After a few hours, I woke up. I looked at the clock and saw it was only 9:15. I sighed. I must have gotten to bed early...what happened earlier anyway? I searched through the deeper recesses of my mind for the answer. Oh yeah, that creepy phone call. I had tried to forget about it, but it seemed impossible. I looked around for Gwen and Pattie. I could tell they were here; I heard their voices, but they were in a different room. I couldn't tell what they were talking about. It was 9:18 now. Early for me to go to sleep, but I couldn't help myself. I was exhausted! Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up a few hours later, when the clock said 9:30. It had to be 9:30 a.m. because there was light shining through the curtains. Surprisingly enough, Gwen and Pattie were up already and having breakfast. Sure, I was happy I didn't have to get to the nearly impossible task of waking them up, but I also felt out of a job. How long have they been up? That, along with many other unanswerable questions, flooded my brain. But I tried not to think too hard. It was hazardous to me this early in the morning. I rose out of bed, feeling unnaturally groggy. Why? Oh. I was thinking about that phone call all damn night long. I didn't get a wink of sleep! No matter. I got dressed and brushed my hair, so you couldn't tell how much sleep I lost.
"Hey there Eileen," said Gwen with a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "Bout time you got up!"
I grunted and helped myself to some bacon.
"What's wrong?" asked Pattie, concerned.
I shook my head. "I'm fine," I lied. "Just tired." Okay, half-lied.
"You sure?" asked Pattie again. Gwen and I heard you mumbling things in the kip all night long."
"I was?" I asked, clueless. "What was I saying?"
"It was impossible to understand," said Gwen. "Just nonsense stuff."
"Oh. Okay," I said. The rest of the morning was silent. All through it I was wondering whether or not I should tell them about the phone call, but I didn't. Soon, all too soon, we were off to the set of the picture. Funny, it was supposed to be this great film, but it was nameless. I laughed at it, and it seemed to make Pattie and Gwen a little happier, due to the fact that I was somber all morning. Today was a simpler scene, not a lot of lines for anyone. It just involved The Beatles playing a new song called "I Should Have Known Better" in a luggage car on the train while a bunch of fangirls watched. Nothing huge.
"Hi Dick!" I greeted as I saw him walk towards the set with all the girls.
"Hello Eileen," he said back. He directed his attention to the rest of the girls. "Now girls," he said. "You will only come up to the bars on my cue, understand?" The girls nodded and agreed, and the scene started.
It was a very simple scene. The boys said a few lines, played cards, switched to playing the song for the girls, who had by now crowded around the cart. They actually were supposed to start watching them play cards. I swear, some of these girls would gladly watch the guys take a piss. Somehow, Dick gave Pattie the OK to actually sit inside the car. Surprisingly, she didn't go straight to George, but instead sat closer to Paul and Ringo. Poor shy thing. Soon it was over, and all the girls walked reluctantly off set.
"So you found yer friends, did ye?" asked John, who had snuck up behind me.
I jumped. "Oh, yeah, I did." I guess I owed Jerri something.
"Have I seen you before?" asked Ringo. Wow. He actually recognized me! Just like all of them!
"Yeah, of course!" said George. "She was one of the birds up front when we were getting 'chased', remember? All three of them actually." Gwen giggled and poor Pattie turned tomato red and looked at the floor.
"Well, we've gotta go," said Paul, grinning at me. Butterflies.
"Hopefully we'll see ya birds later," said Ringo. Aw, he's such a sweetie!
"Let's not keep them waiting too long then," said John. They walked away, and as George passed, he winked. I heard a giggle behind me, but not from Gwen this time. Instead, to my surprise, from Pattie. She was bright red, with her small hand over her mouth, giggling. Hearing Pattie giggle like that was strange!
A few minutes later, we were back at our hotel room. I kept glancing over at the phone, as if waiting for it to ring. That's when Gwen broke the silence.
"Eileen, you've been sitting there just staring off into space for ages now. What's wrong?" she said.
I sighed. Maybe I should tell her. "I got this phone call yesterday when I got back to the room after filming."
"A phone call?" asked Pattie. "From who?"
I shrugged. "No clue," I said.
"What'd they say?" asked Gwen urgently.
"Oh, something like 'I'll be coming for you' or whatever. Scared the crap out of me."
"It'd scare me too," said Gwen. "Maybe they got a wrong number?"
"Come on Gwen," said Pattie. "Who would call someone with a message like that and dial a wrong number?"
"Point," said Gwen, looking defeated. "Did it sound like a man or a woman?"
I shrugged again. "Dunno," I said. "It didn't exactly sound like a woman, but it was kind of shrill. Kind of like a hiss or something."
"It could have been one of those he-shes," suggested Gwen.
"One of those whats?" asked a disgusted, but amused Pattie.
"Ya know, he-shes," explained Gwen. "Those men who get their-" outside, a truck made a very loud revving noise-"cut off so they're actually women."
Pattie and I just looked at each other, not knowing what to say. "How do you know this stuff," I finally said.
Gwen shrugged. "I know a guy."
"Please don't tell us about him," I said.
Gwen was about to say something else when the phone rang. All three of us froze in our places, staring at the phone.
"D'ya think?" asked Pattie.
I remained silent, eyes wide open.
"Answer it," said Gwen.
Taking a deep breath, I reached for the phone. I picked it up, and with a shaking hand, held it to my ear. "Hello?" I answered in a weak voice.
"'Ello?" said the voice on the other line. "Is Miss Eileen Carter home?"
"Yes," I replied shakily. "This is Eileen Carter."
"Ah, good!" said the voice, suddenly very cheery. "It's John, ya know, that Beatle guy?"
I quickly let out a relieved breath. "It's John," I mouthed to Gwen and Pattie, who both looked somewhere between relieved and ecstatic. "Hi John!" I said. "How'd you get the hotel room number?" Had he asked someone for it?
"Well," said John, "It seems our George is more of a ladies' man than we thought!"
Somewhere else in the room where John was, I heard someone, who must have been George, shout, "Hey!"
"Well it's true!" John shouted back. "Ye there, Eileen?" said John to me.
"Yeah," I said. "So, George is a ladies' man?"
"Oh, yeah!" said John, amused. "You know that other blonde bird you hang out with?"
I laughed and looked over at Pattie. She must've known what I was laughing about, because she blushed and looked down. "George got her number?" I asked.
"Yeah!" said John. I laughed again.
"So, what's up?" I asked. Wow, I couldn't believe I was actually saying that to a Beatle. It seemed too unreal!
"Oh, actually, the boys and I were wondering if you and yer friends wanted to come up and watch us play some songs we're filming for the picture," said John. "It would be a great thing if you did, I'm sure your blonde friend would love it!"
"Pattie," I said. "And she would!" By this point, all thoughts of the mysterious phone call were out of my head. But what was now in its place were the things that Pattie had said before. The things she said about John fancying me. I found it highly unlikely, but the thoughts were swarming through my head like angry bees. I didn't fancy John back if he did, that spot in my heart seemed to be reserved for Paul, but I still wondered.
"I'd love it!" I said. "I'll tell the girls and we'll be on our way as soon as we can!"
"That's great news love," said John. "See you later!" He hung up. I put the phone back on the receiver and sighed.
"You'll never guess what he called for!" I said.
"I see he told you how he got the number," said Pattie sheepishly.
"Never mind how he got the number!" said Gwen. "What'd he want?"
"He wants us to come to the set and watch them play songs they're filming for the picture!" All three of us squealed at the same time.
"That's great!" said Gwen. "I've always wanted to see them preform!"
"And just for us, right Eileen?" said Pattie.
"Yes, just for us and the cameramen!" I said. We squealed again.
"When do we leave?" asked Gwen.
"Right now!" I grabbed both of them by the arm and we were off to the set. We followed directions left by signs that the boys had hastily scribbled. My heart was fluttering! They actually wanted us to come that bad! I felt totally different, not myself. I felt out of my shell! When we finally got to the stage that the boys were at, I saw John's face light up when he saw me.
"Eileen!" he said, coming down off the stage with Paul. I could tell John was going to give me a hug, but Paul got to me first, and I saw John put on a very sour face. When Paul hugged me, I felt feather-light, except for my stomach, which I thought was going to come out the other end.
"It's nice to see you again, Eileen," said Paul.
"Likewise," I said, grinning. To my dismay, he left, but George took his place next to me.
"Thanks for making Pattie like you so much that you got the hotel room number," I said to him.
George smiled. "Aw, it was nothin' really," he said. His accent was so much different than any of the others. Heavier, a bit. He turned to me. "You know that John and Paul are all over you."
"All over me?" I asked.
George nodded. "Yeah, they fancy you, both of them," he said. "Ringo and I are betting. I've got me money on Paul, but Ringo's betting on John."
I rolled my eyes. Normally I wouldn't like being the subject of a bet, but somehow, this was funny.
"Which one do you fancy?" asked George.
"Um..." It was my turn to blush now.
"It's okay, ye don't have to tell me," said George. "Oh, we've gotta set up some more on stage. Enjoy!"
"I will!" I shouted up at the stage. On his way up, I saw George greet Pattie briefly.
"Yep, those two are hittin' it off just fine," said someone next to me. I jumped and saw Ringo.
"They may," I said. "I hope they do, George seems nice."
"Yeah, a bit," said Ringo. "They're both shy, aren't they?" I laughed, but then Ringo had to set up as well. Soon, they had started playing. The first song was called "If I Fell." It was a ballad that John sang with harmony from Paul. I could sense John's eyes on me for just about the whole song. It sent chills down my spine.
Next, after the set was changed around a little, came another song called "And I Love Her." It was a pretty ballad that Paul sang alone. It was softer than "If I Fell," and had a sort of Spanish feel to it. With this song, I didn't just feel Paul's eyes-I could see them looking at me the whole time. It was as if he was singing to me! I loved it.
After that, we had to actually move to a different set. I spoke to Ringo on the way there.
"It's sounding really nice," I said to him.
Ringo smiled. I swear, he wasn't my favorite Beatle, but that smile should win an award of some kind. It made me smile too! "Aw, really, it's not that great," he said.
I laughed at his modesty. "Are you kidding?" I said. "It is too!"
"Fine, whatever you say," said Ringo. "I'm just glad they're not having me sing for this."
"Why?" I asked. "You sing fine! I love 'Boys'!"
Ringo smiled again. "Thanks," he said. "I just get really nervous."
"No need!" I said. "People love you too, you know." We finally got to the set and set up.
The last song was one George sang called "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You." It was more upbeat than the first two, and Pattie grew more and more excited every time George glanced her way. This song was fun, I have to say, but I think I liked Paul's song the best.
"Wow, glad that's done," said Paul, putting his bass back in its case.
"Ye've said it Paul," said George. "I'm glad to throw in the towel for now."
"Easy for you to say," said John. "I've got a party to go to tonight, so I defiantly can't throw in the towel!"
"Whose party?" asked Ringo.
"Oh, friend of mine," said John.
"Thanks for having us come today," I said.
"No problem!" said John. "It's always a pleasure having you beautiful birds over!"
"Ah now Johnny," said Paul coolly. "Don't try to win all of em over!"
"He won't listen," said George, rolling his eyes. He turned to us. "He's only playing."
I nodded.
Pattie and George spoke for a few moments, and then Pattie said, "Hey, Eileen, I'm going with George. You and Gwen have fun!"
"Actually," said Gwen. "I'm getting dragged along with Ringo!" I laughed. She and Ringo had been talking a lot.
"Kay, I'll see you tomorrow!" I said. In a way, as I walked out the door, I felt disappointed that Paul or John didn't ask me to come anywhere with them. Ah well, Pattie and George were hitting it off pretty well, and Gwen was probably dragging Ringo along. It probably wasn't the boys' choice. It was really dark out now. There were a few streetlamps lit, but it was still pretty hard to see. I tried to focus on the road ahead of me, but it was hard. I soon found myself in a dark alleyway, where I had no idea where I was. That's when I heard the voice.
"I told you I was coming for you," said a cold, hissing voice. That voice came from a dark figure that was standing behind me. I wheeled around so quickly, I lost my balance and slipped, hitting my head on the ground. I didn't pass out, but I saw stars. After the stars passed, I got a good glimpse of the phone-caller. I couldn't tell if it was male or female, and its face was covered in a black ski mask. It was also holding a gun.
"Who are you?" I shrieked.
"I can't tell you that," hissed the stranger. "It'd ruin my fun!"
It cocked a bullet in its gun. It aimed the gun right at me. "Sweet dreams."
"Help!" I shrieked, but it did no good. With a loud crack, the phone-caller pulled the trigger, and I felt a tremendous pain shoot through my left shoulder. I cried out, but soon, everything went black.