Lonely People

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy

We didn't have another show for two weeks after our recording session. That gave us all a bit of a break, and the opportunity to enjoy our summer vacation. Even the heat had let up so we could actually go outside. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for teenagers to just be teenagers. All of us could spend time with our friends without any responsibilities weighing us down. It was exactly how life should be; with the children living carefree and the adults watching on with pleasant smiles. Everything was perfect, until I walked by that newsboy. 

Molly and I were walking along the streets in rhythm with each other. Every so often, we would shoot each other goofy grins, causing the other to break down in laughter. We were going to the public pool to take a quick dip in the cool water, perhaps even meeting a few of our school friends there.

"I don't know, I'm just not the dating sort," Molly said.

I smirked, "Ah, but Albert Peterson thinks otherwise."

A boy in our class had been continuously asking her out since she started at the school. He was short, stocky, and seemed to be blowing his nose more than actually breathing. I loathed having class with him because his constant horn-like blows got on my last nerve. Molly shook her head, "No way in hell would I go out with that Galoot. He gives me the boke."

I laughed. Despite being in Liverpool for a little over a year, she had yet to lose her Scottish charm. More often than not, I hear her using slang I didn't understand, sometimes even mixing it with Liverpudlian slang. 

We turned a corner where a boy was selling newspapers. He shouted, advertising his wares to everyone that passed. As we passed him, my eyes grazed over the title of a small article tucked in the corner of the large newspaper. 

Women Killed in a Hit and Run Accident

Things like that were uncommon in Liverpool, but there was no reason for me to suspect that it had anything to do with anyone I knew. With a population somewhere over 800,00, there was no reason to believe that this had anything to do with anyone I knew. Even so, my eyes continued down the page. I happened to see the next line.

'Yesterday evening, our own Liverpool citizen, Julia Lennon, was hit and killed by a speeding car.'

I stopped short. It took me a moment to realize what I had just seen. There were plenty of people in Liverpool with the same last name, but I had only ever known one Lennon. Molly kept walking a few steps before she realized I had stopped, "Amelia, what's wrong?"

"I'll take one," I told the boy.

We exchanged ten pence for one paper. He nodded thanks before continuing to peddle his wares. I stepped closer to Molly and opened the paper. It was so large, it took both of us to hold it open properly. Molly gazed over the comic section while I read the article that made my blood run cold. 

"Julia Lennon was killed by a speeding car yesterday evening," I read, "She died minutes later."

I could feel all the blood leave my face. I didn't know Julia Lennon, but I knew her son very well. John told us he didn't have a good relationship with his mother, but he did have a relationship. Even a little is enough to mourn.

"I have to go home," I muttered.

Shock completely covered my body. My nerves quaked as I turned around and began to speed towards my house. All I could think was that John needed someone. He had his Aunt, yes, but she was mourning as well. What he needed was a friend, and I knew of two kids who would provide him with all the comfort he needed. Molly was close at my heels, "What's going on?"

"John's mother was killed," I replied.

Molly gasped. She didn't put two and two together to realize it was John's mother in the paper until I said something. She hurried behind me as we sped towards my house.