Steiner and the Hypnotic Cue

CHAPTER 5 Local Hero

It sat there on the chest of drawers in my room. I just sat and stared.   £530—quite a tidy sum! But it wasn’t the amount; it was the fact I had earned it. Things and money had just been given to me before, and I appreciated it very little. But this was mine; it was won by me, and I appreciated it a lot.

Possibly, This was the happiest day of my life.

Money’s great! It stops you having to think in the bad way that we all hate, and lets you think in the good way we all love.

My thoughts  drifted to my next shopping trip. I couldn’t wait. But a week is a long time when money is burning a hole in your pocket.

But before next week, there would be tomorrow, and tonight.

Yes!

I would be the talking point. Everyone would praise me now.  They could gossip all they wanted now; so, when the call for the evening meal came, I raced  to the kitchen.

For the next half hour my legend grew as  staff and boys quizzed me over and over about my victory over local legend David Noble. I told them this and told them that; Scott filled in the details I had totally forgotten. My head was spinning. Their jaws went wide upon hearing that the mighty ‘Boy Noble’ did not even make a shot!  Scott  put it beautifully, how he had  stormed out of Rileys in silence, even mimicking the actions.

In all the years he had gone there, Noble’s  opponents always left first with empty wallets.

I hardly ate a thing. My excitement was too great. That night I barely slept, but I was up, bright and early first thing in the morning, champing at the bit to get to school.

I was surrounded by a bunch of boys, and lauded  by all and sundry. Boys that I had never talked to before gave me a pat on the back, or shook my hand. Teachers that barely took notice of me showed me Youtube Clips of Stephen Hendry getting his 147, Steve Davis playing ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, and Ray Reardon in his prime.

One of the PE teachers even put me forward for the Hillside Sports-Person of the Year award. That was quite special, as it was rare that anyone but the football stars in the school got any recognition of sporting achievement. (I’m not bitter … honestly … )

I was the centre of attention, and I loved it.

By Wednesday most of the boys had switched interests: the school football match that afternoon;  the staff:  Andrew Murray’s chances at Wimbledon,  Wiggins for the Tour de France. No one really talked about the Olympics. We had done it as a cross-curricular subject, and everyone was sick-to-death of it.

It didn’t matter, I had won the war.

As Denise used to say:

“Gossip is when you hear something you like

about someone you don’t..”

Everyone liked me. Who would listen to anything bad about me now?

Also, my School Unit had arranged an ultra big shopping trip for me on the Saturday.

But what happened after that no one could have imagined—not even me, and, trust me, I have a pretty good imagination.