The Penn Friends Series Books 5-8: Penn Friends Boxset

by T H Paul

  "You want to see the Pier?” he said, turning as if taking in for the first time where they were standing as if the idea that she might want to check out one of the city’s main attractions was anything but obvious. He opened the door for her himself, Penny saying nothing but walking inside, hit by the sheer noise of the place, as people stood behind fruit machines and other amusements, happily spending loose change, it seemed. Everything was bright and cheerful, quite a shift in the gloom of outside, the day a little overcast, though thankfully there was no rain. Keith seemed to know a few people, Penny could immediately tell, a few rushed conversations were had as if Keith was a long-lost friend. She soon asked him about it. He shared how he had grown up there, that most of his childhood friends had never left, and how he’d broken that trend at sixteen, returning only years later. This was a long overdue visit.

  “So when you said you’d been here twice before in the car last night, you weren’t quite telling the truth.”

  “It was two periods of time. I just didn’t say for how long.” They both smiled at the silliness of that last statement.

  “I’d hardly call growing up here until you were sixteen the first visit.”

  “Then we’ll beg to differ,” he said, brushing it aside as if they’d already spoken enough about his past. “Besides, we all have things we don’t tell every stranger we happen to meet by the roadside now, do we not.” He had a twinkle in his eye. It was an open statement, nothing pointed at her, but she knew too well the secrets she had. She was not much older than he’d been when he’d run from home. She was as lost as he was, except she had a home. It was everyone else who’d run from her, in fact.

  There was silence between them for a few minutes as they wandered between the various machines, lost in a cacophony of noise so that their absence of conversation was not really noticed. They each needed a bit of headspace.

  They left by a rear exit, walking down part of the Pier itself, but it was not a great day for being out, and the wind was blowing salt water in her face.

  “I think I’ve seen enough of the Pier,” she laughed and turned to head back. Three minutes later they were again outside the front of the Pier and watched as a tram passed in front of them.

  “Tell me a little about your life here,” she said.

  “There’s nothing to tell. Look, do you want to see this place or play bloody twenty questions with me?” He was short with her, but not overly rude. She let it pass. She would have equally brushed aside any preying into her past. Somethings were just best left unspoken. They would each avoid that particular subject for the rest of the day.

  “You know people here though, right? Is there anyone you need to visit?” She didn’t know why she asked that but wanted to say something.

  “I have a few mates. They are probably at the casino, in fact. It’s Saturday. Some things never change.” He marched off in another direction, apparently on his way to whatever casino he had in mind, and Penny, with little else to do and knowing no one in the city, followed a few seconds after. It wasn’t long before she caught him up, nor much longer before she followed Keith into one of a few casinos along that particular street. It was only in the third one that Keith found who he was looking for, walking up to a group of three guys, all whom Penny assumed were the same age as Keith. They grabbed Keith as if welcoming a long lost brother, hugs and handshakes all around, with several long time no sees thrown in for good measure. Soon the attention turned to Penny. Suddenly his mates viewed Keith with a little admiration.

  “And who do we have here?” one of them said.

  “Guys, this is Penny. We met last night.” Keith left it at that, what he was implying only too apparent. Penny let it drop. The group would remain just the guys to her for a while, she wouldn’t get a name just yet nor did it matter. They patted Keith on the back all the more, as if impressed that he could have landed someone like her. They soon returned to their gaming, money apparently not short. They were bricklayers, had worked in the industry for years, and business was good. They seemed a nice enough bunch.

  “Where are you staying?” one of the guys asked, addressing Keith though his eyes took in the pair of them as if they might just be shacked up together somewhere.

  “Just arrived in town this morning. Haven’t sorted anywhere yet.” The others all picked up on that latest piece of information. So they weren’t sleeping together. Maybe each of them had a chance.

  “And you, Penny, where are you staying?” He was very much addressing her now. Penny blushed a little. She didn’t know why, and it bothered her that she had. Penny had not come to Blackpool to shack up, but then again, Penny didn’t know what she’d come for. She needed to let off steam.

  “I’m still to decide where I’ll be staying for the night. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.” The entire group gave a roar at that, though Keith did his best to punch them all away in an apparent act of jest––though there was enough aggression in it to get his message across. Stay away, she’s mine.

  “You been to the Pleasure Beach yet?” She shook her head, though, from the sound of it, it didn’t initially seem like anywhere she wanted to go. “They’ve got a roller-coaster.” Suddenly it didn’t sound so terrible after all.

  “Show me the way!” she said, the guys all finishing up their games, grabbing their jackets and seemingly moving as one collective out of the casino and leading Penny towards her next thrill.

  5

  Those next three hours were wild. I’d never been on a roller-coaster before but that first time was something else. It would be followed by two more circuits, the last one by everyone in the group. You see, one of the guys––I heard him referred to as Big G––didn’t make the first turn. Once the second one happened, and this time it was only him not on the ride, it was clear he was scared. They mocked him. I worked my magic, and he was to join us that third time.

  How that was to turn out by the end of the day, I could not have imagined. Once more I was to be shown the lesson that every change produces a consequence. That experience would be firmly drummed home to me by the end of the weekend.

  Right at that moment, however, as I clutched my ticket and was ready for that first go; I felt reckless. I wasn’t scared, as such. Butterflies were present, but I put that down as being entirely natural. It was a new experience, and I was around a group of men who apparently fancied me. That was something in itself. Maybe I would allow one of them to get lucky later. I hadn’t yet decided.

  Penny gave herself to the rides with a reckless abandonment she’d rarely allowed before. She wanted to experience it all, push herself into new challenges, and in the process dump the pain she had otherwise lodged deep inside. Maybe a roller-coaster was what she needed?

  “This thing looks like it’s about to collapse!” Penny said the first time she saw it.

  “It’s nearly a hundred years old. It’s not broken yet, so don’t fear,” the group jeered back at Penny.

  It was made of wood and looked as fragile as a card house, but she’d seen two rides take place since she’d been queuing, and everyone seemed safe enough as they walked away from it smiling. She was a born optimist, anyway. This weekend was about thrills, not safety. If it was her time, it was her time. This wasn’t going to be her time, though. She was certain.

  By the third turn––they’d taken a break and tried out a few other things, plus grabbed some food––Big G was being mocked openly about the fact he hadn’t gone on the ride. He was claiming he just wasn’t bothered, had been on it before and just couldn’t be arsed to queue, but none of his mates was buying it. Penny actually felt sorry for him. If she’d not come along, they would still be in the casino hanging out together. Big G wouldn’t have been put in that situation. Give Big G total courage to do what he’s scared of she thought to herself.

  “Come on, prove you aren’t a sissy then!” another joked as they started to move towards the main attraction once more.

  “Okay then!�
� he said, storming off to buy a ticket, much to the amusement of them all. They knew he had a fear of heights, had known for a long time. It was only Penny’s presence that had stirred the others to turn on their friend––if they could make him look weak, that was one less competitor for the girl.

  Less than ten minutes later it was their turn, Big G in fact in front of the lot, pleading with a few dozen in the queue with total confidence so that they managed to skip a few places. The change in the man was impressive. He roared with delight the entire way around.

  “Brilliant!” he said, seconds after they stepped off the ride. He didn’t know why he’d never done that before. He might even take on the Blackpool Tower itself later on. There was something about being around Penny that gave him a new confidence, and he knew it was nothing to do with physical attraction. He wasn’t interested in her in the slightest. She just seemed to bring out another side in him. He was grateful for that, at least.

  “Keith,” Big G said, once they’d gone for some drinks. “You really should move back home. Get a job, stop being such a loser. It’s killing your father that you’ve walked away. He’ll forgive you. He’ll find work for you.” It had come out before he knew what he was saying, something he’d wanted to speak to Keith for over a decade, something someone should have told many years ago already to the drifter son of their boss at the building firm they all worked at. Finally, he’d said it.

  Keith turned on Big G with only anger and contempt in his eyes.

  “One loop of that bloody ride and you think your goddam Rocky all of a sudden, is that it?” He got right into the face of Big G as if he was about to head-butt him. Penny was stunned at the sudden change in Keith. “If I wanted advice from anyone, it wouldn’t be from some tosser like you.” He then swore at him.

  The other lads suddenly stepped in.

  “Keith, mate, calm down. He didn’t mean it.” He was looking across to Big G with the hope that he’d back this comment up, though all the guy did was shrug his shoulders. I’ve said what I meant. I ain’t taking it back now. Seeing that the lad he worked with at the builder’s yard wasn’t about to step in and take back what he just said, the man known as Little Mike continued to stand as if a barrier between Keith and Big G.

  “Keith, let’s cool it, right?” He’d known Keith the longest. They’d been the only ones who had gone to school together. Keith backed down, turned away from Big G and to some degree his anger subsided.

  “I just don’t see what gives anyone the right to step in and call me out like that.”

  “No one is calling you out, Keith. He’s just looking out for you.”

  “Looking out for me?” He was facing them all again now, Keith versus the group. Penny was staying out of it, taking in what was happening. The roller coaster went whizzing overhead once more. “I don’t need anyone looking out for me. I do my own thing, right. I’m my own boss. I don’t need no one telling me what to do. You got that?” It’d not been the first time they’d heard it from Keith over the years. He’d hardly kept in contact with them, sending the occasional email when a facility he was staying at offered the opportunity. He didn’t own a phone. Had no fixed address. He’d been drifting for a decade and hadn’t seen his father for the same amount of time. He’d returned to Blackpool five years before, but only under the radar. His mates knew he was around––he had stayed with Little Mike––but they’d all agreed to keep that from their boss, and Keith’s father. None of them liked that fact. Keith’s father would have beaten them each to a pulp had he found out they were hosting his son yet keeping it from him. Keith had fled the area once the news had made its way back to his father that his son had returned.

  There was an uneasy tension. Penny knew she was in the middle of something far more significant than just this incident. She also knew she was best placed, therefore, to move things on. They needed rescue from the moment.

  “Who wants to take on Avalanche?” She was referring to a newer roller coaster, built in the 80s, and the first of its kind in the UK at the time. There was a noted air of agreement, and all of them––Big G included––marched off to join the queue.

  After the ride, they were walking away from the area. The afternoon was pushing on. Penny was in the mood for a change of scenery.

  “I’ll catch you up,” Big G said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “There’s a call I’ve needed to make for a long time. I’ll meet you in Bentleys.” Bentleys was a Fish and Chip place a few minutes up the road. It was a popular venue for the friends.

  “If he’s calling my father, I’ll actually kill him,” Keith grunted, but then laughed. The others all moved away, Penny glancing back. She wondered what he'd never dared to do before, but left him to his call. She was sure it was connected to his newfound power.

  The chips were plentiful and the fish huge, and Penny could hardly make much of a dent in her meal before she was full. They’d been snacking on sweets during the afternoon which hadn’t helped matters. The others soon polished off most of her food. Big G had joined them twenty minutes into their meal, looking white but happy. Whatever call he’d just had, had evidently been weighing heavy on him for some time. He seemed relieved in fact. Penny passed him the remains of her plate. He finished the rest.

  When it was time to leave the restaurant, Big G pulled Penny to one side.

  “Could you give us a few minutes when we leave here, hang behind or something. There’s something I need to tell the guys.”

  “Sure,” she said. She saw that same heavy weight that had been on Big G's face before his phone call. She would give him the space he was asking for.

  “Thanks.”

  As they walked out, she made to tie her shoelaces so that she was about ten metres behind as Big G walked with his four other mates and she could already see him addressing them. They walked a little bit further as Big G spoke before they all stopped. Penny stopped too. She could see Keith looking the most animated, though the truth was, all of them seemed somewhat taken aback by whatever it was Big G had just shared with them. They slowly started walking again, Keith actually glancing back to Penny, as if to make sure Penny was still there and maybe wondering how much Penny had just heard. Her distance at that moment suggested she already knew what Big G had shared. Maybe girls had a better sense of that kind of thing? Penny didn’t say anything and kept her distance for the time being. Very little was being spoken by anyone.

  Penny caught up with them, by which point no one was speaking. Keith was noticeably distant from Big G. He’d been next to him when they had left the restaurant, actually having one arm around his shoulder as if a big brother, as if all was right with them once more. All was forgiven. Now, it looked undone. Whatever had been shared had left a new coldness in their relationship. Penny didn’t know any of them enough to be able to read signs of what might help. She’d only met them that morning.

  They jumped in and out of a few other venues, all under the pretence of showing Penny the sights––whatever they might be––before ending at the Tower itself. Here the group finally broke up.

  “I need to head home,” Little Mike said, eyeing up both Big G and Keith to check World War III wasn’t about to break out with his absence. Another guy took that as his cue to also leave before Big G himself announced he was going.

  “Yes, I’ll leave you both to explore the Tower together. I have somewhere else to be.” Keith glared at Big G as he spoke these words, watching his friend walk away and only then did he turn back to look at Penny. Penny was doing her best to read the situation. It had been so long since she’d had a friendship group with this kind of dynamic––had she ever had that, in fact? Penny realised she hadn’t. She couldn’t fathom the complexity of what was going on at the moment, her seventeen years, despite giving her so much, still not equipping her with everything. Soon it was just Keith and Penny.

  “What was all that about?” she said. She could hold back no more.

  “You mean you didn’t know?”

>   “Didn’t know what?”

  “There was me thinking you had some sort of radar in these matters. Turns out Big G’s a poof.”

  “Sorry?”

  “He’s gay. Told us all just now.”

  “Oh.” Penny hadn’t seen that coming.

  “I mean, you think you know someone, you think they are a mate, and then this. Turns out he’s queer.”

  “And that stops him being a mate how, exactly?” Penny didn’t like the disgust she saw in Keith. It was as if Big G had just confessed he had the plague.

  “It changes everything!” Keith shot back, without adding anything more.

  “How?” Penny wasn’t going to let this one drop. “How does his sexuality change anything about your friendship? I don’t get it.”

  Keith was silent for a moment, but his eyes told Penny he loathed her for even asking him that question.

  “It makes a joke of all we shared together. I mean, he’s seen me changing.”

  “So?”

  “So? It’s just wrong, okay. He’s a bricky. Builders are a man’s man.”

  “And now that he might be some man’s man, that somehow changes everything?” She felt incredulous. She had a secret that might also make someone look at her differently.

  “Too right it does!”

  Penny shook her head but didn’t have anything more to say. There was nothing more to be said. She’d grown up in London, in a multicultural area. She knew her part of the country was more open to different lifestyle choices, but still had never encountered such prejudice firsthand before. She’d given Big G the gift of courage, and that had caused him to face his fear of heights as well as share his sexuality with his mates. She couldn’t help but admire him for that.

  6