Lockhart

by A. E. Murphy

  “This is my room.” Enri pushes open the final door, revealing a larger bed on its own in a room with a TV, more storage space and a large window that overlooks the scenery behind. “You can use it for privacy when you need to get changed or whatever.” He shrugs. “I’d offer the room to you, it’d be the gentlemanly thing to do, but I’m not used to sharing a bus and I need my space.”

  “Dude,” I raise a hand, “don’t give me any points because I’ve got a muffin. Just treat me like one of the guys. This is your castle. I’m just happy to be here.”

  “We could always share,” he jokes, winking at me. I roll my eyes and he continues, “I’m serious though. Use it whenever you want the privacy.”

  “These guys have seen it all. We’ve been friends since we were twelve.”

  “I was thirteen,” Kai butts in, nudging me with his shoulder. “She’s right though. Her boobs were the first boobs I ever saw outside of my immediate family.”

  “That sounds like a hell of a story.” Enri drops his bag onto his bed.

  “We have lots of those,” Dane calls from his bunk. He has already made himself at home. Typical.

  I leave Enri to his room and sort out my own, testing the strength and transparency of the curtain that gives me some small semblance of privacy.

  “Maybe we should all just get nude, you know?” Enri shouts. “To break the tension.”

  “After you,” Kai calls back and when Enri exits the room wearing a padded, naked man costume, we all but die of laughter. He pretends to flex his faux biceps and kisses the bobbling, beige fabric.

  “What the hell?”

  “I just found this stuffed under the mattress,” Enri laughs, still flexing. “Who the hell rented this beast before me?”

  “Can I keep it?” I ask, still laughing so hard my chest hurts. “This is insane. It was under the mattress?”

  “Right in the middle.”

  “What prompted you to check there?”

  He peels it off and steps out of it, handing it to me by inflatable penis first. “When I laid down on the bed there was a mole hill under my back. It was screwed up right in the centre.”

  We all check our own, hoping to find more costumes to add to the collection, but unfortunately it is not to be.

  Dane finds an unopened packet of tic-tacs on top of the fridge in the very narrow gap between the fridge and the counter and I have to literally wrestle them from him so I can put them in the bin. That guy will eat anything.

  Lockhart: Still tired?

  Cerise: Sore, tired, aching… all of the above. You?

  Lockhart: Good. I’ll be with you in five minutes.

  Cerise: No can do, not unless you want me to get naked and spread-eagled in front of the boys and Enri?

  He responds faster than he’s ever responded.

  Lockhart: Excuse me?

  Cerise: We’re at the tour bus, settling in. It arrived early so we’ve taken advantage.

  Lockhart: Don’t share my body with anybody. Understood?

  Cerise: Loud and clear. See you when I see you.

  I chuck my phone onto my pillow and get in on the selfies that Dane is insistent on taking. Not that I blame him… this is surreal. I want every moment documented. I just can’t be bothered to do it myself.

  “Does anybody mind if I practise in the cinema room?”

  “Go for it,” Enri calls.

  “I’ll join you.” Dane smiles. Kai is the only one who can’t. His drum kit is massive and packed away safely in the base of the bus.

  Cerise: I’m going to dye my hair. Change my look.

  I send this message to my mum. We only spoke yesterday but I like to keep her informed when I get a new idea.

  Deb: Ooh, what were you thinking?

  Cerise: I was thinking of getting an ombre style, really light grey/pink underneath and blending from a richer brown.

  Deb: Sounds great, though you might ruin your beautiful hair.

  She has a point.

  Cerise: I’ll speak to a pro, see what we can do. Maybe if I get extensions we can keep the damage minimal.

  Deb: Start taking hair vitamins! And don’t use heat on your hair if you can help it. Only when necessary.

  Cerise: Already done. I’m too lazy to blow dry after every shower anyway. You know me.

  Deb: We miss you and we are so proud of you. Say hi to the boys for me.

  Cerise: <3

  “Mum,” I say by way of explanation when Kai joins me in the cinema room.

  “How is she?”

  “Fine. She told me to say hi to the boys.” I smirk, knowing how much it annoys Kai to be referred to as a boy instead of a man.

  He rolls his eyes and settles two seats up from me, a notebook balancing on his ankle which rests on the top of his knee, a pen sticking out from between his teeth.

  “I’m feeling inspired.” Dane grins, entering the room with his acoustic guitar. “Let’s make some magic.”

  Unfortunately we discover that Dane suffers with motion sickness so until the tablets kick in, he’ll be sitting beside the driver, Wayne Kaplan. He’s the same man from our contract signing with Lockhart. He’s also Enri’s bodyguard which begs the question, why was he present during our meeting if he’s Enri’s staff and not Lockhart’s? Or maybe they share employees? I leave the riddle for another day and slam my hand over two Kings.

  “SNAP!” I bellow, sliding the cards from out of Enri’s grasp.

  He growls at me, slamming his few remaining cards down on the table, one by one.

  “SNAP!” I yell again, catching the cards just as his hand traps my own. “I win!” I poke my tongue out at him playfully and hold out my hand. He places a twenty pound note in my palm and pours himself a whisky into the glass to the right of us. I’ve refused a drink the past three times he asked so I think he might have given up offering now.

  “Your reflexes are too good,” he grumbles, feigning anger. “How?”

  “She plays way too many computer games,” Dane calls, not even turning to look at us. Poor guy has a bucket on his lap as the bus gently rocks and sways along the motorway.

  “I’m hungry.” I pat my empty stomach. “Can we stop somewhere soon, get some shopping in? I doubt any of us can survive on the packet of biscuits Dane’s hiding in his bag.”

  “How do you know I have biscuits?”

  “You always have biscuits.”

  “Yeah,” he chuckles and then dry heaves.

  Enri helps me to put the cards back in the box as he replies, “Agreed. We’ll go to the supermarket soon.”

  “Won’t you get completely swarmed?” I ask, raising a brow.

  He nods. “That’s why you are going to come and help me disguise myself.”

  “You could always wear that naked man costume,” I giggle, moving out of reach when he tries to pinch my nose.

  “I don’t think any kind of disguise is going to hide this beast,” Dane cleverly puts in, motioning to the bus. “The image of this thing is already all over the internet.”

  “This is why I don’t get to go shopping often,” Enri sighs. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m always happy to give the fans the attention they deserve, but sometimes it’d just be nice to be able to get up and just go to Costa, you know?”

  “I do,” I admit, because I do. Though back when I was a solo performer, I had more infamy than fame among my peers. They didn’t understand classical music and just saw me as some stuck up rich bitch, despite the fact I’m not and never have been rich.

  A devious thought comes to mind and I find myself grinning at Enri like a psychopath.

  “What?” He asks, laughing a little. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Wayne,” I yell to the man who stays silent for ninety nine point nine percent of the time.

  He dips his chin, stating that he’s heard me.

  “Do you have another suit like that with you?”

  Wayne’s lips twitch; he knows what I’m thinking.

  �
�What?” Enri asks again and Dane turns to look at us.

  “I can’t believe this is working,” Enri hisses as he stays one step behind me, wearing Wayne’s uniform of a jet-black suit, white shirt and a black tie. He wears all of this over the padded naked man suit, making him look twice his size. With the body change, plus Wayne’s black hat and sunglasses, nobody even glances twice at Enri. He just looks like a body guard.

  “I’m a genius.” I strut ahead, throwing a packet of chocolate chunk muffins into the trolley that Dane is pushing. Dane removes the muffins immediately and announces, “No junk. We need to stay healthy.”

  Enri grabs his own packet and places it into the trolley. “I don’t.”

  “You’re my new best friend.” I giggle quietly.

  “You can still be healthy and indulge a little,” he explains. “Whenever I eat junk, I just work out for an extra hour the next day. Or I drink a tonne of vodka and throw it up anyway so it doesn’t count.”

  My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and swipe the screen. It’s Lockhart. What does he want?

  I answer, “Hello?”

  “Ms Branch.”

  “Who is it?” Kai asks but I raise my finger and fall back from their group.

  “Everything okay?” I ask quietly, tucking my hair behind my ears.

  “Yes, I’m just calling to apologise for not getting the chance to see you before you left.” His voice is so fucking sexy, even on the phone. He has such a deep, husky, manly voice.

  “No big deal. I didn’t make the effort either.”

  “How are things going?” He asks kindly. “Is my cousin treating you nicely?”

  “He’s helping me eat junk food. He’s my new best friend.”

  “Helping you eat junk food?”

  I laugh a little. “Dane, Kai and I made a healthy eating pact for the tour. Enri is buying junk food for himself, so I can eat it. Dane and Kai don’t know that though.”

  “Right.” He clears his throat. “Where are you?”

  “Shopping.”

  “With Enri?”

  “He’s hidden.”

  “How?”

  I laugh again. “I’ll send you a picture later. It’s hilarious.”

  “I shall look forward to it.” I hear his breathing quicken as he begins to walk to a location unknown. “Just the sound of your voice makes my cock hard.”

  I smile secretively and pick up a packet of pasta, so that I don’t just look like a weirdo talking on the phone in the middle of a food aisle. “I’d say the same were I not surrounded by people.”

  “Right, shopping.” He sighs. “Maybe we’ll get time later to converse properly.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Kai and Dane turn the corner. I can’t see Enri with them, but I’m sure everything is fine. “I should go or I’ll not get a chance to choose dinner.”

  “I’ll call you later.” He hangs up abruptly, leaving me tingling and happy.

  He just has that effect on me.

  “Chicken or beef?” Kai asks, holding up one in each hand.

  “For what?”

  “Tomorrow night dinner, obviously.”

  “Chicken,” Dane and I say at the same time.

  “JINX!” We both yell, also at the same time, and then fall silent.

  “You’re such children.” Kai rolls his eyes, throwing the beef into the trolley and the chicken back on the shelf. “Neither of you can talk so neither of you can protest.”

  Fuck. I glare at Dane who also glares at me. This means war.

  After packing away the things and taking a few spoof photos of Enri to put in our tour scrapbook, Dane’s fabulous idea, we set off for Nottingham. We still don’t know what’s in Nottingham. Enri won’t tell us but he’s practically giddy with excitement.

  Not as giddy as we are. Our single just went live at midnight for download, only a moment after Wayne announced that we’re parked in a safe zone.

  Finally!

  It only took twenty-three hours of recording and perfecting in total last week. They kept trying to add all this techno note bullshit that just doesn’t speak to me. We finally agreed on a sound that we all love and now it’s just a matter of when the entire album is all ready for release.

  I am so glad I’m not in control of the sales; I’d constantly be refreshing.

  “I’m not supposed to do this,” Enri taps away at his phone, “but…” he winks at me, “this track is banging.”

  “What did you do?” I ask, opening my own phone when it starts blowing up with notifications. My parent’s, my sister Sammy and a few others message me to tell me they’ve downloaded and are sharing like crazy.

  This is all so surreal!

  “I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight,” I sigh with contentment. “Is it like this for you when you release a new song?”

  Enri looks thoughtful. “It used to be.” He bites into a muffin and hands the rest to me. I take a sneaky mouthful when Kai and Dane aren’t looking and chew it with my back to them. Enri grins and continues, “I still get the tingles when I go on stage, but the music… it’s kind of lost its thrill now, as bad as that sounds. I’ve written that many songs that I find it hard to care what people think.”

  “Experience numbs you.”

  “Experience numbs you…” I hear Kai mutter. He snatches Dane’s notebook off the side and scribbles it down. “I like that.”

  Dane pulls out his guitar, Kai finds my keyboard and, while the muse is flowing between the three of us, we work on a new song together. It’s about never wanting to lose the thrill you get the first time you try something new. It resonates with my relationship with Lockhart. It’s a ticking time bomb. One day soon he’ll replace me. I’m trying hard not to care about that, but how can I not? He gave me a room. He went down on me multiple times.

  It’ll suck to lose that.

  My small wall bed is surprisingly comfortable. I’ve never been a fussy sleeper; just drop me somewhere that isn’t lumpy and I’ll pass out sooner or later. Unfortunately, tossing and turning does not a good night’s sleep make. We want to know how many downloads, but we want to remain humble and true to the music, so we requested that unless we make it into the top ten, we don’t want to know a thing.

  When we didn’t hear anything by four, we went to bed and I awoke two hours later to pretty myself for Enri’s surprise.

  “Your hair looks fucking AMAZING! How does it feel? How long did it take?” Sammy asks, sounding as ecstatic as I feel.

  “Six hours, but only because most of it is extensions.”

  “Loops?”

  “I think so. I just said no glue and let her go to town. She was brilliant,” I feel the lumps under my hair, checking in the mirror to ensure you can’t see them. My hair looks amazing. It starts at the roots as a dark, chocolate brown and fades, getting lighter and lighter to the tips. The bottom half is a pastel pink, grey tone. I feel punk.

  I can’t wait to show it off, especially now it has been an entire day since I had it done. The stench of bleach and the dryness of it has settled.

  I stare at my sister’s beautiful face on my phone screen, her background blurring as she walks through my hometown. I’d say I miss it but I don’t. I’m far too happy here.

  “Mum and dad keep fighting over your room.”

  I roll my eyes. “Tell her to let Dad turn it into the pool room he’s always wanted. I can just bunk with you when I come home.”

  “Yeah right,” she snorts, grinning at somebody she passes. “So, have you gotten laid yet?”

  “Have you?”

  “I’m not living the life of a rock star.” She giggles, stopping and leaning against a brick wall. “When can I come and see you and meet that delicious piece of man meat?”

  “Enri?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “He’s like two seats down from me.”

  She blanches. “Fuck! Did he hear me?”

  I tap the earphones and grin. “Nope. Want me to tell him?�
�

  “Tell me what?” Enri asks, putting his magazine down on the seat on the other side of him. He slides closer to me and tugs a bud from my ear, holding it to his own.

  “This is my sister, Sammy. She fancies you.” I laugh and her jaw hits the floor.

  “You’re a twat, Cerise.”

  “You look like each other.” Enri smiles, chewing gum so loudly I want to yank it from his mouth. He’s doing it to wind me up. He knows I hate mouth noises.

  “Thanks. I’m prettier though.” Sammy sneers playfully at me.

  “Are you coming to the show tonight? I’m running out of time to get you a pass.”

  She shakes her head. “No can do, sister bitch. I’ll come see you when you’re in Sheffield. It’s closer.”

  I hide my disappointment behind a cheery smile. “Epic. I miss you.”

  “Me too.” Enri adds, still chewing his gum.

  I see Sammy blush right before she looks away. “Fuck, I’ve got to run; my bus is here.”

  “Keep slumming on, sis. I’ll bail you out when I’m rich and famous.”

  She flips me off and hangs up. Enri turns towards me, his face closer than anticipated. “I need to talk to you, now you have a moment.”

  I shuffle away, wrapping my earphones up and stuffing them into my jacket pocket. “What’s up?”

  “It’s not my place, I know that…”

  Oh dear. This doesn’t sound good.

  “But…” he clears his throat and looks around, ensuring we’re alone. We are. “That dress that…” He curses. “When we went shopping and Lockhart’s clothing cow, I can’t stand her,” I noticed on the day that we were taken to shop for new clothing, Enri could hardly be in the same room as the lady sent to clothe and style me under Lockhart’s instruction, Dane and Kai too. “The dress you’re wearing on Friday.”

  “Spit it out, Enri.”

  “It’s not you.”

  I blink. “What do you mean?”

  “I know this industry is tough to break into and Lockhart is a fucking genius on how to make people appealing, but you guys were already appealing.” He looks away much like Sammy just did. “If you follow him, I think it’ll be the biggest mistake you make.”