Us and Them- Rick Wright

Trouble on the Road

After breakfast, Syd let me sleep in his bed for the rest of the day. I needed it considering the night before took me out. At around four pm, I woke up and walked into the living room where all of them except Roger was.

"Hey, thanks again for letting me stay here," I said, "You have to let me make it up to you somehow, though." 

Syd looked at Rick and Nick and then looked back at me, "Tell you what. We have to perform at Buckingham tonight and be there at six. Can you drive us?"

"Oh, of course! I've been driving since I was thirteen."

Rick looked at me, quite disturbed, "Thirteen? Isn't that illegal?"

"I have an older brother," I explained, "He'd let me practice, mostly in parking lots and on quiet roads."

Nick shrugged, "I mean, I trust you to drive us."

The others nodded. I had enough time to drive to my flat using Syd's car, get changed, and then go to Buckingham. 

"Wow, Rey, this is a nice place you got here," Rick said as the boys looked around my living room and kitchen. 

"It's not much, but it's home sweet home," I smiled softly before going into my room and putting on a simple grey dress and doing a soft smokey eye look to compliment my pale gray-green eyes.

I had done a film with Catherine Deneuve last year, filmed in France, and it was supposed to hit the theaters in less than a week. I hoped that the critics liked my performance. The film had English and French in it, and I'd been speaking French since I was nine. Not being a native speaker and going in with a pro was intimidating, but Cat was kind, and she helped me become comfortable with all the slang.

When I finished getting ready, I entered the living room. 

"Whoa," was the mutual response I received. I chuckled.

"Alright, we have a concert to get to," I said, "Buckingham's probably a half-hour drive if that?"

Nick nodded, "Yea, probably."

"Alright, let's go."

Rick sat in the front with me while Syd and Nick sat in the back. I backed out of the driveway, and as I was about to get on the road, I saw someone speeding, and I slammed the breaks. The car stopped too, nearly rear-ending Syd's car. I stuck my arm out and flipped the person off. Unexpectedly, the driver, a man who looked about forty or fifty, and what seemed like his wife, got out of his car and walked over to us. 

"What is your fucking problem?" The man yelled at me. 

"My problem?!"

"You flip me off for no reason?!!" 

"No reason?!!" I started to raise my voice, "You almost killed us, you fucking idiot!" 

"You slag, if I wasn't a nice guy, I'd beat your ass!"

"Go ahead, and I'll call the fucking cops!" I yelled, "I'm twenty-two years old, now take your fat ass away from my car and your minger wife with you."

I was shaking at this point, and Rick, Syd, and Nick looked petrified. 

The wife looked like she was about to kill me, but the man came to his senses and left. 

"Fucking wankers," I said, turning the car back on, "I'm great. I'm great."

The first fifteen minutes of the car ride were pretty quiet, and I was fuming. 

We stopped at a red light, and I sighed, "I'm so sorry about that. I have a pretty bad temper."

"No, it's fine, that guy was a tosser," Syd said, "I hope this doesn't sound sexist, but I've never seen a girl lose her temper like that."

I shrugged and chuckled, and everyone else laughed too, "Doesn't sound sexist to me. Women lose their temper too, we just know how to control it better."