Aaron Connor (6 page)

Me and Lizzie froze and held
our breath. The last thing we wanted was to be spotted, especially
when they were carrying those hard looking things in their hands.
The air around us felt so still and we became living statues, our
eyes watching the gang go by.

Simon was lurching from one
foot to another. He was taking long swigs from a large blue bottle
of cider. All of his gang looked decidedly frightened as they
watched their leader become more and more intoxicated. They knew
like everyone else what Simon was like when he was drunk. One time
during a similar drunken rampage, he pushed a Policeman over the
town bridge but thankfully he was only injured.

The Moped’s engine suddenly
died down to a low murmur. It had stopped. We could see Adam’s
hooded silhouette which had a chillingly close resemblance to that
of the Grim Reaper. Adam moved the handles on the bike so he could
move the headlines to shine up the street. Suddenly I and Lizzie
found ourselves in a spotlight, like escapees in an old prison
movie. We were caught.

All of the gang members looked
our way, including Simon Grant. From his belly came a tremendous
deep laugh. We could see his body lurching towards us in a drunken
fashion. His gang followed Simon obediently and walked towards us.
We were pinned to the spot in fear as the gang concerned us in a
circle. We both stood up. The Moped roared up from behind the
approaching gang and the glow from the headlight still flooded the
two of us in light.

Simon shuffled his way to the
centre of the circle. Standing before us he brought the large blue
plastic bottle to his mouth and downed the entirety of its
contents. The liquid inside the bottle lowered in quantity as it
ran down the horrid bloke’s throat. He stared at us the entire time
in a threatening way. He took the now empty bottle away from his
mouth. He tossed the bottle aside without realising that it hit one
of his gang members in the stomach, making him grip his stomach in
pain and eventually fall over backwards.

From his mouth came a rumbling
burp that was so loud it echoed across the entire street. After
that he stared at the two of us. He then gave us the most horrific
grin I’ve ever seen in my life. It sent shivers and goosebumps to
go running across my skin.

“
Hello,
Hello!” said Simon creepily, “What have we got here?”

CHAPTER FIVE

“
What do you
want Simon?” I asked bluntly,

“
Alright now
Connor!” replied Simon, in a way that was bordering on patronising,
“No need to get yourself all aggravated, we just wanted a little
chat”

Lizzie shuffled her way around
me. I rested my hand on her arm behind me for reassurance. She’d
known for quite a long time now about how these boys stared at her.
It’s true that many boys at school had admitted to having a crush
on Lizzie and finding her deeply attractive. These boys were quite
simply perverts, who would stare at her at any opportunity they had
and make her feel uncomfortable. The thought of these nasty lads
mentally undressing my best friend made me livid. Of course I tried
not to show it to Simon. Once anger was confirmed in the situation,
Simon would leap at the chance to start a fight.

Blimey did that lad love a good
scuffle. He was famous for them. When the little new years would
come into the playground for the first time, all big eyed and
innocent, it was our duty to warn them about Simon as soon as
possible. Anything could be translated in Simon’s mind as the
signal to start brawling. If a first year so much as passed through
Simon’s shadow that was enough for him. He’d grab that littlen and
he’d begin to smack, pound, punch, slap, kick and scrap the child
all over.

Even the Teachers were scared
of Simon’s violent manner. It was never because he was angry about
something, it was just because he enjoying inflicting pain onto
others. Adults especially, as he could go home and feel like he
just accomplished something by getting the better of a grown up. It
would usually be in class. The Teacher would tell Simon to sit up
straight or to stop chewing gum or whatever he was up to. The bully
would then launch out of his chair like a rocket and smash the
Teacher to smithereens. He was never expelled though. Mr Bertgill
wasn’t man enough to tell him, in fear he would be thrown out of
his office window.

Simon was a nasty piece of
work. He was like a villain from a Dickens’ novel that’s been
plonked into the modern day. Lizzie was right to be scared. Her
body was huddled against my back. I could feel her entire body
shaking with fear. Her breathing pattern had become a lot more
frequent, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. I stood my
ground and stared Simon in the eyes. Not a good idea, I know, but
on that night I wasn’t going to take anything. I didn’t have a
future, any goals, any plans or any ambitions. I no longer cared
what happened to me. As long as Lizzie was safe then I’d be
satisfied.

Nothing happened for a while.
Simon was nothing more then a silhouette made by the Moped’s light
that shone behind him. The wind whistled loudly as it pulled some
litter along the street. I and Simon were waiting for one of us to
make the first move. It was like a Wild West stand off in one of
those old Hollywood movies. I found it hard to breath. No matter
what I tried I couldn’t take my eyes away from Simon’s.

Eventually Simon stepped
forward. He took one of his hands and shoved me backwards. Lizzie
nearly fell from the sudden movement. I grabbed her with the hand I
was holding her with just in time. My face showed no signs of
weakness as I pulled myself back up again. Lizzie was more
frightened then ever now. Her bright eyes were opened wide like an
owl, as she darted her looks from one black hood to another.

“
What’s the
matter Aaron?” asked Simon cruelly, “hasn’t got the balls to fight
back? Are you just a big pussy? Are you just a loser like everyone
says you are? Answer me you prick!”

The pressure inside of me was
building. The circle was becoming smaller. They were closing in on
us. In a sudden panic I propelled my leg upwards and kicked Simon
right between the legs. Simon gave out a loud groan as he cupped
his now stinging manhood. His gang members looked on completely
utterly shocked. Simon fell to the ground.

Adam came off the bike, put the
bike on its stand and walked around to check on Simon. Adam knelled
down and bent over his fallen leader. He was talking to him to make
sure he was alright, Simon was snarling back at Adam in
embarrassment. I couldn’t hear a single word of the conversation.
All I heard were two single words from Simon’s mouth: “kill
him!”

As soon as I heard those words
I grabbed Lizzie, ran over Simon, ran past Adam, ran through the
circle of hooded gang members and jumped onto the yellow moped.
Lizzie got the idea and jumped on behind me. I could feel her arms
wrap around my waist. I twisted the ignition handle forwards which
made the engine purr. Before the others could complain or fully
understand what was happening, I kicked off the stand, spun the
moped’s wheels around and drove the bike back up the street.

We could hear the boys yelling
and running after us, as I turned the bike to the left. The rushing
wind ran through our hair, our ears were filled with the sound of
that fantastic engine and we knew that our souls were finally free.
It was like we were flying down the street like Eagles, free to
roam wherever we pleased. It only really hit me a few hours later
that this was my first time on a Moped. I was riding a Moped with
surprising ease and it was my first time. Lizzie obviously knew
this fact from the set off, as she was holding on for dear life
around my waist.

Soon the boy gave up and
stomped around in frustration on the road behind us. They got
smaller and smaller as we drove away into the night, until they
were no more then tiny dots in the distance. My head was rushing
with excitement, I’d completely forgotten about all of the troubles
of the day while I rode that yellow Moped down the street.

I couldn’t believe it. I just
kicked Simon Grant in the balls! I thought with much shock, and I
nicked his mate’s bike. Now I’m not one to encourage stealing. I
feel that it’s important for you to know that this was my first
time at stealing. In this case it was different because, as I said
before, Adam was a nasty git like Simon and didn’t deserve the
Moped in the first place.

We kept on riding through the
town. We rode past many houses. Soon we were no longer in our own
district. We were riding by the homes of those better off then us.
These homes were made of cleaner brick, wood and many had their own
garages and conservatries. In the driveways were parked many
beautiful looking cars including Austin Martins, Mini Coopers and
Fiat Puntos. The lights flooding through the floral curtains looked
warm and humble.

This was the world I missed out
on. Then again, thinking about it, I don’t think I’d want to be one
of those people. People who can afford to have everything they want
and when they want it. If I had the ability to have whatever my
heart desired, I don’t think I would have any concept of worth.
When I saw those houses it assured me of one fact.

We all have a place in this
world. It is not our job to ask for more. We can dream towards
ambitions and dreams, maybe even succeed them. Nonetheless we shall
always be part of our roots. Where you came from and how you were
brought up, are the things that shape you as a human being. Those
people were brought here to live in posh houses, with posh cars and
have posh lives for a reason. It’s just the same as I was born into
a council house with the bare essentials, for a reason. What that
reason is I don’t know. What I do know is this: when I find out the
reason for my roots and upbringing, my life will be bloody
brilliant.

All of these thoughts went
through my mind as we rode past. Soon the posh houses were behind
us and we were then rushing through some country lanes.

Both sides of the road were
lined with hedges, wooden fences and gates which whizzed by in a
collective blur. Beyond the masses of darkness I could just about
see the Farmer’s fields. We passed fields of wheat, hay, vegetables
and just plain grass for animals to graze on during the day.

This was another world that I
missed out on. In fact, if I could exchange my life for any other I
would go for the life of the Farmer. On the fields you work for
your own food and get fantastic exercise at the same time. You’re
always in the heart of nature as you live out in the open. You’re
away from the tight spaces and dirty air of the Towns and Cities.
Also, at the end of each day you go to bed feeling that you’ve
really accomplished something.

Once again this was not a
lifestyle I was born to experience. I was happy with my lot as I
knew nothing else. I tried hard to not to think of different
lifestyles other then my own. I was determined to be content with
what I had. So I shook my head and the thoughts shook away from my
mind along with it.

The road ahead was pitch black.
The headlights shone the next few meters of the road. As we drove
further up the country lane, more of the road was revealed to us
bit by bit. It was rather frightening, as in front of the few
meters of illuminated road was just a wall of black. I couldn’t see
anything beyond that wall of darkness. This was a one way road. If
someone was going to come out towards me, I wasn’t going to be able
to see them. I gripped tighter on the bike handles and expected the
worst. This was if something did happen, as then I wouldn’t be as
shocked and I’d be able to avert the disaster easily.

Lizzie had kept silent for the
entire time. If it wasn’t for the tight grip she still had around
my waist, I would have forgotten she was even there. Trees zoomed
past as we went deeper into Farmer’s country. It was then that
Lizzie first spoke since we left the housing estate.

“
Where are we
going?” she asked, shouting over the noise of the Moped’s
engine,

“
Don’t know
yet!” I yelled back, “I’ve always loved this bike, I’m not going to
give it back just yet!”

“
I can’t
believe you kicked Simon in the bollocks!” she yelled, “That was
well good!”

“
Thanks” I
replied with a smile, “I was pretty happy with it
myself!”

“
So where are
we going?” asked Lizzie again,

“
I already
told you, I don’t know” I replied back, trying to talk while at the
same time keeping an eye on the road, “I thought we’d just see what
was at the end of this road, and then decide from there”

“
Alright!”
called Lizzie, hugging me tighter and resting her head on my back,
“You’re the boss, Mr. Connor!”

We rode on down the skinny
road. We stopped occasionally to allow rabbits to hop across before
starting off again. I’ve never been down this road before so I had
no idea where it led to. Nevertheless I was determined to find out.
Lizzie and I didn’t talk for a while as we watched the different
fields go rushing by.

Finally we arrived at the end
of the country lane. There was a fork in the road. Both roads to
the left side and right side were lined in hedgerows. In-between
the two separate roads was a sign post. The headlight from the
Moped reflected off of the fluorescent paint. The sign which
pointed to the right said “St.Ians” and the sign to the left said
“London”.

I stopped there in the road and
stared at the signs. Lizzie peered over my shoulder to have a look
as well. We both read and reread the road signs in silence. Both of
us knew that there was a choice to be made. Neither of us could
stay in St.Ians and live the lives we wanted to lead. I wanted to
be a graffiti artist. Lizzie wanted to be a writer. Staying in
St.Ians wasn’t going to allow those dreams to bloom.