Kelza's Accidental and Eccentric Charm Works Again...?
After the presentation night, most of us (including Vicky, Tim, Barry and Jason, as well as Anna's friend Stu) went to the Running Horses, a lovely Wetherspoons pub next to Cineworld in St. Helens. Anna, Dave, Perry, Matty, Lewis, Ryan, William, Steph (William's highly excitable friend) and myself were also there.
We all had a couple of celebratory drinks here, and a bit of banter. Perry was talking about his own presentation, spouting his usual yet amusing egocentric nonsense about how his was the best and then Stu shot him down.
"I think Kelsey's was the best. Come on, she made a reference to speaking in third person while speaking in third person. It was genius!"
Heck to the yes - you can't beat zany intellectual humour!
Vicky, Tim and Barry, having work the next day, bid us farewell after one drink. Pretty soon, the rest of us would have to move on since Matty and Dave had no ID, and Perry and William were underage - not that it matters for William, as he's a sensible lad who doesn't drink and never intends to. Good on him!
Everyone except Anna, Stu, Jason and myself moved on to the Duke of Cambridge on Duke Street, where there was a rock jam night going on. Jason and I had drinks to finish - since both of us are slow drinkers, this took a while.
Eventually, I finished my Magners and we joined the others at the Duke of Cambridge. Along the way there were some interesting conversations (Anna: "Up the paddle without a creek" / Kelza: "Killing two stones with one bird" / Stu: (while walking through a bush) "Argh! There are so many pricks!") and we wound up in a deafening, crowded pub full of rockers and live music. What a place! The music was great, the people were awesome - I met one lass there who remembered me from Sutton high but I still don't recall ever seeing her - and we all had a laugh.
Especially Dave, who got spiked. He sees getting spiked as a blessing because he gets wasted quicker, the loony.
The only downside to the Duke of Cambridge is that, like my local The Swan, debit cards don't exist there yet. So I had to make an epic trek to ASDA to use the cash machine there. Anna asked Jason to go with me, so I wasn't alone and much banter was shared. I recall telling him about how proud I was of Elysia, Jane and Lewis, how the Prince's Trust had benefited me and also about the novel I'm writing ('The Great Couch Happening of '69'). He seemed especially impressed by the progress on my novel - I've recently passed the 100,000 word mark.
Entering Duke Street, Jason talked a little bit about his older brother, who was in the Duke of Cambridge somewhere with their Mum - but I hadn't seen them in there.
"You'd probably get loads of pages from the things my brother says," he told me. "He's got this mad sense of humour. I'm trying to learn a bit from him."
"The way I see it, Good Sir Jason," said I, "is that witty banter is like a sport. You pick your opponent and bounce words off each-other, practicing and honing until your tongue is razor-sharp. Pardon me, though, I'm slightly drunk and very mad and there's the pub again..."
Then, Jason asked me, "how are you at pub quizzes?"
"Naturally, it depends on the questions," I responded. "... And my answers as well."
He told me that there was a pub quiz on at the Running Horses (where we'd started off the night), 9PM tomorrow. Groovy, thought I, and the subject was left there for a bit.
Back in the pub, people were getting gradually more drunk. William and Steph had gone home at this point. Matty was getting territorial over his kebab; it was hilarious. Dave was completely plastered. Perry was falling asleep on Jason and I was comfortably drunk. Anna, Lewis, Ryan and Jason were the sober ones!
Perry left to get the last bus back to Newton - after I saved him from being hit by a car - and then Anna, Jade and Dave performed 'Hallelujah' while Jason and I watched. They did really well, despite Dave's condition. He later told me that his performance was flawed, but I didn't hear it.
After they'd done performing, we sat back at our table for a while. I suppose we just chatted a while. At one point I asked Jason if he was sure about inviting me to the pub quiz tomorrow - it seemed a little out-of-the-blue to me - but he said it was alright for me to come along. I decided there and then that I might as well!
Eventually, we decided to call it a night. Anna, Dave, Ryan and I planned to get a taxi, but first we'd have to take another trip to the cash machine so I could pay for us. I was the only person who could get us home, but it meant I'd have to take money out of the £50 I owed Dad for all the bus tickets.
And then Jason gave us a tenner, totally unannounced. This meant we had enough to get back to the Foyer - and then to the taxi rank and back when Anna would later realise she'd left her bag there. Without Jason, I wouldn't have been able to pay Dad the full £50 that I owed. It was really sweet of him to help us out, expecting nothing in return. I think I might even sneak a £20 into his pocket, next time I see him.
The thing is, I think I've always had a little crush on Jason. Even though he only came in to help our team a couple of times, I rather liked him. He's a good laugh, selfless, helpful, considerate and good looking to boot! I hadn't expected it to go anywhere, of course, because, unlike Barry, there was a bit of a gulf between Jason, Smithy (the other Team 44 volunteer) and our Team. Because they were new to the whole volunteering kaboodle, they probably weren't entirely sure how to go about it. But apparently Jason likes me enough to invite me to something!
Later, when we returned to the Foyer to sleep in Ste Sumner's flat and I told Anna about it, I learned something interesting. He hadn't invited anyone else to the pub quiz. Just me. I told her because I'd suspected as much myself and wanted confirmation. I'm really naff when it comes to linking guys' behaviour with what they may be thinking or feeling.
"Jason invited me to a pub quiz before," said I.
Anna, who was in the process of removing her heels, paused and looked up at me. "Did he?"
"Yeah - why, didn't he invite anyone else?"
"No, he didn't," said Anna. She finally released her feet and straightened up, smirking. "I think he likes you!"
After a baffled pause, I grinned. "Spiffy!"
I was like this all night, baffed. I might be liked by someone who is a) not a girl (I've lost count of all the girls who've liked me) and b) not a creeper of any variety! And I like him!
Such were my thoughts as I fell asleep on one of Ste's puny couches. I still don't know if it was the awkward sleeping arrangement or my own excitement that kept me up all night. I've finished my Prince's Trust Team Programme, and this is definitely not something I'd expected to get out of it!
If Jason does like me and I'm not just thinking wishfully... no wonder he gave me full marks on the mock interview we did all those weeks ago!
We all had a couple of celebratory drinks here, and a bit of banter. Perry was talking about his own presentation, spouting his usual yet amusing egocentric nonsense about how his was the best and then Stu shot him down.
"I think Kelsey's was the best. Come on, she made a reference to speaking in third person while speaking in third person. It was genius!"
Heck to the yes - you can't beat zany intellectual humour!
Vicky, Tim and Barry, having work the next day, bid us farewell after one drink. Pretty soon, the rest of us would have to move on since Matty and Dave had no ID, and Perry and William were underage - not that it matters for William, as he's a sensible lad who doesn't drink and never intends to. Good on him!
Everyone except Anna, Stu, Jason and myself moved on to the Duke of Cambridge on Duke Street, where there was a rock jam night going on. Jason and I had drinks to finish - since both of us are slow drinkers, this took a while.
Eventually, I finished my Magners and we joined the others at the Duke of Cambridge. Along the way there were some interesting conversations (Anna: "Up the paddle without a creek" / Kelza: "Killing two stones with one bird" / Stu: (while walking through a bush) "Argh! There are so many pricks!") and we wound up in a deafening, crowded pub full of rockers and live music. What a place! The music was great, the people were awesome - I met one lass there who remembered me from Sutton high but I still don't recall ever seeing her - and we all had a laugh.
Especially Dave, who got spiked. He sees getting spiked as a blessing because he gets wasted quicker, the loony.
The only downside to the Duke of Cambridge is that, like my local The Swan, debit cards don't exist there yet. So I had to make an epic trek to ASDA to use the cash machine there. Anna asked Jason to go with me, so I wasn't alone and much banter was shared. I recall telling him about how proud I was of Elysia, Jane and Lewis, how the Prince's Trust had benefited me and also about the novel I'm writing ('The Great Couch Happening of '69'). He seemed especially impressed by the progress on my novel - I've recently passed the 100,000 word mark.
Entering Duke Street, Jason talked a little bit about his older brother, who was in the Duke of Cambridge somewhere with their Mum - but I hadn't seen them in there.
"You'd probably get loads of pages from the things my brother says," he told me. "He's got this mad sense of humour. I'm trying to learn a bit from him."
"The way I see it, Good Sir Jason," said I, "is that witty banter is like a sport. You pick your opponent and bounce words off each-other, practicing and honing until your tongue is razor-sharp. Pardon me, though, I'm slightly drunk and very mad and there's the pub again..."
Then, Jason asked me, "how are you at pub quizzes?"
"Naturally, it depends on the questions," I responded. "... And my answers as well."
He told me that there was a pub quiz on at the Running Horses (where we'd started off the night), 9PM tomorrow. Groovy, thought I, and the subject was left there for a bit.
Back in the pub, people were getting gradually more drunk. William and Steph had gone home at this point. Matty was getting territorial over his kebab; it was hilarious. Dave was completely plastered. Perry was falling asleep on Jason and I was comfortably drunk. Anna, Lewis, Ryan and Jason were the sober ones!
Perry left to get the last bus back to Newton - after I saved him from being hit by a car - and then Anna, Jade and Dave performed 'Hallelujah' while Jason and I watched. They did really well, despite Dave's condition. He later told me that his performance was flawed, but I didn't hear it.
After they'd done performing, we sat back at our table for a while. I suppose we just chatted a while. At one point I asked Jason if he was sure about inviting me to the pub quiz tomorrow - it seemed a little out-of-the-blue to me - but he said it was alright for me to come along. I decided there and then that I might as well!
Eventually, we decided to call it a night. Anna, Dave, Ryan and I planned to get a taxi, but first we'd have to take another trip to the cash machine so I could pay for us. I was the only person who could get us home, but it meant I'd have to take money out of the £50 I owed Dad for all the bus tickets.
And then Jason gave us a tenner, totally unannounced. This meant we had enough to get back to the Foyer - and then to the taxi rank and back when Anna would later realise she'd left her bag there. Without Jason, I wouldn't have been able to pay Dad the full £50 that I owed. It was really sweet of him to help us out, expecting nothing in return. I think I might even sneak a £20 into his pocket, next time I see him.
The thing is, I think I've always had a little crush on Jason. Even though he only came in to help our team a couple of times, I rather liked him. He's a good laugh, selfless, helpful, considerate and good looking to boot! I hadn't expected it to go anywhere, of course, because, unlike Barry, there was a bit of a gulf between Jason, Smithy (the other Team 44 volunteer) and our Team. Because they were new to the whole volunteering kaboodle, they probably weren't entirely sure how to go about it. But apparently Jason likes me enough to invite me to something!
Later, when we returned to the Foyer to sleep in Ste Sumner's flat and I told Anna about it, I learned something interesting. He hadn't invited anyone else to the pub quiz. Just me. I told her because I'd suspected as much myself and wanted confirmation. I'm really naff when it comes to linking guys' behaviour with what they may be thinking or feeling.
"Jason invited me to a pub quiz before," said I.
Anna, who was in the process of removing her heels, paused and looked up at me. "Did he?"
"Yeah - why, didn't he invite anyone else?"
"No, he didn't," said Anna. She finally released her feet and straightened up, smirking. "I think he likes you!"
After a baffled pause, I grinned. "Spiffy!"
I was like this all night, baffed. I might be liked by someone who is a) not a girl (I've lost count of all the girls who've liked me) and b) not a creeper of any variety! And I like him!
Such were my thoughts as I fell asleep on one of Ste's puny couches. I still don't know if it was the awkward sleeping arrangement or my own excitement that kept me up all night. I've finished my Prince's Trust Team Programme, and this is definitely not something I'd expected to get out of it!
If Jason does like me and I'm not just thinking wishfully... no wonder he gave me full marks on the mock interview we did all those weeks ago!