you
sure?” Lizzie asked, “We don’t want to be any worry”

“
Nah” said
Ernest, “It’s normal procedure, and we’ll make sure that you’re put
in a very nice hotel, all expenses paid. You’re our guests and you
shall be treated as such”

“
Thank you” I
said,

“
No Aaron”
said Ernest, “Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve got the best story
I’ve ever had! This is going to be very exciting Mr Connor, very
exciting”

We rode back into London in the
Channel 4 van with the rest of the crew. When we arrived back in
the City, Ernest called up the executives and arranged for me and
Lizzie to stay in a very fancy hotel. He then drove us to a nice
hotel in the centre of London. We got out the car. Ernest kept the
door open so he could talk to us from the sidewalk.

“
Right guys”
he said, “I hope the room’s alright. The executives have only just
bought it for you.”

“
Thank you” I
said,

“
You are
scheduled for a live chat show” Ernest said, “it’s at 7.00pm at ITV
Studios in Studio one. Someone will come to pick you up and drop
you off afterwards. We will keep you updated if anyone else wants
you for interviews or appearances. If you need anything tell the
people at reception, as everything will be paid by us during your
stay. OK? Right, I’ll see you two tonight then”

“
See yeah” I
said,

“
Bye” said
Lizzie.

He closed the door of the van
and was soon speeding away down the City streets. We watched him
drive away. After he left we went up to our room which the
broadcaster hired for us. A man dressed in a fine suit was waiting
for us in the foyer. He led us up to the room and assured us that
we wouldn’t have to pay a penny for anything. He also gave us a
menu and the phone number to call to order food from. Once he was
happy that we were settled in, he promptly left us two alone.

It really was a lovely place.
There was a lot of marble and expensive linen. The workers at the
hotel welcomed us warmly and kindly. A bottle of the finest
champagne was waiting for us in the room with two glasses, I think
they bypassed the fact that we were underage for that one occasion.
The bed large was unbelievably soft. The tub in the ensuite
bathroom was massive, there was even a television in the wall above
the bath with a waterproof controller sitting on the side. It was
like something off MTV: Cribs.

That night we sat on the bed
and watched the news report on the room’s large, flat screened
television. I couldn’t believe that it was me talking on the
screen, on national television. I had no idea who might be watching
this. We watched the program completely mesmerized. I still
couldn’t believe that I had survived, even though all of the
evidence was present. When something incredible happens to you, the
reality of it takes a long time to digest. It just felt so
unreal.

“
You scared me
today” said Lizzie, she held my hand and gave it an affectionate
squeeze, “I thought I was going to lose you”

“
I can’t thank
you enough” I said, “you saved my life, how can I ever repay
you?”

“
There is, one
thing you could do” said Lizzie,

“
What?” I
asked, “Anything, what is it?”

“
Kiss me” she
said.

We kissed. The feeling was
almost electric as I felt the emotion rocket through my body. It
was the most passionate kiss we’d ever had. Within that kiss there
was no bed, no hotel room and no world. All that was left was just
a black void in which only we inhabited. Within those few moments,
we were the only two beings in existence, everything outside of
that kiss dissolved away into nothing. When we parted, the world,
the bed and the hotel room came back. I’d never felt so happy in my
entire life. When I was holding her in my arms, I knew that I was
exactly where I was meant to be.

CHAPTER TWENTY –SIX

There was a knock on the hotel
room door. I went across the room to answer it. Standing in the
corridor was a pleasant woman who had an ITV Studios pass hung
around her neck. She held a clipboard which had many documents
clipped to it, this included the timetable for filming at the
studio. I could see our names on the timetable underneath a program
called Roger Bueller: Talking.

“
Mr Connor?”
she asked politely,

“
Yeah, that’s
me” I said,

“
Is Miss Penny
with you?” she asked,

“
I’m here”
called Lizzie as she walked towards the door,

“
Good, good”
said the woman, “My name is Lara and I’ll be your assistant today.
Are you guys ready to go?”

“
Sure” we
said,

“
Brilliant”
said Lara enthusiastically, “come along then”

We left the room and locked the
door behind us. The three of us, led by Lara, went downstairs via
the elevator, across the foyer and out of the front door. A London
taxi cab was waiting for us on the curb. The driver opened the door
for us to climb in. Once we were all inside the driver closed the
door, climbed into the front seat, turned the key and started to
drive the vehicle down the road.

“
Are you guys
feeling nervous at all?” asked Lara,

“
A bit” I
said,

“
Do you know
what kinds of questions we might be asked?” asked
Lizzie,

“
I imagine it
will be just about you two and everything you’d done” Lara
answered, “I doubt it’ll be anything too personal. You don’t have
to answer a question if you don’t want to. If that happens, just
say “no comment” and Roger will just move on to the next
question”

“
What’s Roger
like?” I asked,

“
He’s not as
nasty as everyone makes him out to be” Lara answered, “That doesn’t
necessarily mean that he’ll go easy on you. We’ll see though, we’ll
see”

We were silent for the
remainder of the trip. We passed Big Ben and went over the bridge
across the Thames. Once again we turned into the South Bank and
parked in a small street behind the National Film Theatre. The taxi
driver opened the door for us as we got out. The cold night air
swept over us and made goosebumps run across my skin. Lara led us
up the street where we finally arrived at the ITV Studios.

If she hadn’t led us there, I
doubt that either of us would have known it was even there. The
building itself looked so ordinary. From the outside it looked like
an ordinary office building, square and covered in windows. The
large “ITV” logo reassured us that it was indeed the place we
needed to be. Lara led out of the cold and into the warm foyer.

To the left was a waiting room.
I noticed that in the waiting room was a wall covered in several
televisions. All of the televisions were showing different programs
which were being broadcasted live from this studio. I still have no
idea how someone could watch all of those screens all at the same
time. I think I’d go a little bit bonkers after a while. Thankfully
we didn’t have to wait in there, as a security guard by a lift
allowed us to go straight through without any hassle.

We went into the elevator and
allowed Lara to stand by the controls, being that she worked there
and knew what each of the buttons actually did. She pressed a
button which beside it said: Studio One. The doors closed with a
loud whir. The compacted space jolted, in a way which made all our
stomachs sink, as the elevator began to ascend towards the Studio.
A red L.E.D clock above the door said that it was 6:30pm, there was
only half an hour left before broadcast.

“
When this
door opens” said Lara, “You are to follow me and go straight to
your seats to get your microphones set up. Do any of you need the
loo?”

“
No” I
said,

“
I’m feeling
ok” said Lizzie,

“
Cool” said
Lara, “The interview will only last about fifteen minutes, so you
should be finished by, at the latest, 7:20. When you are finished
you can leave or, if you like, you can stick around backstage and
watch the rest of the show, which ends at 8:00.”

“
What do you
think Lizzie?” I asked,

“
We might as
well stick around” she said, “We’re not in any hurry, are
we?”

“
That’s true”
I said, “yeah, we’ll watch the rest of the show”

“
Cool” said
Lara, “Ah, here we are, get ready you two”

The doors of the elevator slid
open to reveal a white corridor. Almost instantly, Lara started to
walk out and we followed her obediently like a couple of puppies.
She led us towards a double door in front of us, above the doorway
was a sign which said “Studio One”. Various people wearing
headphones and carrying clipboards were running in and out of the
room frantically. Everyone looked stressed, some of their faces
were just beginning to go bright red and the fluorescent lights
were reflecting off of their sweaty faces.