Under The Mask

Chapter 5

A shock fills my spine as I step out into the garden and make my way to the front gate of the house. I turn around as I close the gate and gaze up into the window that is my bedroom, before shrugging the hopeless emotions and thoughts of ‘Get back inside! It’s dangerous out here!’ out of my head. I take a right out of the gate and head down my street towards the centre of Doncaster.

It’s not long before the bustling streets erupt in front of me and I am greeted on either side of the pedestrian streets by market sellers. The sweet stalls, vegetable stalls and souvenir stalls all look really well decorated and advertising but where I am going is a different shop – the music shop.

I have people running past me up and down the busy-enough street, I have people shoulder barging me as I kindly make my way through the onward traffic and worse of all, there are people pushing behind me to try to get ahead of me. As much as I just want to scream at each and every person, and as much as I feel like the voice inside my head becomes louder and louder, I try to shut out all of my emotions and just concentrate on going forward until I reach the shop.

I pass numerous shops on the high-street that I know, such as WHSmiths and Waterstones but what really catches my senses is when I walk past a Coopland’s Bakers. My nose is filled with the sweet smell of pastries, alongside the savoury smell of Cornish pasties and sausage rolls. I look down and can almost feel my tummy telling me to go inside and buy something because I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Ugh, how I could do with some food right now.

Without realising, I’m in the queue and almost drooling at all of the food piled up high in the glass counters. If my tummy was only rumbling in my imagination before, it is definitely rumbling for real now. I can just about feel the strains and aches filling my whole body now, and it’s only been around eight hours since I last ate. I’ve gone longer than that before but this time I just want to eat every last bit of food that is tucked away behind the devilish, glass counters.

“Next!” There is a pause. “Oi, you. What do you want?” I look up and realise that the arrogant woman is clearly impatience for this huge decision of mine. I stick my index finger up to her to tell her ‘One minute’ and she simply starts tapping her fingers on top of the glass counter. I stare into the counter and look at what seems most appetising.

“A Cornish pasty and two sausage rolls, please.” I mutter, but just so loudly that she can hear me over the hassle in the queue behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see what seems to be three fourteen year olds fighting over a sandwich in the cold section of the shop – figures – children arguing irritate me to the bone.

I hear two bags been thrown onto the top of the counter and a tapping onto some plastic. Turns out she’s now tapping onto the cash register where the number for the price is displayed. I swear I would tell her just how rude she is, but I have better things to be doing. I hand her the money, take my change and wander off with my bottle of water, Cornish pasty and two sausage rolls.

I gasp as I take a step outside for two reasons; one because it’s bloody freezing and the second because there is a Primark only just over the road that I didn’t even realise. Food can wait because nothing beats a Primark. Did I really just think that? That’s strange, that’s very strange indeed.

I practically run over to the doors of Primark and dash into the warm breeze sent down by the heavens… wait, no, the ceiling. The brightly coloured clothes, huge “Sale!” signs and small crowds fascinate me. I’ve always had a small touch for fashion, always wanted to design clothes but I guess if I can’t do that then I’ll just have to stick to performing, well, composing.

Straight to the “Mens” section and into all the aisles is where I go. Up and down, left and right, signs everywhere catch my attention and bring my eyes to different areas of the shop. Colourful chinos, stripy shirts and splashy shoes are what I am looking for, that’s my style, that’s the style that I rock and it’s the style that will always work for me.