Being Allister Bird

The Ark?

Homelessness didn't suit me.                                   The suitcases that housed my life held me steady as I lean against the door , my heart pounding and my head hurting as mum locks the door and hugs me tight.
Today we leave the house that never really became a home , and embark on a life on the streets.
There's nothing we can do , apparently. Mum can't afford the rent and nobody would want to buy a shithole like this. Mum refuses to let me live with dad and I don't want to go to a foster home. So. I guess this is it. I walk down the end of the hallway , and realise with a start I'll never see these walls ever again. None of the arseholes who supposedly had my back come and stay goodbye. Well then , fuck 'em. Mum holds my hand as we walk , and I suddenly find myself transported back to Abby Road and that beautiful wall we passed as we walked down like kings. Today , I couldn't have fallen further from the crown.

I remember our first family car. It was an old wreck , really , one toll away from a right off , but it was ours. Me and mum and dad , and the car that would take us to London and Wales and Manchester and everywhere our hearts desired. And then dad left , and the car went with him. So today we walked with our suitcases by our sides and our heads held high , and when mum got to the train station I felt the need for a hug more then anything.
The station was a cold and lifeless building of solitude , it's white walls looking more hospital then station.
Mum turns to me , her gray hair plaited behind her back and a smile pushing away tears from her face. She kisses me on the forehead and I feel my own tears brewing behind my eyes. "Now you be safe baby , and I'll be back before the clouds cover over" I smile , despite myself. That was our thing , the clouds cover over.  It passed as good luck between us, a hope for food fortune soon. Fuck knows we need it. "I need to talk to your dad , okay? By the time your sleepover is done , I'll be back" Mum puts her hands on my shoulder and kisses my nose , just as her train pulls into the station. She picks up her suitcase , boards the train and waves a solemn goodbye as she sits. And then , she's gone.

I knock on Jimmy's door , and for the first time in forever , nervousness bounds about in my very bones. I'd arranged to stay over Jimmy's until Thursday , under the pretence that mum had to go for a job interview in Rochester. Jimmy didn't mind. In fact , he'd jumped at the chance to have two days to stay up late to work on band stuff. I'd rather stay up late doing it other stuff , if you catch my drift. When Jimmy unlocks the door , his smile is infectious and he practically leaps at me as he pulls me into a hug. His eyes glance down to my stuff , and if he has any questions about why exactly I was carrying a suitcase to a two day sleepover he didn't ask them. Jimmy Kaga Ricci , who never asked more questions then was needed. He takes me into the house and I quickly dump my stuff at the door , and before I can even ask if I time for a piss he's dragging me to the bus station so we can get to school on time. "Let me know how your mum's job thing goes" Jimmy says with a smile , and I feel the sudden tug of anxiety inside of me. If dad didn't lend mum any money we couldn't afford temporary housing , and then we really would have to have a life on the streets. I settle on a smile , and Jimmy replies only with a smile of his own.

It's only when we reach school I realise something is wrong. Mr. Summer is being a dick as usual ; ushering kids into class with all the authority of a bouncer , but my classmates aren't ignoring me like usual. One of the year 11 kids is grinning at me and Jimmy like the Cheshire bloody Cat. A good looking girl from English is battering her eyelashes at me and causing all sorts of weird sensations down below. Kids that had called Jimmy transphobic slurs , who had called me shit for being poor , where now vying for our attention. Hands reached over hands , and screams echoed around the halls. What. The. Hell. Some year 8 asks us for an autograph , and this is when Jimmy turns to me and mouths 'What the fuck?' Jimmy Kaga Ricci , who never swore. This was insane. What did this kid think we were? Famous? But then Rowan comes out of the music room , and there's no word I can use to discuss it as a strut. He literally struts out of that room , flanked by a dozen or so of our classmates , with a smug smile that sat all too well on his face. "You heard the news?" He says with a grin , his groupies sulking angrily away after his escape from their clutches. Rowan is happy as fucking Larry standing there , but me and Jimmy must look as confused as a poor kid on Christmas. "Am I still asleep and this is all a One Direction induced dream where I'm Harry Styles?" Jimmy asks incredulously , and Rowan frowns in the same way a parent would at a child. "Nope. And your absolutely the Louis by the way. Lister?" Rowan turns to me , so I say "Did I take too many magic mushrooms?" This causes a sigh , as I thought it would. Lister and his drugs. "Just a joke , Ro. Lighten up" I laugh , and then feel absolutely complied to add "A joint , maybe. God knows you need one" Rowans one reaction is his parent style frown , before he turns to us both and places his hands on our shoulders. "Okay. So d'ya remember when we did that recording session in Abby Road?" Rowan cries animatedly , prompting me and Jimmy to share a look. "Dude" I say "That was yesterday" And cue the parent frown again. Oh my god. "Yeah, I know. So anyway , remember the waitress girl at the front desk?" Me and Jimmy nod unanimously, purposely ignoring the stares we were getting from basically the entire student body. "Which one? They were basically twins" I tell them , and Rowan looks close to a breakdown. "No , Listen. The pretty one , blonde hair and blue eyes. She's apparently married to a big shot singer , and her wife shared one of our videos on her channel. Effiel 452 , Blue. Remember?" Me and Jimmy share a look. Of course we remember. That was the first video that started getting transaction online. It got over a thousands views on YouTube , and some girl at a house party I went to after called me the next Dougie Poynter. "I remember , Ro. What has this got to do with...." And then Rowan does the strangest thing. He grins. He grins this ridiculous Cheshire Cat like smile , and then kisses me and Jimmy on the cheeks. Dude , has he been possessed? "Jimmy , check the top 10 on your phone" He says , his demonic smile pinned to his lips. A confused frown passes Jimmy's face but he doesn't question it , and instead goes straight to Google and types in 'UK top 10'. And then his beautiful brown eyes widen as big as the moon. And then he turns to Rowan , and his sudden grin matches his own. And then he turns to me , and hugs me right and oh okay this is strange. "What the hell happened?!" Jimmy cries jubilantly , his face a picture lit by joy. "The label realised our demo. The lady at the front desk filmed our set and send it to her wife , who sent it to friends at radio 1 and now we're trending on fucking twitter" Rowan's excitement is unmatched and he turns to me like he's expecting some reaction but the thing is I still don't know what the fuck is happening. "Is that even legal?" Jimmy is saying , but I'm too busy searching up on my own phone Noah and the Ark frantically into Google , and thats when I see it. 'The Ark; The Next Big Thing?' "They got they name wrong , though" Rowan pouts "It should be Noah and the Ark" I feel like discussing the issue of the wrong name business but it feels a little more important to yell about the fact that my name is trending. My name is trending. My name. Is. Trending. Holy fuck.
A bunch of girls in the year 8 outfit rush to our sides and ask for our autographs , and me and my boys don't even have to minute to breathe before the girls are screaming for selfies and thrusting pens at our chests. My boys. Maybe just my boys for much longer. "Do you reckon we'd get money for this?" Jimmy cries as we walk down the hall , the students passing like the Red Sea. "I assume so" Rowan shrugs "I mean , we're in the charts. The literal charts. Imagine the future , boys"
The future. If we got paid for this , I could pay off our debts. Mum could stay in the flats. Maybe I could afford to pay for better , more secure housing. We could tour , and people would look at me and see a kid who's got a future. Not the son of homelessness. Not a future supermarket sweeper. If this worked out , I wouldn't have to stay at West Quarter and become like those who would live and die there; The drug addicts and alcoholics who'd never accomplish anything. But me? Jeez , I could be anything.
"You know boys"' I say with the ghost of a grin , the first real smile I had mustered in days. Jimmy has his arm wrapped around my shoulder and I can't quite dispel a future where he would finish a sell out concert then kiss the drummer with my love then he could say , but we have so much time for that. So much time for everything. Anything. "Rowan. Jimmy. Let's be stars"