Before the Glitter: 1971

Table Tennis Champ

August 1

"Game! I win!" Freddie proudly announced to John who was panting miserably.

"My god! That's the fifth game in a row!" John whined to him.

"Are you forgetting that I hold the table tennis undefeated title?" Freddie reminded him preparing to serve another ball.

"Hey! Wait, wait hold on! First, I need to recover from the arse-whipping you just handed me and second has Brian asked you to help him move this weekend?" John asked.

"He did yes. I can't believe another semester starts in two weeks." Freddie said, giving John a break.

"So, are you gonna' help or what?" John asked.

"Of course I am! I'm just irritated we had to cancel a show to do it!" Freddie told him.

"It's not like he could help it! Brian's told you a hundred times that his studies won't interfere with the band. You, me, an' Roger have one semester left. This is a big first semester into a Ph.D program for Brian and he wants to get settled early." John defended him.

"I'm aware of all those things. I have every intention of completing my degree. It's just...Roger and I think we should be rehearsing more to get our sound right and once the semester starts..." John stopped him.

"You and Roger have the lightest schedules this semester. Freddie, don't you remember that the reason you and I are down here playing table tennis is because Veronica is upstairs at the University learning center finishing a double shift to pay our electric bill this month? I have got to take this semester seriously so I can get a real job for she and I to finally make ends meet." He said.

"We've been booked double...no! Triple booked for the last month! That's been a lot of extra money. And when we perfect the things we've discussed..." John interrupted Freddie again.

"You live alone in a flat where your electric and water are included in your monthly rent. I live in a townhouse with trash service. That money from all those extra gigs have only helped Veronica and I not to be in the red at the end of the month. She has been working more than ever, attending classes this summer and not missing a single show, Freddie. Of course I want to rehearse, of course I want as many gigs as we can get. I'm only asking that you and Roger understand that...I'm trying as hard as I can to make this work. Brian is trying as hard as he can." John explained.

"I wouldn't ever doubt that you try! I'm just...I'm just considering the necessity of rehearsals and maybe developing new material of our own and I'm unclear where the boundary lies between being serious about where we're going as a band and getting a job in the actual fields we've trained for." Freddie confessed.

"You can relax. I feel confident that we all want the same thing. Hey, listen. I was thinking. Veronica needs a break badly. I need a break. We both need something to distract us from the fact that she's been working her arse off and I haven't been pulling my weight. What do you say we go out tonight? You, me and Veronica?"

"Go out!? Yes! Darling, I'm always ready to go out. Why aren't you asking Brian or Rog to come with us?" Freddie wanted to know.

"Brian is packing. I asked Roger. He said he already had plans. Um...did you know...he's seein' someone?" John Deacon always had the dirt on everyone. He had the power to blackmail any of his friends because of all the secrets he kept on them. He was already well aware that Freddie had been "spending time" with a girl whom he had never met. He knew that Brian had told him in confidence that he would quit the band if he were hired as full time faculty at the university, which he had not, but nonetheless John couldn't tell Freddie. And, he knew that Roger had been sleeping with the same woman since June. John had all the good gossip.

"He's seeing everyone. What else is new?" Freddie asked, tossing the table tennis ball into the air.

"No. Fred. I met 'er. I mean, only for a couple minutes but...I met 'er." John looked up to Freddie with a serious look. Freddie looked puzzled. Typically Brian met all of the questionable women that Roger was 'seeing' if at all. "I can tell you this much. She's about a thousand times out of his league."

"And you deduced that in two minutes?" Freddie questioned.

"She looks like she came out of a magazine." John said seriously.

"John, please. Roger's charming and probably quite the ride in the bedroom. It's no wonder he's sleeping with something like that. Give him two weeks and he'll be through this one and have time to go out with us because you know as well as I do that whomever he's fucking is what his 'plans' are tonight. Now! One more game, love! Let's leave at 9:00 tonight." Freddie said, preparing to serve the ball. John shook his head.

"This isn't another game. It's just another arse busting from you. Alright. I'm ready." He said, preparing himself for Freddie's serve.