|| How Westlife Really Started
Mark stares numbly at the door. He had been standing there for the past ten minutes. A pizza skillfully balanced on his left palm, he whistled as he rang the doorbell again. When the door finally opened, he was greeted by a man with strange foamy hair, his right hand stuck in it.
"Oh, I didn't think you'd come this quick. Could ya please put it on the table for me?" the man said as he continued scrubbing his hair.
Mark thought the foam looked a little red. He sure ain't going to use that shampoo. He must have had an amused look on his face, because the man smiled sheepishly, then explained, "Someone told me cranberries and oranges will make your shine better." It was moments like these that made Mark want to run and hide from the world.
Mark blinked, then pretended to understand as he nodded. This would take more than words to describe the weird things that happen in the world. He left the pizza on the table and scooped up the money that was left there before he went out the door. He put his hands in his jacket pocket and headed off as he whistled. The afternoon sun was bright and glaring so he shielded his eyes with his palm. Just as he turned a corner, something ran smack into his face. He fell against the fence. "Ouch!"
"Hey mate. Sorry 'bout that." As he clutched his face, writhing in agony ,half slumped to the floor with his knees feeling like noodles, a blonde guy came running up to him.
"Cad you check if by dose iz on the floor?" Mark asked, his hands covering the middle of his face.
Nicky looked round the floor, hands akimbo, then turned to look at Mark. He took Mark's hands off his face.
"Man you call that a nose?" Nicky look, in mock horror.
Mark returned to clutching his nose defensively. "Id used do be one."
Nicky pointed his index finger and touched the tip of his nose gently. "This," he said. "Is the nose. The nose. A twenty five degree arch."
"Yeah? Den baybe I can borrow id for by date tonight."
Nicky examined Mark's nose again. "Yeah, I think you would need a new one."
Mark grimaced. "No way. What I want id what I'b got.Did you hear me? I said I hab a date tonight.What am I going to do?"
Nicky thought for a moment. "You can't go scaring some girl off on a first date.If I let you go, you'd only embarrass yourself."
Mark sighed. "I am destined not to get barried.Can't believe I'm once a fool again."
Confusion forms on Nicky's face. He scratched his head and said," Now why would you want to get buried?"
"Barried, I said. Barried! And it's all because of you," Mark scowled.
Nicky held up his hands. "Alright, I don't wanna fight. How about if I treat you to dinner tonight instead? That would be better than showing up for your date with some candy cane for a nose..."
Mark could only agree. What the heck, he thought. He might as well get some food out of this guy now that his date was ruined.
"So, what do you do?" Nicky asked, as he chewed on his Cheeseburger. They were seated comfortably at the Mc Donald's outlet.
Mark sank his teeth mercilessly into the helpless BigMac. "I wait around the streets so you could slam a ball in my face."
Nicky laughed. "And I've never been right on target till today."
His attention was diverted when he noticed his friend walking towards him. "Hey mate!" he called out, raising his hand in greeting.
Mark turned to look. He was a tall guy with a mischievous smile.
Bryan caught Nicky's hand and patted him on the back. "How ya doing man?" He then turned to look at Mark. A slow smile formed on his face.
"Hey ya, Rudolph."
Mark touched his nose consciously. "It's still red?"
"Damn, he was on the verge of forgetting," Nicky exclaimed.
"What did you do this time, Nic? Slammed a ball in his face?" Bryan asked, taking a seat.
"Oh no, I was paid to ruin his date tonight," Nicky joked.
"Yeah? And I forgot to tell you my date was Santa. There you go off his goody list," Mark retorted.
"What are you doing tonight?" Nicky asked Bryan.
"I don't know.... hey, wanna catch a free movie?"
Two pairs of ears perked up. Two heads nodded. Off they went.
"Hey!" Bryan shouted to the guy standing behind the popcorn stand. His face gleaming with sweat, looking as yellow as the popcorn, Shane was nonetheless charming with that killer smile. Wiping his hands on his apron, he came out from the counter. Introduction ensued. Just then, Mark thought a very familiar face was approaching them. The foamy guy, he mused to himself. As Kian extended his hand to Mark, they both smiled knowingly at each other. Mark found out that Shane works at the popcorn booth while Kian is stationed at the control room. Together, Nicky, Bryan and Mark was "sneaked" into the cinema.
Two hours later, they were all busy chattering away, still excited about the movie they caught, as everyone else began to leave. Soon, only four of them were lounging in the dark.
A light shone at them from the control room. They looked up to see a grinning Kian. He motioned for them to join him.
In the control room, Mark was fascinated by the equipments and machines that were involved in usurping the value of his nine-dollar movie ticket. He searched the others' faces and realised that they were all just as fascinated. Being the boys they were, it was only a matter of minutes before they all went meddling and fiddling around the room.
"Ever wondered what it feels like to be a star?" Nicky asked, picking up a round metal disc plate and balanced it on his head.
"Yeah, I wanna be the hunk who talks to the beautiful actress over the phone," Shane said, and then in a low tone, huffed "I miss you, baby."
"And I want to be the hero in an action flick, the one who will change the world," Kian dreamed aloud.
"Mark, what would you call your first movie?" Bryan asked, lifting up a very curious object. It looked like an ancient machine that belonged to the museum.
Mark thought for a moment. "My private movie? That would have to be about extraordinary things, like muses, angels and special people like that. I'd name it Flying Without Wings."
"That's so corny," Nicky retorted. They all laughed. Nicky playfully spinned the metal disc plate and aimed it at Bryan, who was just lifting up the dust-covered machine into the air. The metal disc plate struck the machine hard, and made a sickening impact crash that screeched in their ears.
Silence.
Five jaws dropped open. They stared at each other, eyes wide opened as they froze, as if something else would break if they moved. Mark felt beads of sweat running down the side of his face.
"Uh oh," Shane said slowly. Kian shook his head. "No, that's extinct on the market."
Bryan cursed. "You can swear it again," Nicky told him, still shaking his head.
"What are we going to do? That cost a bomb," Kian exclaimed, panic in his face.
Mark bit his lip. "How much can a bomb cost?"
"Like two grand in two days..." Kian trailed off.
"Why two days?" a pale face Bryan asked.
"That's when our boss comes back," Shane replied. They each shifted uncomfortably. Silence again.
"Well, we could start by pooling out how much we've got," Mark began. Kian nodded his head and was the first to pull out all he had.
"Come on everyone, open your heart and open your pockets," Bryan said, half joking, half sighing.When everyone else did the same, they were dismayed.
"Only five hundred," Shane moaned. "Where are we going to get the rest?"
Nicky pouted. "Where do we get quick money?" he wondered out loud.
"We could rob a bank," Bryan said instantly.
"No, no no no," Mark said, shaking his head.
"We could go to the casino," Nicky suggested.
Shane shook his head. "Try again," he said, scratching his head.
The conversation continued as they packed up, off the lights and headed out onto the streets. Gloom was pasted on all their faces. Mark thought to himself, this is turning out to be a terrible day. I dream of seasons in the sun, he frowned to himself as they walked in the cool breeze.
Everyone seemed to be at a lost for words. Mark tried his best to think of something to say. Just then, they heard a faint harmony of voices. As they turned a corner, they noticed there was a small gathering of people at a corner of the street.
"Hey, street singers," Kian exclaimed excitedly.
"Ain't it cool to be able to sing like that?" Shane mused.
They continued watching for a while. When hte singers finished, a hat was passed round for contributions.
"Hey, Shane you can do better than that," Bryan said all of a sudden.
Instantaneously, their eyes lit up. "We could do this," Kian said, beaming.
There were murmurs of approval. Everyone turned to Mark. He was silent and in deep thought.
"Come on,man. I need you," Nicky pushed.
"We all need you,"Bryan put on the puppy eyes look.
"We've only got two days," Mark reasoned. "Besides, what makes you think that they make great money anyway?"
"Everybody knows they make great money," Shane threw up his hands. "Just look at them."
Kian nodded wistfully. "Yeah, we can do it, together."
A smile formed on Mark's face. "Yeah, we can do it, cos we are one."
They were all nervous. They'd never tried this before, singing in front of so many people. But they were adamant to raise the money in time. Mark swallowed. Bryan gulped. They exchanged glances. It was time to show the world. They started singing.
Mr Walsh thought he heard a rather catchy tune. Though it was faint, he could make out the distinguished firm voices and soothing harmonies. He walked to where the sound came from. People who were standing there were all absorbed in the song. As he looked to where the boys were standing, he was amused. So young, and so good. This could be the outbreak of a world sweeping phenomena.
As they were packing up for the night, the boys were quiet, but excited. They were anxious to see if they had made enough. Just as they were about to leave, a man approached them.
"How would you like to be popstars?"
Everyone turned to look at the man. "If we don't make enough money tonight, I will definitely pop," Bryan mumbled to himself.
"We don't have any money," Shane told the man flatly.
"Yeah, and we ain't going to pay you to make us stars," Kian chipped in.
The man was disgusted. He took out a name card and slipped it into Nicky's palm.
"You are Louis Walsh?"
The four turned to see Nicky's shocked face.
"This is, so..sudden," Kian told Shane, smiling.
"Now do you want to be singers or not?"
They all turned to the man again. "Are you sure you're not pulling our legs?" Mark questioned doubtfully.
"You don't have to pay me anything. At least, until you start raking in the millions."
"That's what it's all about," Bryan joked, a pleased face beaming from ear to ear.
"Well, we can only give it a try. What say, boys?"
"We've got nothing to lose.Can't lose what you never had," Shane said slowly.
They hugged each other.
"By the way," the man continued. He looked at Mark. "That nose will have to go."