Banana Girl: a thatcherjoe love story

Chapter 24- i'll always be grateful to bananas

The next day, Zoe came and knocked on our hotel room.
"Hey! Yo, sleepyheads!"
I got up, wearing Joe's baggy sweater, and opened the front door.
Zoe had her hair in a bun, and no makeup on, and wore a pair of tight bed shorts and a pink vest top that showed her small baby-bump.
"Come on! Get changed!" She cried.
I moaned and gave her an exasperated look.
"I don't like waking up early." I said calmly.
"Well, tough! Get ready! Alfie says we're going out, dress code cute but classy. I have to go babysit Tan, so hurry up!"
I slammed the door shut and went to get ready.

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"Come on, Joe! Let's go!" We were leaving, but he was still brushing his hair and running around, which I didn't understand: he only ever did that if he was panicking, and surely he didn't need to. We were only going to town. Weren't we?
I wore the summery chiffon dress, white with matching ballet flats. I had a long, brown cardigan and a matching shoulder bag, and I actually looked half-decent!
Walking towards Central Park, Joe smiled and took my hand, leading me away from the Park and towards the high street.
I smiled at him, although I still had no idea where we were going or why.
"Hang on," he said, reaching for his wallet, "there we go." He'd pulled out his drivers license. Why?
We seemed to be walking towards a huge crowd of people, which was the kind of thing Joe usually avoided: he always said that fans were great, but annoying, and a crowd was the perfect place to find them.
"Hi," he said, approaching a guard dressed in black, and showing him his ID.
"Right this way, Sir." He was taking us through the crowd, Tanya, Casper, Alfie and Zoe behind us, following. It was only then that I realised what was happening: all my friends had brought out books, and this was a book signing! The shop was WHSmiths, and the guard was our personal escort!! I know, right?! A personal escort!
He took us to a comfortable, well-decorated back room, and told us his name was Vince, and we were to wait here until he came back.
Vince left, closing the door behind him.
Several moments of silence followed, mostly because we were all trying to take it all in.
The room had thick, chocolate-coloured carpet and cream walls, with 3 very comfortable mousse-coloured couches. A huge TV stood by one wall, and a small coffee table in the middle of the room boasted a huge variety of snacks: crisps, sweets, sandwiches, popcorn, salad, sausage rolls, crepes, all sorts. In the corner sat a small bar, with a little woman behind it. She was short and skinny, with a broad smile and long eyelashes. The whole room seemed... Nice. It seemed like one of those things that, if it was a person, would be the nicest person you could meet.
"Wow." Casper was the first, followed by Zoe, Me, and Joe.
"Yeah." Zoe.
"Mm-Hmm." Me.
"Yup." Joe.
"I feel like a celebrity! Like, a really gorgeous, rich one!" Tanya would often compare herself to a celebrity, probably not realising she kind of was one.
Vince came back in and smiled.
"Right, ladies, Gents! You come with me, please, we're going to meet your fans!" I assumed I was staying behind: I had no fans, after all.
"Vi?" Joe looked at me and smiled, "you coming?"
"I've got no fans! You guys go, I'll wait."
Vince said, "No! You're coming, too! They want to see you: you're famous, just like your friends!"
I smiled.
"Please?" Joe was practically begging, "I want you there."

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It was a long table, with 6 seats: Casper, Tanya, Zoe, Me, Joe, Alfie. It was really cool, and we did feel like celebrities!
Vince was stood at the door, winking at me supportively.
"Guys and girls, please stay where you are." This was the manager now. He was short, with a bald head and a monobrow, but he had a kind smile and a calm voice.
"Thanks," he continued, "We are so lucky to have these wonderful people with us today, all 6 of them are amazing idols and lovely people, can we please give them a huge round of applause!" Everyone clapped. I couldn't believe it! He thought I was an amazing idol! Wow!
"I think your fans, "he was addressing us, "would like to ask some questions."
The crowd nodded and smiled and cheered in agreement.
"First, you." He pointed to a woman in purple who was stood with her daughter.
"My daughter wants to know when you're bringing out your next books."
"We don't know," began Zoe, "I am currently working on one, and I know Joe is, the rest of us aren't allowed to say quite yet." The crowd buzzed in excitement.
"What are the most important things to all of you?" Said a girl with a scrunched-up face and a pink coat.
Tanya said her friends, YouTube and fashion; Zoe said her friends, Alfie and the unborn baby, and YouTube; Casper said his friends, YouTube, and pranks; Alfie said Zoe and the unborn baby, YouTube and his friends; I said my friends, Joe, and books (I wasn't on YouTube) and Joe said Me, YouTube, his friends, and bananas.
"Bananas?" Said the girl in pink.
"Yes, bananas. It's how Violet and I met. I'll always be grateful for bananas."