About A Boy Page #8

Marcus is worried about you.

I'm worried because he's worried about you.

Will, I don't have plans to commit suicide.

You don't?

Not at the moment, no.

Great. Great!

Good.

You know I'm not attracted to you, right?

What are you on about?

No. What are you, nuts?

Right. Wrong word completely.

But that's something that

we should, you know, talk about a bit.

The crying in the morning thing, the depression.

Let's get that fixed.

That's what men think, isn't it?

What?

That unless you've got the answer,

unless you can say:

"I know a bloke in the Essex Road who

can fix that," then there's no point bothering.

No.

Well, yeah, okay. I would.

I'd love to know the name of the bloke

in the Essex Road...

...because I've got a feeling I'd be useless.

Will, you're not useless.

You're here. And that matters.

Right.

- Now, can we... Do you mind?

- What?

- Marcus is singing at the school concert.

- Marcus is singing?

- Yeah, singing.

- At school?

It's a pop concert. He's so excited.

- I want to get there on time.

- Wait, wait. What's he singing?

"Killing me softly with his song

"Telling my whole life"

- What time does this thing start?

- What have you got against Marcus singing?

You know the dream where you're at school

without your trousers on and everyone laughs?

- What's the connection?

- That will be Marcus, but for real.

If he sings that song in front of those kids...

...you can just write him off until university.

If he reaches university,

'cause he's going to get torn to shreds.

You cannot stop someone

from expressing themselves.

He's not expressing himself!

He's expressing you, okay?

Oh, God.

What? Jesus Christ.

You're right. Will, am I a bad mother?

No, you're not a bad mother.

You're just a barking lunatic.

No, I am. I am a bad mother.

I've let things slide

and I haven't been noticing properly.

He's a special, very special boy.

And he's got a special soul, and I've wounded it!

Please, just shut up. You're wounding my soul.

Okay, you park it.

What?

Hi.

What are you doing here?

That's Ali up there.

He's talented.

Now that was the Def Penalty Kru

with Murder Fo' Life.

Our next big act is Marcus Brewer...

...singing Roberta Flack's beloved

Killing Me Softly.

He'll be accompanied by Simon Cosgrove

on the recorder.

Marcus, I can't do this.

- That lot's going to sh*t all over us.

- But you said...

I'm sorry. Here's your 5 back.

Any moment now.

Come on, Marcus, you wally!

Wait! Wait!

Excuse me. What is going on here?

Nothing. Everything's under control.

I'm just his voice coach.

What are you doing here?

I heard you were about to commit social suicide,

so I dropped by.

- My accompanist left!

- Brilliant.

- You don't have to do it.

- I can't do that.

Yeah, you can.

Just tell them:
Artistic differences.

You can't work without him.

He had a drug problem.

My mum wants me to sing it.

It'll make her happy.

Look, mate, nothing you do

can make your mum happy, all right?

Not in the long term.

She has to do that for herself.

- Get over here right now!

- Just bugger off, will you!

What I'm saying is, the important thing is

to make yourself feel happy.

I've tried just making myself happy.

She's tried making herself happy.

It doesn't work.

You need other people to make you happy.

But that's just it.

If other people can make you happy

then they can also make you unhappy.

What, you think those people out there

are going to make you happy?

Hang on. Wait. Marcus, don't.

Marcus! Bollocks.

Come on, Britney!

Yeah, give us a song, then.

This is for my mum.

"I heard he sang a good song

"I heard he had a style

"And so I came to see him

"to listen for a while

"And there he was this young boy

"a stranger to my eyes"

You're rubbish, mate!

"Strumming my pain with his fingers

"Singing my life with his words

"Killing me softly with his song

"Killing me softly"

Who the hell is that?

"Telling my whole life with his words

"Killing me softly with his song

"I felt all flushed with fever

"embarrassed by the crowd

"I felt he found my letters

and read each one out loud

"I prayed that he would finish

"but he just kept right on

"Strumming my pain with his fingers

"Singing my life with his words

"Killing me softly"

Give it a rest.

"Killing me softly with his song

"Telling my whole life with his words

Killing me softly

"With his song

"He sang as if he knew me"

Will.

"In all my dark despair"

We're finished.

"And then he looked right through me

as if I wasn't there"

Will, come on.

Will, we're finished.

So there I was,

killing them softly with my song.

Or rather, being killed.

And not that softly, either.

I was singing with my eyes closed.

Was I frightened?

I was petrified.

This was definitely not island living.

"Killing me softly

"With his song"

Thank you, Finsbury.

I'd like to introduce

one or two members of the band.

Marcus Brewer on vocals and tambourine.

And that's about it.

Let's get off quick. Get off.

Marcus, thank you. For the song.

You were terrific.

- You think so?

- Yeah.

As a matter of fact, I think we should celebrate.

Okay.

How about McDonald's?

- McDonald's?

- Yeah.

Thanks, Mum, but it's okay.

No, really. I want to go to McDonald's.

You know, I'm not really hungry.

Come on. Are you telling me

you couldn't murder a Big Mac?

Mum!

Okay, another time.

Any time.

I'll be around a while, you know.

By the following Christmas

things were back to normal.

Before you came-

Every man is an island.

And I stand by that.

But clearly, some men are part of island chains.

Below the surface of the ocean

they're actually connected.

So you're going to marry my mum, then?

Don't know.

Why?

You think she's up for it?

- I used to want him to marry my mum.

- You serious?

Yeah. But that was when she was depressed

and I was desperate.

Thanks, mate. Cheers.

How do you use this blender-thing?

You don't.

I used to think two wasn't enough.

Christ.

Now there were loads of people.

And that was great. Mostly.

Are you two lazy bastards

gonna get up and help, or what?

So how do you know Will?

We volunteered together

at Amnesty International a couple years ago.

Yeah, that's right.

How is the Burmese situation, Tom? Better?

I mean good?

Yeah, and he called me up

out of the blue for Christmas lunch.

So, here I am.

Really?

So, listen, what's the deal

with you and Ellie now?

Is she your girlfriend?

Are you insane?

Where did you get those trainers?

- Why? What's wrong with them?

- Nothing.

What?

By the way,

I do think you and Rachel have a shot.

- I mean, if you don't screw it up.

- Thank you.

I'd created a monster.

Or maybe he created me.

I don't know

what Will was so upset about.

All I meant was

I don't think couples are the future.

You need more than that. You need backup.

The way I saw it,

Will and I both had backup now.

It's like that thing he told me Jon Bon Jovi said:

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