Chapter 4
The car ride back to the flat was awkward and hectic, to put it in simple terms. Both Paul and John insisted that Ringo drive while they sat in the back with Martha, obviously to make fun of her.
"Hey, John?" Paul nudged him, grabbing his attention.
"Yeah?" He answered, turning away from Martha, who was busy engaging in a staring contest with him, for intimidation purposes.
"Who am I?" He asked, before proceeding to place one hand on his hip and one at the nape of his neck, winking at John, attempting to be seductive.
John let out a hearty laugh upon realizing that Paul was mocking Martha's little burlesque routine, and joined it. Both started singing Town without Pity, mocking Martha's effeminate falsetto voice, making sure to do so as obnoxiously as possible. She sighed and look away from them, pretending to be preoccupied in the scenery that flashed by. She peered at George and Ringo from the corner of her eye and noticed that they seemed lost with the inside joke Paul and John were laughing about.
Ringo spoke up first, not really getting it. "What's so funny?"
George nodded, wondering what was going on as well. John stopped the mockery and explained what Martha was doing, exaggeratedly and animatedly. The entire time Martha listened intently, ready to strike if he went too far with his colorful explanation.
"I swear, it looked like she was this close to taking her top off," John remarked, holding both hands a mere inch away from each other to indicate how 'close' she was to doing so, "she looked like a natural show-"
"That's it!" Martha shouted, unbuckling her seatbelt, "George, stop the car!"
George swerved then slammed on the breaks, pulling over on a curb, the sudden order she had given him startling him. Martha, while he did that, took no time in throwing girlish punches and slaps at John, who didn't mind at first, until she kept hitting the same spot repeatedly. Throughout this, she repeatedly cursed and yelled out lewd insults at him. She tackled him, surprising both him and Paul as the latter of the two was now pushed up against the car's window. All John did was block and defend himself, somewhat amused that she had finally snapped.
"Dammit Lennon, you really don't know when to call it quits, now do you?" Martha hollered, resorting to strangling him when she realized her punches didn't have any effect on him.
Ringo looked back and stifled a laugh as John panted for air; her hands were somewhat small, but she knew where to apply the pressure. Paul was still pressed against the window, trying to wiggle out of confinement, but decided against opening the car door that would most likely result in him being hit by a passing car. George sighed and crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back against the driver's seat, waiting for Martha to finish her little tantrum of retaliation.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" John offered, gagging and coughing when she proved to be resilient.
"Sorry ain't going to cut it, you vulgar little jackoff!" All ladylike mannerisms and vocabulary had been abandoned; this young woman had had enough, evoking a laugh from both George and Ringo. John gripped her wrists to pry her off, but the uncomfortable feeling he had from her grabbing his neck made him pull back as he desperately tried to find a way to get her off him. Finally, he resorted to reaching down and groping her bottom, to that which she let out a squeak and let go of his throat to slap him. He was okay with that, relieved that he was no longer being emasculated by a woman, despite now having a red mark on his cheek. He quickly sat up, allowing Paul to do so as well, to which both men sighed gratefully. Martha huffed and opened the car door, stepping out ungracefully onto the sidewalk and slamming it behind her. She glared at the pedestrians that had stopped to look at five peculiar youths, making them walk away to continue their business, both frightened and nonchalant. She continued walking down the sidewalk, not really knowing or caring where she was headed.
"Where you off to?" Ringo called after her, sticking his head out the window.
"I need some fresh air." She simply replied over her shoulder, continuing to saunter off.
Ringo retreated back into the car, looking like an angry child. He pouted then looked back at John.
"Well, now you've done it. I've got to say though, she's got plenty of patience. Didn't think she'd snap like that though."
Both George and Paul agreed, and the latter of the two asked if they should go after her.
"Why bother, she'll only assault me again!" John cried out, rubbing his neck.
George rolled his eyes and commenced in driving after her, knowing well that she didn't know this area of the city. She didn't get very far, but she wouldn't even look at them as George drifted beside her, glancing every so often away from her as he checked to see if any other cars were around. Ringo poked his head out the window and pleaded for Martha to get back in the car with them, even apologizing on John's behalf.
She stopped walking abruptly, and George had to make sure there were no cars before slamming on the brakes. "No way, I have to hear it from him, Ritchie." She tsked, crossing her arms, an expectant look on her face.
Ringo sighed, then looked back at said Beatle, who was sitting stiffly, arms crossed in retaliation. His face held a look of childish rebelliousness, and when Ringo glared at him, he finally spoke up.
"No way, I ain't going to do it fellas." He exclaimed with a flourish of both his hands.
"Come on, John, dammit, just apologize and we can go back home!" Paul butt in, now annoyed with how unnecessary all the quarreling was.
John still stayed resilient, much to the rest of the boys' chagrin. Ringo had enough, as did George, who was slow to anger. Both boys turned to John and began to beat him, Ringo leaning over the passenger seat as much as he could to hit him better. Paul just watched the entire scene unfold with a smirk on his face, as did Martha. By the end of it all, John had a disheveled look and was spewing out apologies like a pipe that sprung a leak.
"Wasn't so hard, was it?" Martha chided, stepping into the car with pep in her step.
The boys watched her in wonder; she had shown more emotion in one day than the past couple weeks she had been living with them. Once she was back to her reserved self, they quickly lost interest and began giving John a hard time. He stayed quiet the entire ride home though; he was too busy trying to figure out how the girl sitting next to him worked.
