I'm standing outside the block of flats with my ear phones in listening to the smiths when an unknown number calls through.
"Hello?" I ask
"Hello Tommy, your taxi will arrive in approximately five minutes and we'll take you to the establishment." A very formal voice speaks down the phone. A worker at NME.
"Okay thanks, I'm waiting now." I say back thankfully.
"Alright see you there." She speaks back becoming more informal and hangs up.
I stand there in the cold waiting for the taxi. The weather makes it feel like a ghost town because nobody is out. I check the time... 8:30.
So the taxi should be here in 4 minutes now. I put my phone in my pockets as well as my hands and look around not seeing anyone when across the road I here a snap of a camera and seconds later I spot the photographer clicking away on his massive camera. Dick.
The taxi turns up and I open the door, look at the photographer, wave, and send him a sarcastic smile before climbing into the immaculate taxi. The driver begins to drive away and I look up at the window of my flat to see Jake stood by with a fag in his hand and he's laughing. I see the amused expression on his face and can't help to laugh out loud in the taxi. We both know we shouldn't smoke in the flat but we do any way.
When I got up that morning Jake was fast asleep so I kissed the side of his head and left him a note.
'Off to the NME interview, I'll be back at about 12:00 I suppose. I love you xx'
I arrive at the venue, what seems to just be a big building. I get out of the taxi and my instinct tells me to walk to the entrance so I do and am welcomed by a machine.
I press the button thinking it would do something. And it makes a strange sound.
"Yes.. Hello? Name please?"
Bluddy hell this is posh.
"Uh yeah, it Thomasina Parkinson here for an interview." I speak into the machine, feeling folly.
"Oh! Yes hello, come on through. The door has been opened." A cheery voice tells me.
I walk through and a man is standing there. He smiles at me as I walk towards him. He puts out a hand to shake and leads me up to a room upstairs. I walk in and see a man on his lap top, a brightly dressed woman sorting out a video camera and a man welcoming me in.
"Hello, I'm Mark Beaumont. Pleasure to meet you, how are you?" The man named Mark says to me as I walk through.
"Hi, I'm Tommy... Um well you know that already." I laugh nervously, "I'm good thanks, and you?" I ask politely.
"Yeah I'm great thanks. So if you'd like to sit here," he shows me a green seat and I sit down happily, "This is Charlie and Rosemary." He says pointing at the camera woman and journalist. I shake their hands.
"So When Rose signals go, introduce yourself." He goes on about what to do and everyone takes their position.
Here we go, I think.
"Okay 1... 2... 3..." The camera woman signals the start of the recording and I sit back and look at the camera, oh this is so cringe worthy, I'm so shit at this.
"Hello I'm Tommy Parkinson, here at NME."
Rose smiles and signals cut. "Perfect!" She says. "Shall we get started then?"
Mark starts to ask me questions about my music influences, when I started to write songs and a little bit about my childhood. He also asks me about Jake, "so you have also been involved with singer songwriter, Jake Bugg, could you inform us about that, what's it like to know him?" He asks.
And the thing is, I can't answer that question because it's simply too deep. Being with Jake is like being with, Lee Nelson, Ryan Gosling and Johnny Cash all in one person.
Before I can think any further I just blurt out, "I'm in love with him." I look up and realise what I said. Mark stares at me, delighted at my answer and Charlie is typing away incredibly fast. Mark looks at me, egging me on to saying more while Rose was looking around nervously.
"There's nothing more I can say." I laugh.
"He must of helped you very much, judging by your tough past..?" He says. I don't understand what he knows about me so I just answer with a simple, "yes."
He tries to get more out of me subtly mentioning the death of my mother, but I don't answer until he adds, "and your time in Liverpool... Your boyfriend who took advantage of you..."
My mind and heart starts racing and I look up. "How do you know about that?" I ask brusquely,
"Oh, well we have our sources." Charlie nods toward me.
I ask again but more rudely this time. "How the fuck do you know I got raped?!" I shout at them.
"Look, we don't mean to..." Mark starts to speak but I just grab my bag and run out the door and downstairs to reception.
The man that escorted me earlier looks shocked and screams my name but I storm out.
