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His dark secret - Chapter 2

by Bav Dav 

Posted: 13 January 2005
Word Count: 1676
Summary: Chapter 2, let me know what you think.


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Content Warning
This piece and/or subsequent comments may contain strong language.


Work was grey for Robert Andrews.

The concrete box he worked in was reminiscent of a car park from some bleak 70’s movie about London’s violent underworld. His desk was a cheap Formica island in a sea full of other small cheap Formica islands, each island flanked by a tattered chair with wheels dodgier than your average shopping trolley. The routine of his tedious job, filling in forms mostly, was only interrupted by the occasional trip to the malfunctioning vending machine in the corner of the open-plan office to endure a volcanic cup of coffee and a packet of Quavers.

On his desk was a PC. It was newer than the PC he had at home, but somehow more useless. It was slow and had a tiny monitor. Sometimes it did nothing for endless minutes only to spring into action when Dan the PC man had been called. The computers seemed to like Dan, they burst into life, full of renewed vigour after only a few minutes of his petting, only to pine away into dysfunction when he left. Dan liked computers. He mostly disliked people.

He sort of liked Robert.

When Robert first started with the council he wasn’t grey. He was a kind of a creamy, fawny colour. Not the most exciting colour to be but still not grey and still a more vivid colour than the insipid duds whose lives had been sucked out by this black hole of a job. His new colleagues resented his pallid display of colour. Its glow illuminated their own regrets and they instinctively shrunk away from it. He found it hard to make friends here. Even harder than he had at college. And that was pretty hard!

This kind of pissed him off.

When Robert completed his 4 years at University, surrounded by the vibrant potential of the next generations movers and shakers, he hoped he could slip into a job where people were more like him. This never happened. He slipped into a job where the people were dull, pedantic wankers. So much for that. All except Dan that was.

It seemed as though Dan had always been “The PC Man”. It was 1989 when Robert got his council job not-quite-straight-from-university. Dan was already there, he had already developed his power base. The office couldn’t operate without him. Desktop computing was still a novelty and, far from being grey, Dan was a different colour every day. When he set up a network printer he glowed a proud yellow. The next day, installing a database server, he would be a frustrated green. People avoided him on red days. Combined all of these colours made him a kind of brown mess but still…

He saw the taupe glow from the young Robert and clutched him to his jobby brown bosom. He reckoned they could be friends. Maybe.

That’s not what Robert had thought. Not at first. Not when Dan spent 3 days trying to fix his computer only to give up and exclaim it dead! This cost him valuable time, time which he could have been spending working, helping the public with their housing problems. This was time which meant nothing to his hue challenged colleagues of course. They quite liked Dan, he helped with their decolouration.

Robert couldn’t remember exactly when his aversion to Dan changed to a grudging appreciation via cautious ambivalence. Nor could he quite put his finger on precisely at what point this became a pleasant friendship but that’s certainly what it had become. He and Dan found themselves spending time together outside of the office. Their mutual distaste for the characters they shared their working lives with gave them a platform to develop a friendship that took in more of their shared interests. These interests were few but at least they were shared. They both liked Science Fiction and booze, which served to cement this friendship. Their love of illegal drugs they developed together.

It seemed to Robert that Science Fiction and booze naturally must lead to hard drug use. Much Sci-Fi he had read was concerned with people being out of their head on something or other. And science was always going to come up with new ways of escaping mundane lives. Thinking about this sort of thing whilst engaged in a Tequila Slammer Race only served to make the whole thing seem more plausible.

He shared his views with Dan after crossing the line second due to impaired vision and impending nausea. It was a typically drizzly January Evening in Edinburgh. The freezing wind was biting and the tourists were dressed head to toe in plastic sheeting. You can always tell tourists in Edinburgh, they’re the only ones wearing appropriate clothing for the sub-arctic conditions. Robert and Dan were out of the rain in the Jolly Judge, their preferred venue for putting the world to rights. It was a pub which won this dubious honour by being located just along the road from the office, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. Despite it’s tourist-tastic location the Jolly Judge was somewhere where they could find a seat, even at the busiest of times, due to it’s cosy location half way down a close on the Royal Mile. Very useful when your legs can only be relied upon for the early part of the evening. This evening was panning out along the usual lines.

“You know, booze and Science Fiction must naturally lead to hard drugs.”
“How?”
“Well, if we are committed to science, and we are committed to getting off our tits then surely we should be committed to trying out some proper drugs invented by men in white coats,” Robert was surprised he could speak this clearly. The Tequila clearly hadn’t reached his tongue yet.
“Men in white coats is right.”
“And real…..”
“And so is being committed, you’ll end up in jail if you go down that road!”
“No, bu...”
“Anyway, it’s your round.” Dan wasn’t having any of this. In his mind there was no need for drugs. They were used by hippies and junkies. He was happy destroying his brain cells with the more conventional alcoholic methods he’d learned from his father.

Robert didn’t find it too hard to change his mind.

But it did take a while.

In total it took approximately a year. During the course of this year Robert fought valiantly against the departure of his beigeness. In fact, he liked to think that he turned up the brightness and added a few other shades into the mix for contrast. Hanging around with Dan was a great help on this endeavour. Dan, at that time, liked to think that he was a pretty exciting kind of guy. He went out as much as he could, he spent his money on fashionable clothes and he even talked to women. The fact that he looked like he’d got dressed in the dark made no difference to the pie-eyed dogs breakfasts that he chatted up when he was pissed though. They knocked him back because he was a twat.

Robert had a great time with his drunk twat of a friend. They spent a lot of time talking. Mostly about women, occasionally about sport and on one occasion, about London.

London was where Dan’s cousin Penny lived. It was early February and he was recounting to Robert Penny’s tales of excess in the nations capital. She worked in the Film Industry, in what capacity he couldn’t recall, something arty. She had been telling him stories of what she called “wrap parties”.

“When a production comes to an end, there’s always a great big, massive, fuck-off party to celebrate,” She enthused. “All the actors are there, all the crew are there, sometimes even the money men put in an appearance. The drink is free and there’s shit-loads of it and the floors are literally white with coke! Everyone gets totally fucked up and it’s great, it’s the only thing that makes the whole superficial business worth sticking with.”

“Coke. Seriously?” Dan was genuinely taken aback. He had always vaguely assumed that the tabloid frenzy about the drug culture in Britain was something of a fabrication. He also assumed that everyone who took drugs was somehow strung-out and spending their lives nicking car stereos and threatening pensioners.

“Yeah, seriously Dan, it’s all over the fucking place. You daren’t clear your throat at one of these do’s for fear of sending up a dust cloud worth more than your Jimmy Choos.”

“Wow. Have you tried it?”
“Yeah, a few times. I can’t really afford a serious habit like some of the senior guys but I like to have a few lines when I go out. It really gets the party started.”

“So what’s it like then? Is it like being pissed?”

“No, not at all. It’s pretty different. It’s hard to describe. Have you tried speed?”

“No.”

“Hmm, well it’s a bit like speed but, like, 100 times better. You really feel like the most interesting person in the room and you really want to party. When everyone is coked up it can get totally fucking decadent. It’s like a Roman orgy at times I swear. Next time you’re down give me a call and we’ll see if there are any parties we can crash, there’s normally one most weekends. I’ll get you fucked out of your head, I think that’s the only way you’re going to see what it’s like.”

Dan thought that sounded like a good idea.

He recounted this invitation and his new found desire to try some serious drugs to Robert in the Jolly Judge a couple of nights later. Robert was mildly put-out. He had been trying to talk Dan into trying something harder for months but Dan always shot him down. Now his lah-di-dah London cousin shows off with a couple of starry stories and he’s practically packed his bags, ready to go and get high with the glitterati. Still, it did sound better than skinning up in his front room and watching Battlestar Galactica.






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Comments by other Members



scoops at 11:34 on 13 January 2005  Report this post
Hello BavDav, I read your first chapter before coming to this, so my view encompasses both. I think your opening is fabulous. It's very funny, very individual and full of promise. I liked this chapter too, but it didn't feel like a natural follow on. The most obvious difference is the change in style. This chapter too is funny and quirky and moreish, but the rhythm is completely different from that of the previous chapter and the content belies what's gone before. In chapter one, Robert is presented as someone who sees himself on the edges of everyday life with an alter-ego and an alternative world peopled by everyday irritants like the postman (who should be a letter-in, not a letter-inner btw). It's a very transporting introduction to a narrative:-) In this chapter, however, he is normalised, and his friendship with Dan is at odds with his stated dislike for his colleagues at the Friday night drink. Another continuity problem is that Chapter One sets us up for some bizarre mystery with the arrival of the disc and the money and the very funny ending, but it is not referred to at all in Chapter Two. What I'm saying is that both chapters are original in style and content, but don't show a connection at this point, and it's important at the beginning of a novel that they should or the reader's not sure which way to jump:-) Either, way, great writing:-) Shyama

Bav Dav at 11:46 on 13 January 2005  Report this post
Thanks scoops,

I was actually worrying about this very same thing last night. Chapter 1 was written ayear ago with Chapter 2 being done in the last week or so. I tried to keep the style the same but did start to worry about the connection to the set-up in the first chapter.

By way of explanation. This chapter is to introduce Dan and to set-up their relationship. This is largely historical and refers to their younger days, before Robert became the character in Chapter 1. My intention is to jump back to the disc for a short Chapter 3 before leading you down to London to meet the mystery caller.

I think it'll jar less when Chapter 3 is in place. Hopefully.

Thanks for the comments, if this is a shared view with other readers then I may have to rewrite Chapter 1 I guess.

B

PaulaBlake at 14:01 on 13 January 2005  Report this post
Hi Bav Dav

After having just read chapter one, I also thought that it didnt run on smothly from the first. It is still well written and funny, but not as gripping as the first, but thats not a bad thing, the main storyline can be the most interesting!

I htink you are right i would like ot read a few chapters all together to get the swing of it.

well done
Paula

Bav Dav at 14:49 on 13 January 2005  Report this post
Thanks Paula, I'm glad you liked it.

One question. To anyone who reads this. Did the bit about taking coke make you cringe? It's written in character for Penny but someone else has pointed out that it's not the most enticing description and wouldn't have got Dan particularly interested. In my defence, Dan is a bit shallow so he'd go with pretty much anything a girl said.

Any thoughts appreciated.

B

PaulaBlake at 16:05 on 13 January 2005  Report this post
Hi again

I thought the coke description was accurate and I didnt cringe at all, although not my cup of tea, i do know that is how it is in some places!

Paula

jamesowen at 12:47 on 14 January 2005  Report this post
Bav Dav,

Hi there. You get to be the first person to feel the lash of my critical tongue.

Good luck to you.

I never really look at this type of stuff...

...And, with that said, your two chapters are more than enough to make me feel even more guilty than I already do for not branching out more.

This is good. I've never come across your sort of style before, and I like it.

I read this chapter first, then went back and looked at the first one. Early into chapter two, I already liked Robert and backtracking to chapter one confirms my opinions. He's nothing like me, and yet, some things he thinks are. I found myself very quickly able to emphasise with some of his thoughts and opinions.

I know nothing about drugs, so can't comment on your coke description, as you request. But as to whether or not it's enough to interest Dan? He's your character, and its your story. So if you say it interested him, then hey, of course it did. I don't have a problem with that. If a character in a book reacts strangely I chalk it up as a black mark against the character, rather than the author or the book, the story itself. But that could just be me?

I can't think of anything constructive to say beyond that you're winning this type of book a new fan...I'd make a comment about being struck by the need for you to use more commas in some places, but, you know, I, myself, sometimes, think that, maybe, I use too many, you know? So I'll just shut up instead.

Great stuff, well done.

How much of Robert and Dan come from elements of your own personality?

Keep up the good work,
James

jamesowen at 12:50 on 14 January 2005  Report this post
Damn, I meant to say that I also noticed the difference in style between chapters one and two! I personally don't think it matters though. It's subtle enough not to have put me off at all, and if, as you say, there is a reason for it (other than you yourself changing in the time between writing chapters), then its all good, innit? :)

Cool.

Bav Dav at 12:52 on 14 January 2005  Report this post
Thanks James,

I'm glad you liked it. Interesting that you thought that Chapter 2 stood up on it's own.

In answer to your question, everything that goes into this is inspired by things that have happened to or around me. That's not to say that the characters are based on me, they're not. But it all comes from the heart, I'm not so good at making stuff up. Might bugger me up for my next novel but what the hell.

B

jamesowen at 13:21 on 14 January 2005  Report this post
If I hadn't have known that chapter 2 was chapter 2, then I wouldn't have known. I think it stands up fine on its own.

Reading Scoops' comment, maybe that makes it a problem? Maybe it shouldn't quite stand up on its own, for the continuity reasons Scoops states?

Sorry, I probably shouldn't have come at this arse-about-face, but I just saw your name in the list of recently uploaded works, last night. I thought, oh look, its me old mate Bav, and clicked the link. :)

Glad I did.

Beadle at 14:25 on 15 January 2005  Report this post
Hi Bav Dav

I'm a newbie here so I don't feel qualified or confident enough to comment on your work as a fellow writer, so I'll give you my feedback from my point of view as a reader if that's okay.

I liked both chapters for different reasons. The first chapter had a very choppy rhythmn that I found hard at first, but got into by the end, so much so that I wanted to know more.

This changed in chapter two and it had a different feel, but I still enjoyed it. However, an image of Robert started to form in ch 1 but didn't continue in ch 2 - I actually got Robert and Dan confused. I would have liked them to have developed more or have something about them that I could lock on to to make them different in my own mind.

I also got confused as to who was telling the coke story.

My favourite section was the description of the color challeneged colleagues and how Robert was chaging to fit in. I found this more powerful and revealing of Robert that when he/you described the workers as pedantic wankers.

Robert had already become to me the focal point and core character at this point, which is probably why I started to get him confused with Dan because they obviously have similar feelings, outlooks etc.

I felt that this was quite a personal story, probably from real experiences. The way it reads is very conversational, anecdotal and personal - all things that I personally like in a book as it pulls me in from the start.

The world you have created is all around us, but is probably completely unfamiliar to many people. It feels like it will be quite surreal and resonates well with me - all those drunken and drugged conversations about cult stuff, dead end jobs etc - so I was engaged from the word go.

However I'm not sure all readers will be so quickly engaged, so I wonder if there is anything you can do earlier on to hook them into the plot so there is room for the characters and the setting to develop for those readers not used to the mad world you are creating? Perhaps developing the 'mystery' element started with the disc?

I get the feeling that something gut-wrenching and twisted is going to happen soon.... can't wait!

Paul

Bav Dav at 20:13 on 15 January 2005  Report this post
Thanks for the feedback Beadle. I think you're spot on here.

I have sorted out the bit surrounding who's telling the coke story. I still may go back and re-do the dialogue there but I'll leave it for now.

In terms of the continuity thing. I don't see this as a massive problem. Chapter 1 sets up the story and then we're into the narrative in Chapter 2. I don't think the book would be readable if it carried on in exactly the same manner. I'm more concerned that I haven't stuck to the character that I mapped out in Chapter 1. In my defence, Chapter 2 is mostly about Dan. That's why the tone changes, the conversation they have in the pub is one from when they met many years ago. I think I need to make that clearer.

I'm looking at Chapter 3 (also finished, check the archive) now and I see that Robert needs a bit more darkness. I'll be rewriting bits of that too.

Thanks for the feedback.

B


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