The World's End

2

Ever had

one of those nights

that starts out like any other, but ends

up being the best night of your life?

It was June the 22nd,

1990, our final day of school.

There was Oliver Chamberlain, Peter Page,

Steven Prince, Andy Knightley and me.

They called me The King.

Because my name's Gary King.

Ollie was funny, he fancied himself as a bit

of a player, but really, he was all mouth.

We called him O-Man

because he had a birthmark on his

forehead that looked like a six.

He loved it.

Pete was the baby

of the group.

He wasn't the kind of kid we'd usually

hang outwith, but he was good for a laugh.

And he was absolutely minted.

Steve was a pretty cool guy. We

jammed together, chased the girls.

I think he saw us as rivals.

Sweet, really.

And Andy.

Andy was my wingman.

The one guy I could rely

on to back me up.

He loved me, and I'm not being

funny, but I loved him, too.

There was nothing we were

gonna miss about school-

Maybe Mr. Shepherd.

He was definitely

one of the good guys.

He used to ask me what I

wanted to do with my life.

I told him I just wanted

to have a good time.

He thought that was funny.

It wasn't meant to be.

Not that night.

Newton Haven was our hometown.

Our playground, our universe.

And that night it was the

site of a heroic quest.

The aim? To conquer

The Golden Mile.

Twelve pubs along a legendary

path of alcoholic indulgence.

There was The First Post,

The Old Familiar,

The Famous Cock, The Cross

Hands, The Good Companions,

The Trusty Servant, The Two Headed

Dog, The Mermaid, The Beehive,

The King's Head,

The Hole in the Wall...

All before reaching our

destiny, The World's End.

We took my car into town.

I called it The Beast

because she was pretty hairy.

And so, our journey into manhood began.

We were off.

We didn't waste any time.

We hit pub one

and we hit it hard.

There was drinking, there was

fun, there was controversy,

there were ladies, there

were shots, there was drama,

and of course,

there was drinking.

By pub five,

we were feeling invincible

and decided to purchase

some herbal refreshment

from a man we called

The Reverend Green.

Pint six put O-Man out of commission,

so we carried on without him.

Good thing, I bumped into

his sister in the next pub,

we went into the disableds

and I bumped into her again.

Sam tagged along for a while,

but then I had to let her go.

I had another date that night

and her name was Amber.

Nine pints in and it was us

against the world.

Things got mental

in The Beehive,

so we repaired to

the bowls club

or as we liked to call it, The Smokehouse,

which is when it all went f*** up.

Everyone got para and Pete chucked

a whitey, so we had to bench him.

In the end, we blew off the last

three pubs and headed for the hills.

I remember sitting up there,

blood on my knuckles, beer down

my shirt, sick on my shoes,

seeing the orange glow

of a new dawn break

and knowing in my heart, life

would never feel this good again.

And you know what?

It never did.

Thank you, Gary.

That was very enlightening.

Would anyone like to add anything

or maybe challenge Gary?

Are you disappointed?

About what? That you didn't

make it to The World's End?

No.

Just what is it

that you want to do?

We want to be free!

We want to be free to do

what we want to do!

And we want to get loaded. And

we want to have a good time.

And that's what

we're going to do.

We're going to have

a good time.

We're going to have a party.

Just what is it

that you want to do?

And we want to get loaded.

And we want to have a good time.

She's a beauty.

Yeah, but she's no Beast.

Hello, Peter.

Jesus! Gary?

The once and future King.

Were you outside my

house this morning?

No.

I could have sworn

I saw you on my street.

I've never been

to Bishop's Gardens.

How you doing, man?

I'm well. You?

Yeah, never better.

How is, uh...

Vanessa?

No. Your wife?

Vanessa.

Yeah. How's she?

She's good.

Have you had sex yet?

We have two children.

Ooh, twice. Get you, f*** machine.

We haven't changed, have we?

What is he doing here?

It's all right, Dad.

We're fine.

Hi, Mr. P.

So, Gary,

how can I help you?

He looks well. Are you

looking to buy a car?

Uh... No.

I'm afraid the end is nigh.

What?

The World's End.

What do you mean?

You know what I mean. One night.

Five guys. Twelve pubs.

Let battle commence.

You want to try

that again?

Yeah, isn't that something

you've always wanted?

Not particularly. No.

Look. Peter.

We didn't make it before, but this time, we're

gonna see it through to the bitter end.

Or lager end.

We?

Yeah, the whole gang.

Even Andy? Why wouldn't

Andy be coming?

Well, I thought that after the accident...

Not an issue. He's in.

What we wanna

know is are you?

I'd have to check

with Vanessa.

Who's Vanessa?

My wife.

Since when have you had to

check with your wife?

Since we got married.

Oh, come on, man,

don't you miss it?

The laughs, the

camaraderie, the fights,

the hangovers so fierce it feels

like your head is full of ants.

Maybe the first two.

It begins.

What's your new number?

Same one I've had

for 10 years.

Yeah. What's that one?

This entire row here, they'll all have

dormer windows above the front elevation.

Who's the helmet

without an helmet?

That's Gary King.

Knock, knock.

What are you

doing here, Gary?

You're supposed to say,

"Who's there?"

I can see who's there.

It's you.

I like what you've done

with the place. Bit draughty.

How's Selina?

We divorced 10 years ago.

Yeah, I know, just

wondered how she was.

She's doing very well,

apparently.

Have you got anyone

else on the go?

Yeah, I do, as it happens. She's a

fitness instructor. Twenty-six.

Pedophile. I'm kidding.

I'd love to meet her sometime.

No. Why are you here?

Haven't you heard? We're getting

the band back together.

I'm not your

bass player anymore.

No, I mean we're getting

the boys back together.

We can get the band back

together as well if you want.

No, we can't. You sold

my guitar to buy drugs.

I've always wondered, what's

that thing over the door called?

That's a lintel.

So, the plan is, we're going

to go back to Newton Haven,

we are gonna do

The Golden Mile

and this time, we are gonna

make it to The World's End.

Everybody's in.

What, even Andy?

Oh, you better

believe it, big balls.

Andy is going drinking with you?

With us.

Think about it, go back to the

old town, sink a few pints...

Twelve pints.

Yeah.

Twelve pints is insane.

I know!

What is this

all about, Gary?

It's about closure,

you know.

Why should getting older affect

something as important as friendship?

A lot's changed since then, Oliver.

Right.

This is our chance

to take stock.

A stock take?

You make it sound so much fun.

Come on, O-Man. Isn't that

something you'd like?

What I'd really like is for you

to take your DMs off the sofa.

Look. If you're worried about

me, don't be. All right?

I'm here to tell you that Gary

Rate this script:4.5 / 4 votes