Hey guys! Here's my new story! I'm going crazy with these! I need to just stop getting ideas for new stories so I can continue those other stories :/ grrrr! Well anyway, here's Midnight in Liverpool! The new Story by Obsure Séance Rita!
"Can you imagine this place in the sixties, Auntie?" April Parker pushed her glasses up against her nose and leaned over the window. She couldn't stop looking out the window. The weather may be eternally rainy but it didn't matter to April. It was the architecture that caught her eye. The houses were so close together which made it no problem for one to go to another's house. In America, the nearest house could be a mile away. "I mean, in my mind I can only see it all in black and white like the movies . . ."
"It might as well have been in black and white" her Aunt Rita had said "I have pictures of your grandmother and grandfather when they were your age living in Liverpool" Rita placed the tray of tea down on the coffee table behind April.
"Well, I can see them?" April asked as she turned the lenses of her digital camera, taking yet another picture of the house across the street. The object now in her hands could always be found slung around her neck. She was usually found on that side of the camera. Her aunt had told her that today was supposed to be different because April's twenty first birthday was that day.
"Alright little toaster, no need to give me attitude" Rita laughed and walked down the basement stairs. When she came back up, she was carrying a cardboard box. April watched her aunt set the box of pictures next to the coffee table. Rita reached her hands into the pool of pictures and a musty smell escaped the box. Her aunt searched until she pulled out a bag of black and white Polaroid pictures. She handed them to April.
April pushed her black glasses up to the bridge of her nose as she took the bag from her Aunt Rita. She pulled out the first photo she could find and squinted her eyes to it. She saw two people smiling in the foreground. The woman of the picture was being held by the waist and laughing. She looked like she had been trying to run away from the man holding her there. April looked at her grandmother and grandfather and smiled. In the background something caught her eye. "That club is still there."
"Hm?" Rita looked up from the pictures to her niece. "Oh yes, that's the Cavern Club" April looked down at the photo again.
"The Beatles used to play there" April tried to say the statement as plainly as she could. She didn't want to show how obsessed she was with the older band though her aunt already knew how bad it was. If she started now, they might both miss her birthday. The little bit of her family that was here was taking her out to a bar. Though of course, here in another country she was already old enough to drink alcohol.
"Why don't you keep those" her Aunt smiled at the ecstatic girl in front of her as April flipped through the handle full of pictures she pulled out of the bag.
"Really?" April had a wide smile on her face as she picked up the bag of photos. She was on her way to put the bag in her temporary room when her Aunt Rita called:
"I bet you'll find some pictures of the Beatles in there" her aunt winked at her as April rolled her eyes. She placed both her camera and her new pictures on the desk in her room. She was only going to be in Liverpool for a week so she needed to make the most of it.
"Oh look at you little cousin drinking the night away!" April's liverpudlian cousin messed up her short hair with his hand. April took another sip of her drink when he pulled his hand away.
"David, I'm older than you!" she narrowed her eyes him as he laughed spilling beer all over the table.
"But you're smaller than me" he responded still laughing uncontrollably. April gave him a little push and her Aunt Rita, David's mother, reprimanded them. A waitress came over to the table holding a small cake with lit candles.
"Oh no, please don't sing!" David leaned into April drunkenly and they all started singing to her. Even people from the bar started singing along but skipped over the part where they would say a name. April laughed and held her hands to her ears playfully. Once the song ended she took her hands away and smiled.
"Blow out yer candles, luv" her uncle said to her. Her uncle is the English side of April's family. She's American not British, but she wishes she wasn't American. People here give her dirty looks on the street when they hear her American accent.
"Don't forget ta make a wish!" David said with a wink. I'm not a child anymore! But . . . I will still make a wish. April leaned into the cake and formed her wish in her mind. She blew the candles out and everyone clapped.
"What did you wish for?" her Aunt asked with a smile. April looked around the table. It was only her uncle, her aunt and David. Her parents only had enough money to send April over to Europe. She wished they could be there but they would have restricted her so much.
"She probably made a wish Beatles related" David took a sip of his drink and looked away from April. He was expecting a hit from her but it didn't come.
"I can't tell you what I wished for. It's a secret" she put a skinny finger to her closed lips. For the next couple of hours, the family sat and drank. David explained his plans on the next day for him and April, who was getting dizzier with each drink. She could never really get drunk, just dizzy. "I need some air" she claimed while scratching her head.
She walked down the long street and stopped across from a park. She stared at it and wished for her camera. She pushed up her square black glasses and pushed back her hair, staring at the park. She wanted to memorize everything about that park. The writing on the trees, the placement of the benches, she even wanted to remember the bird nests on each branch.
She sat on the side of the curb as she stared at the park. After a moment, a park pulled up in front of her, almost blocking her view. It was an old style yellow taxi with black writing on the side telling passengers to watch their step. The window opened and a man stuck his head out from the opposite side of the car.
"Hey! Are you April Parker?" he asked as he looked down at a piece of paper in his hand. April stood up and looked in the car at him. His hair was greased back but April could still tell he had curly hair.
"I am she" April responded with a cough. She put her hands together and watched the man in the car.
"Well, Miss Parker, this is your luck day" he looked up from the piece of paper. He had one arm rested on the back of the seat and the other on the steering wheel. He was chewing a piece of gum and popped the bubble that he had made. "Well, hop in the back!"
"Um, okay" April opened the back seat of the car and climbed in. It had an old musty smell that made her nose tingle. The smell actually reminded her of the pictures and her camera back in her room. The driver pulled away from the curb right after April got into the car. "Where are we going?" The driver ignored her question.
"You seem a little drunk, little girl" he looked at her from the mirror. April forgot about the question she asked.
"I'm probably as old as you" she told him and he laughed. April pouted; she didn't like people laughing at her.
"Believe me, Miss Parker, I am many years older than you" he was still laughing a little as he pulled the car over. He turned in his seat to look at the twenty one year old. "Now look, if you need me, you just call the number on this card" he handed a small card to April. "but I can only come at night" April looked down at the card.
"Your name is Driver?" she raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled.
"Hey, respect yer elders missy!" He looked down at his watch and out the window. "Now, I'll see you later Miss Parker" April opened her door and stepped out of the car. She pulled her jacket around her to keep away from the cold. "One more thing" She turned around to Driver.
"Yes?" she pushed her glasses up.
"Watch out for them boys got it?" he laughed as April nodded. She didn't understand what the man was telling her but she went along with it. There's a reason for everything anyway.
April looked around and found herself standing in front of the Cavern Club. Strange people were bustling in and out. She felt as though she was sticking out as usual. If that Driver dropped her off here, he must have wanted her to go inside.
When she walked in, she was bombarded with the sound of live music. It must have been the last song because it was a clash of instruments and people applauding and screaming. April walked into the huge room and went straight to the bar, only because she didn't know where else to go. She sat down on a corner stool so she could easily rise without bumping into anyone.
She ordered a couple of drinks for herself as she studied the people around her. She decided it must be a dream. Everyone looked like they had come out of the movie, Peggy Sue Got Married except everyone seemed more hardcore.
On her third drink, someone sat down in the stool next to April. "One please" a deep voice said. She slowly turned to see the last person she would expect. His hair was a mess like she has seen only in pictures online. She watched him from the corner of eye but because she couldn't see without her glasses, she had to turn a little more. She was completely star struck, or we should say "Starr Struck".
Ringo's eyes moved around and rested on April. He caught her staring at him and was startled. He put a ringed hand over his eyes. "There's something on my face isn't there?" he asked. April looked around to see if he was asking her. There was no one else around them.
"Um, no" she bit her lip. I just gave attitude to my favorite Beatle . . . Ringo didn't seem to notice. He took his hand away when his drink came.
"Yer American then?" he asked her. April looked up from her drunk in astonishment. She thought their conversation had ended when she answered his first question.
"Uhh yeah I am but I'm visiting for a week" Ringo turned his seat to look at her completely. He looked her up and down from her converse sneakers and skinny jeans to her short red hair. April stared in his light blue eyes but he didn't notice.
"That's what I thought. Ya don't look like yer from around here" April's cheeks went as red as her hair. I am sticking out. It doesn't matter though because this is all a dream. As she thought, a hand slapped down on the bar counter.
"One beer, my good sir!" April followed the voice to see John Lennon. Her eyes went wide once they rested on his face. He noticed her looking at him and leaned next to her on the bar. "Oh look at you" he said amused. John turned to the drummer, "who's this bird?"
"This is . . . umm" Ringo scratched the back of his head trying to bring a name to mind.
"April Parker" she responded plainly. John looked her up and down as April pulled her glasses off to clean them.
"There it is!" John held up his hands like a picture frame and moved to stand next to Ringo away from the bar. April was about to put her glasses on but John took them from her.
"Hey! I can't see without those!" she tried reaching out to get them but everything was blurry in her eyes. Ringo took them from John and gave them back to April. "Thank you, Ringo"
"Oh, so you know us then?" Ringo asked her. He elbowed John who had gotten his drink. "An American knows my name!" He had the biggest smile on his face and laughed with excitement. John watched him with a blank stare.
"I know all of you actually" she paused and looked around the bar. "Where are Paul and George?"
"Are we not enough for you?" John was next to her now. He was close enough that April could smell the alcohol in his breath. He reached a hand up and stroked her hair. She watched as Ringo turned away in his seat.
"Well actually . . ." she stopped and looked towards the bathroom "I have to go to the bathroom" April slid off of her stool and looked at John. His expression was careless as he sat down in her stool.
She made her way through the crowded club to the bathroom. Most of the people were taller than she in her converse sneakers and as she got closer to the bathroom, she saw more dirty looks than she saw when she was outside. As April walked into the bathroom, she heard a group of girls talking.
"Did you see that girl sitting at the bar?" one asked.
"The one that John was whispering to?" the other asked.
"Yeah, what is his business with her?" the first one asked. "I mean . . . last night . . ."
"What about last night?" the other asked. April peered through a crack in the stall at the two girls who were talking about her. They had long hair that covered their collarbones. The first girl who had spoken had blonde hair while the shorter girl had brown hair.
"Well you know" she seemed nervous as she spoke the words.
"Oh, right! Last night . . ." the brunette said. The blonde took out a stick of lipstick and started reapplying it. She still had some on. A little bit too much. After she was done putting the lipstick on, the two girls left and went back to the bar. April exited the stall and went to the mirror. She stared at the skinny girl looking back at her. Well, at least they didn't ridicule how she looks. She didn't want to know what these people thought of her.
When she went back to the bar, she saw Ringo talking to a tall boy with hollow cheeks. It's George Harrison! April ignored John who was still sitting in her stool, and went right to Ringo and George. When Ringo saw April coming he smiled.
"This is who I was talking about!" he waved an ecstatic hand at April as George laughed. "She's American! And she knows who we are!" George shook his head at Ringo and held out his hand at April.
"I'm George Harrison" April shook his hand in amazement.
"I know" she shook her head "I'm April Parker."
"So, Rings isn't drunk after all. Ya really are an American" George sat down in the stool behind him so that April was the only one standing. George looked away from her around the bar and she rubbed her eyes with a yawn.
"Are you tired?" April turned to Ringo who looked at her with concern. "Do you want me to take you home?"
"Well . . ." April looked down at her hands "I don't know where home is . . ." The drummer thought for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak when April found John standing next to her.
"I have somewhere where you can sleep" Ringo said with a blush. April raised an eyebrow as John chuckled. She looked between them through her glasses. George was in the conversation now too.
"I'll go find Paulie" George sighed. John followed George.
"I'll come with thou!" he yelled with a hand to the ceiling. April turned to the first Beatle she had met.
"Where are we going?" she asked. He put a finger to his lips and smiled.
"It's a secret" John and George came back dragging Paul McCartney behind them. Paul didn't look happy with his band mates. When they introduced him to April he said:
"What makes you different from the other birds?" April had scowled at him. It's probably his time of the month anyway. They left the bar soon after that and walked down the street. April walked between Ringo and George as John and Paul led. They each asked her about twenty questions at once. Though Paul was still grumpy from being pulled away from his girl. She tried answering each question as best she could but some she had to ignore.
Those questions were such about her home in America. She wasn't completely sure how her home would have looked in the sixties so she couldn't answer the question. The one question that startled her was from Ringo. He asked her if she had a boyfriend at home. He asked it so plainly in a bored voice, but when April told him she didn't, he perked up again.
The four boys led her into a house just down the street from the Club. April stood in the living room as the boys walked around the house. She kept her hands in her pockets as she watched them run around the house. John was literally running around in each room as Paul followed him picking up everything that John had knocked down. So destructive! After about five minutes, Paul, John and George left.
"Wait, this is your house Ringo?" the drummer strode into the living room from the kitchen. He was holding a tray with tea on it. He laughed at her question as he sat on the couch.
"You sound surprised" he laughed. April shrugged and took a cup of tea from the tray. She sat down in the arm chair and took a sip of the tea. She really needed that cup of tea. "That . . . that was mine" April laughed.
"Wait, are you serious?" her expression got serious as she looked at him. He laughed and shook his head. April was starting to fall asleep so she put her tea cup down on the coffee table.
"Are you that tired?" April nodded. Ringo stood up from the couch and took her hand. He led her up stairs and opened a door down the hallway. Ringo dropped April's hand as she entered the room.
"Is this a guest room of some sort?" Ringo shook his head.
"Uh actually, you'll be sleeping in my bed . . ." he looked down at the floor. April blushed.
"With you there?" she asked frantically. Ringo's head shot up quickly.
"No! I'll be sleeping on the couch" April ignored the redness that spread across his face.
"Well, thank you Ringo" he looked up at the sound of his nickname. The elder started walking out the door when he stopped. He turned to look at April who was studying the comforter on the bed.
"Do you want a goodnight kiss?" he asked with his goofy smile. April laughed at him and shook her head.
"Good night Ringo" she hummed the Beatles song that he sings on the White Album as Ringo closed the door. April took her glasses off and placed them on the night table. She pulled back the comforter and melted into the bed. I really hope this isn't a dream!
She closed her eyes and reflected on the events on the day but as she went through each event, her mind slipped away. She fell into a deep sleep with colors flying everywhere. All she saw were colors. No shapes at all, just colors.
Soooo did ya love it? Did ya hate it? Well please let me know in a REVIEW! I worked on this for a whole day guys! So I want feedback! PLEAASE? Like, if you're gonna read it, you might as well review!
p.s. I'm sorry I write about Ringo so much! D: he's just so easy for me to write! I think that's why that other story With A Little Help from My Friends was such a problem because I was writing about John not Ringo!