Madferit: The Novel

Chapter 93

           

Noel and I spent the rest of October in my hometown. Cleveland was just too much of a haul and not really worth it for what we could do in my actual neck of the woods. We went to a bonfire hosted by a few of my friends. I could tell Noel felt a bit out of place. Not that he'd never been to a bonfire before but at this one, there were no drugs – just food and a good bit of alcohol.

            My friends all treated him like one of the gang and I was glad for that. It was nice to be out of the spotlight away from all the fancy people I'd grown so used to hanging out with in London. My friends knew of Oasis because of me and to a lesser extent, "Wonderwall". They didn't ask questions about life across the pond either...at least not any involving Noel's celebrity status.

            Before I knew it, October was over and November had begun which brought the band right back onto their tour. They were in Europe at that point for a long list of dates that would take up most of the month.

            The bus rolled on through France. The countryside was lovely as I gazed out the window. The boys were quiet for the most part which allowed me to focus on my own thoughts.

            There'd been no word from Emma or Paul. I found it hard to believe Paul wouldn't reach out to his brothers but maybe he had and I'd just been kept out of the loop.

            I stared out at the cattle dotting the green pasture along the highway. Dairy cattle of some sort with horns and bells on their collars. I stayed completely focused on them...until I felt someone push me forward.

            I leaned up enough to let Noel sit down behind me. Once he was comfortable, I leaned back against his chest.

            He wrapped his arms around me holding a pen in his left hand and a newspaper in his right. "I'm stuck." He told me showing me the partially completed crossword puzzle with his handwritten answers scrawled in some of the boxes.

            It was a hobby we picked up in the last couple weeks. Well, he picked up and I sort of just got "stuck in". When we were still in Ohio, he got a hold of the local newspaper and became hooked on solving its daily crossword. Then when we returned to London to gather our things to get back on the road, he moved on to The Times. It was a different type of crossword than the one in Ohio but no less amusing. We worked together to figure them out and it was actually quite fun.

            "Help us." He pleaded waving the paper a bit.

            "Alright!" I giggled. "Which one are you on?" I grabbed the paper so I could see it better.

            "This one." He pointed at one of the ones going down.

            I read the clue and thought of what it could be. It was quite a tricky one.

            "Fuckin' snooze fest, you two!" Liam jibed.

            We both scowled at him.

            "Ya oughta just go back to bed and read your fuckin' books and-"

            "Fuck off!" I yelled snatching the pen from Noel and throwing it at Liam.

            Liam held his hands up in front of his face for protection as the pen flew towards him. It hit his arms before falling down into his lap. He picked it up and examined it.

            "Give it back!" Noel ordered waving his hand for Liam to do so.

            "Nope! It's mine now!" Liam replied clicking the pen's tip in and out.