Future Queens of England (47 page)

Tony reached the bottom of the final page and with a flourish filled in the last answer.  He threw his pen down onto his desk and raised his hand.

One of the invigilators marched over to him quickly and whispered, “Yes?”

“I’ve finished.  Can I go now?”

The invigilator looked at her watch and then back at Tony.  “Really?  Already?”

The heads of the other examinees began to pop up like prairie dogs
, craning
to see who had finished the exam. 

The invigilator picked up Tony’s paper and ran her finger down it, it was complete.  “Are you sure you don’t want to check your answers?  You’ve got plenty of time.”

Tony smiled, “No need, it was a breeze.”

The invigilator shrugged, “Okay then.  You can leave, but do it quietly.”  She picked up Tony’s paper and took it back to the front of the hall and placed it in the tray for completed papers.

Tony stood up and nonchalantly made his way to the main doors.  He pushed them open, but before he left he couldn’t resist a sneaky look back.  As he turned he saw the head of nearly every student peering back at him.  As quickly as their reflexes would react
,
they all turned back to the papers and tried to continue with their exams.  Tony grinned to himself as he meandered back up to the Larry Grayson
B
oudoir.

The school was eerily silent
,
since every student was still in the exam.  Tony wandered into the foyer and made his way to the main staircase.  He ran his hand absentmindedly along the smooth wooden banister as he ascended the stairs.  Suddenly
,
he heard the familiar click-clack of heels.  He stopped and tried to gauge which direction they were coming from, but they seemed to echo off of every surface.  He panicked and took a few steps back down the stairs, but the noise appeared to grow louder.  Tony’s head turned wildly and he tried to make a decision, finally he decided that they were behind him and swiftly made his escape up the stairs.

“Oh
,
hi Tony,” came the unmistakable voice
,
as Louise appeared at the top of the stairs in front of him.  “In a hurry?”

Tony looked up at her and tried to compose himself.  “
H
i, I didn’t see you there.”  He smiled weakly.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in an exam?”

“I’ve finished it.  It was easy.”

Louise smiled, “I’m impressed.  You must have studied really hard.”

“What else could I do?” he said flatly.  “I threw myself into reading to try and forget you.  Every bloody song reminded me of you and every TV show or film seemed to be about lost love.  So
,
I turned to books.  Each and every book on the syllabus here is about gays, it was the only place I could go to escape you
…
to escape us.  The constant input served as a distraction and stopped my brain dwelling on what you threw away.”

Louise’s face changed, “But what else could I do?  I’d lose my job.  They could have kicked you out too if they wanted to
,
and that means they’d send you off to prison for not completing the course.  It would be in breach of your terms, don’t think I didn’t check the conditions thoroughly.”  She placed her hand on Tony’s shoulder and looked around her to make sure no one else was around.  “You know I still have feelings for you, but I did it to protect both of us.”

Tony looked her in the eyes, as he looked at her he was overcome with a feeling of hopelessness.  He didn’t speak, but stared intently at her face, trying to memorise every single detail. 

“Tony?” Louise said
,
waving a hand in front of his face.  “Are you okay?”

He watched her lips move, it was all too much to resist.  He gave into himself and leant forward to kiss her.

“Stop!” she said and tilted her head back.

“How can I stop?”

“Look
,
I have to go,” she let go of his arm and moved past him.  “I shouldn’t have stopped to talk to you.  I’ll try and avoid you in future.  I’ll keep out of your way.”

“That won’t mean that I won’t love you anymore,” Tony blurted.

She stopped and looked up at
him
.  “What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you saying that you’re actually in love with me?” she whispered slowly and breathlessly.

Tony shuffled uncomfortably.

“Well?”

“Yes, I am.”

Her face brightened and her eyes glistened.  “Oh, well then, perhaps we need to talk
…”  She stopped abruptly as she heard footsteps approaching them.  “I have to go!”

“Louise!”

“Shhh,” she said.  She removed her shoes and bounded hurriedly down the stairs and towards her office.  As she got to bottom of the stairs a figure swung around and they collided.

“
Entschuldigung
!” Uwe said apologetically
. 
“I did not see you there.”  He looked at her hands and then down at her feet, “Why are you not wearing any shoes?”

“Oh, they were killing my feet.  You just missed Tony, he’s only this minute gone up the stairs,” she said without thinking and instantly wishing she’d kept her mouth shut.

“
Es ist mir völlig Wurst
,” he said looking down his nose.

“What?” she replied with a look of confusion.  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter, I’ve got things to attend to.”  She put her shoes back on and trotted back towards her office. 

Uwe eyed her suspiciously as she disappeared.

The day of the finals came at last, Tony stood alone in the toilets of the changing rooms.  With his eyes closed he calmed himself by breathing deeply.  The wall of his chest slowly expanded and retracted.  Never in his life had he carried this much responsibility.  Never in his life had so many people believed in him.  Never in his life had he felt he owed other people so much.  The weight of the world was on his shoulders and he could not fail the people who had put their faith in him. 

Through the walls he could hear the muffled cheers and songs from the supporters.  He attempted to block this out and tried to listen solely to the sound of his breathing.  The changing room served as a bubble to protect him, but the seconds were ticking away before he had to leave.

Suddenly
,
another sound interrupted his meditation.  He listened intently to the patter of footsteps and the squeak of the rubber hockey studs on the tiled floor.  Then finally
,
the voice came. 

“Hey
,
Tony, are you in here?”  Keenan shouted. 

Tony didn’t answer.
 
The footsteps came closer.  They stopped outside the cubicle,
and
then came the knock.

“Tony, is that you in there?”

He waited a moment
,
then spoke.  “Yes, I’m in here.  Just give me a minute.”

“We don’t have a minute.  We’re waiting for you
…
everybody’s waiting for you.”

Slowly
,
he unlocked the door and stepped out.

Keenan looked at Tony.  “Are you alright
,
mate?” he said with some concern.

Tony puffed out a burst of air.

Keenan slapped him on the back, “Come on
,
man.  Don’t let the pressure get to you.”

Tony nodded, his face took on an expression of gritty determination.  “Where’s my stick?”

Keenan grinned, “Aye, that’s the spirit.”

Tony and Keenan marched out onto the pitch.  When the home supporters saw Tony emerge a huge cheer erupted.  The whoops and hollers were deafening and Tony gave his fans the thumbs up.

“You can do it!  We know you can!”

“Come on
,
Team Queens, we believe in you!”

“Queenies never say die!”

The emotion was getting the better of Tony, but he knew he had a job to do.  He closed his mind off and walked over to his team mates.
 
He raised his hand and beckoned them to come closer and form a circle.

“Right
,
lads, you know what we’re up against today don’t you?”

“The Libyans!” Uwe growled, he cast a look over his shoulder as the
l
esbian team warmed themselves up at the other end of the pitch.

It wasn’t the time to correct him.  “That’s right.  It’s the finals and we’re up against the lesbians.  Now, we beat them once before, but only because they got disqualified.  They’re not going to make the same mistake again, so we really need to give it all we’ve got.  We’ve got to go out there fighting today and we can’t give them an inch.”  The passion from Tony’s speech affected the whole team as they listened to their leader.  “Now
,
listen to me.  I believe in you.  I believe in each and every one of you.”

Hugh twitched and interrupted.  “Even me?” he said unsurely.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Tony replied
,
and
he
placed a hand on Hugh’s shoulder.  He gripped him firmly, “You’re a fantastic goalie and I know you won’t let us down.”

Hugh smiled, grateful for the faith that Tony had in him.  “I promise you
,
Tony, I won’t let you down.” 

“Okay, so the time has come.  This is our finest hour.  When this game is over we can hold our heads high and let those bitches know that they can’t fuck with us!  Now
,
let’s go and get them!”  He raised his hockey stick into the air and waved it and the rest of the team followed suit.  Tony turned and ran towards the centre of the pitch to face his nemesis.

“Ah
,
Lezzy Lex, we meet again,” Tony drawled
,
as he joined her in the centre of the circle.

“Oh
,
you finally decided to show up then?  I didn’t think you had t
he
guts t
o
come out to face us today.”

“You know what?  I’ve kind of missed you,” he said with a wink.

Lex tilted her head and stared into the middle distance, “I’m trying to think of the last time we saw each other.  Hmmm.  Ah
,
yes, I remember now.  The last time I saw you I kicked the living shit out of you and your mates in that car park.”  She cackled with glee as she recalled this. 

“Go on, laugh it up,” Tony growled.  “You’ve got good reason to be proud.  You won a fight where I didn’t even throw a punch.  Congratulations!”

She scowled at him for a moment and then glared at the umpires.  “Hey, are we gonna start this massacre, I mean game, or what?”

One of the umpires stepped forward and took a coin out of his pocket.  “We normally let the ladies have the call in the coin toss, but in the absence of a lady
…”