Chapter 9

Linda called the restaurant.

"Hi, this is Linda, I'm with CJDL, the pop group.". Whilst she wouldn't normally use her position to 'get favours', sometimes 'needs must'! "Look, last month we had a great meal at your place, so a couple of questions: are you open tomorrow? Can you fit in 12 of us? And any chance we could use the upstairs room like we did before?"

The voice on the phone said 'yes' to all three questions... "No problems! We'll look forward to seeing you again tomorrow at about 8 o'clock!". Linda suspected had it been later in the week, she may have had issues, but Tuesdays are always quiet for restaurants.

Next, she had a word with Brian, then called the company they had used several times for cars, mini-coaches and limos. Yes, they could provide a large limo that would fit 12 of them in.

Finally, she called Mary.

"Hey, Linda, I guess you're gonna give me details for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, although there's a slight change of plan, which I'm sure you'll all like, but it does mean that everyone will need to be dressed reasonably smartly... so no jeans, T-shirts or scruffy trainers.... Feel free to dress up as nice as you like!"

"Ooooh, this is sounding good, what's going on, Linda?"

"My surprise... all will be revealed tomorrow. So, meet at 'The Ship' sometime between 7 and 7:30 - drinks on me, of course - we'll be going off to the restaurant soon after 7:30, so tell people not to be late!"

Mary tried to pump Linda for more information, but Linda managed to stand her ground, not telling Mary a thing.

------

Linda got a call from Jimmy, who would be their driver for the evening: she arranged with him that he would arrive outside the pub a little after 7:30: it would take about 20 minutes to get to the restaurant, so they would be there by 8.

Linda's Uber arrived, and they went and collected Dianne. Like Linda, she had dressed up 'like a pop star': they were definitely going to have fun this evening.

"No headgear tonight then?" asked Linda, clearly joking.

"No thank you, not even my lip-bumper!" replied Dianne.

"Now you've got them, you seem to be getting on ok with having braces.." commented Linda.

"Yeah, once again I seem to have accepted braces as part of who I am for the moment. But that's no excuse for any of you to get them off! How's your treatment going?"

"Gently but surely."

"Any problems with your tad's?"

"No, my tongue is used to where they are, and the attached elastics too. Hey, give me a proper look at your mouth...". Linda spent a moment looking at Dianne's teeth. "You know, they are doing well, I can definitely see a difference!".

"Yeah, I don't normally notice it, but I took a look at my 'before' pics the other day, and I can already see a slight difference. What with your support, and seeing my progress, I'm actually feeling a lot more positive about them!"

"Hey, remember to bring your braces kit?" asked Linda.

"But of course! I did manage to forget it one evening at the weekend though, so ended up doing what I could with just swishing around..."

Linda was glad that Dianne was feeling better about having braces: she seemed to be very good about wearing her upper facebow and lip-bumper in private, and she knew that Dianne would appreciate having nice straight teeth again.

"Hey, I wonder how the Northern Girls are getting on with their braces?"

"Good point. I hope they keep them for the tour. I mean, having eight of us in braces would be a great talking point!"

The taxi pulled up outside the pub: the journey had been very smooth, so Linda made sure to give the driver a good tip. As they got out of the car, a few eyes turned to look at them: as I said, they were VERY dressed up this evening! Even more eyes turned as they went into the pub, and walked up to the bar. As they did so, Linda looked around the bar: it was still quiet, and she didn't see any of her friends there yet. Linda recognised the guy who had served them before, so smiled at him, letting him see her braces.... maybe it would help him to remember her.

"Hi, can I set up a tab? I've got a few friends coming in soon...." asked Linda, passing her credit card over to him.

"Sure, no problem! What would you like to drink?"

"You have any bottles of bubbly?"

"Prosecco?"

"Anything nicer?": Linda wanted to give her friends a bit of a treat.

The barman went out the back, returning with a cold bottle, telling Linda the (fairly high) price.

"That's fine, hopefully you have a couple more, I'm sure we'll need them! And a dozen glasses?". The barman, realising that this was a quick and high-value sale, was very helpful, even getting one of the other bar staff to take the glasses over to a table for them.

As they walked over to their table - actually one of three next to each other - they could see people looking at them, pointing, whispering. Whilst it wasn't yet 7pm, there were a couple of dozen people in the pub. 

"Hey, fancy doing a bit of band PR?" suggested Linda.

"Yeah, why not!" replied Dianne. Linda stood up, then picked up the second - and as yet unopened - bottle of bubbly, banging it down loudly on the table a couple of times. The pub went almost silent.

"If I can have your attention for a moment!? Now, we're noticing a lot whispering behind hands and pointing.... and the pointing seems to be at us two. Yes, I'm Linda, and this is Dianne, we're half of CJDL. So that's 5 points for each of our names, and a bonus 5 points if you got the 'CJDL' right too.... but if you only said 'CJD', then I reckon that has to be 5 points OFF!"

Linda's light-hearted words raised a few smiles and giggles around the room.

"Look, we're waiting for our old college friends to arrive... we were both at Croydon College - Dianne was in the year above me...  so in the meantime, if you'd like to come over and say 'hello', even take a selfie, then that fine with us!"

"Don't forget the bar staff!" said Dianne.

"Good point there, Dianne: bar staff, get yourselves organised, and we'll come over to you for a picture. I'm sure your boss won't complain at the free publicity!"


[15/3051]

Chapter 11


Finally, the limo stopped. "Ok, ladies, we have arrived" said James over the intercom system. He got out and opened the limo's door, letting them all get out. Linda walked over to the door of the restaurant, where the 'Maitre d'' was waiting.

"Good evening madam. Good evening everyone. I'm assuming this is the Jacobson party?"

"That's right!"

"Please, come in, and follow Jules up to the private dining room...". Linda's friends were clearly surprised by how up-market the place was, and clearly NOT the sort of place any of them might normally come to. Mind you, if we were honest, Linda would have been equally shocked a mere 12 months ago.


As they entered the private dining room, other members of staff helped everone to sit down. Linda made sure she was opposite Zac. Dianne was a couple of seats along from her.

"There's no prices on the menu..." Linda heard someone commenting.

"Yes, that's because if you can afford to eat here, then the prices don't really matter!" replied Linda with a slight smile. "So, I hope none of you had any food before coming out, as I was planning on us having 3 courses... and I warn you, the desserts here are seriously nice! Choose what you like, and feel free to experiment, all the food here is good! I'll order some wine for us all, but if you'd prefer a beer, or something else, then just let one of the staff know."

By now, Linda's friends were realising that Linda was giving them a serious treat tonight, so there must be a good reason - but what?

While everyone decided what they wanted from the menu, Linda had connected her phone to the bluetooth of the 'entertainment system' in the room. The waiter went around taking their food order.


"Ok, so I'm guessing you want to know why I've invited you all to join me here tonight. Well, it's a bit of a 'thank-you' to be honest. We've been in the recording studios the last couple of weeks... We actually finished recording our new album last Wednesday. Plus we ended up recording one extra song that we hadn't originally intended to. So, while we wait for our starters to arrive, here's a couple of our new songs, the first one is called 'Elegant Lady': I did the initial writing for it, but Jenny, Dianne and Carol all helped to 'tweak' it too. You are the first people outside of us and the record company to hear it, although the final version might be a tiny bit different, by the time our producer has finished with it!"

Everyone listened silently as the three songs played, then clapped and cheered, clearly enjoying them. The staff took that as a cue to bring in their starters.


"So," continued Linda when most of them had finished their starters, "we were in our first week of recording, the Thursday before last, when I joined you guys for dinner. And you may remember these....". Linda pulled out the notes she had taken that evening, as they had worked out words that meant 'friends'. "You'll remember I kinda 'took a trip to mars' or maybe it was over the pacific somewhere.... anyway, I was thinking about friends, and how important you guys are to me. And you all helped think of more words that mean friends, so these are the notes I took, plus a few extra bits I added." She put the notes onto the table for everyone to see.

"When I got home, I had a cup of hot milk, but couldn't settle, as I had words and a tune starting to buzz around in my head. So, I went downstairs into our music room, and started working on the song." She pulled out more bits of paper, and passed them around. "These are the notes I made. It was rather late when I .....". Linda paused momentarily to work out what to say.

"When she fell asleep!" interrupted Dianne, to a round of laughter. "It seems that Callum - that's Jenny's brother - went in at around 5am, to find Linda slumped over the desk, sleeping! She couldn't even pull an all-nighter!". There was more laughter and a little bit of jeering as well as clapping.

"Yeah, ok, guilty, I fell asleep! In my defense, I'd had a pretty big - and nice - meal earlier in the evening! So, yeah, I managed to get a few hours sleep, and then it was back into the studios...."

"I think you were probably running on coffee that morning, weren't you?" retorted Dianne. All of this was, of course, 100% in jest. But also true. As Linda continued to talk, the staff had come in, and were taking away the dirty plates from their starters.

"You're probably right! So later on the Friday I explained the song to the others, and we started to play it, then after the weekend - where I caught up on my sleep - we spent Monday morning working on the song again, and recorded it in the afternoon."

"I should add," said Dianne, "Linda had explained to us what the song was all about, and we all thought it was a great song, and so wanted to 'make it work'."

Linda smiled: noone had actually said that to her. "So, you guys inspired me to write that song: I bet you'd like to hear it?". There was a big shout of 'yeah!'. They loved the fact that Linda had incorporated all of their names into the song somewhere. After playing the song, Linda continued. "But that wasn't the end of the story: yesterday morning our manager, Brian, had a call from the record company, which turned into a conference call with us all there. The first thing they explained was that they felt that the album was actually 2 songs too long, and there were two songs that didn't quite fit, so that was a pretty easy decision, wasn't it, Dianne?"

"Yeah, it's always hard to 'let go' of any song, but they are hoping to let one of their other artists use one of those songs. But the more important bit is the next bit, that I can see Linda is bursting to tell you..."

"Yeah, they asked us how we would feel about 'Friends' being our next single!". There was a big cheer from everyone. "And that's when I decided that I needed to do something a bit extra special for you guys tonight! Oh, and you'll all be listed as 'inspired by' for the song!"

Just then, the staff arrived with their main courses...



[17/3421]

Chapter 13


Linda had thoroughly enjoyed being able to treat her friends last night. Not cheap, but you can't really put a £ value on friends, can you?

Linda had stayed with Dianne until lunchtime, then got an Uber back to her place. Hmm, that was something she really must start doing after they came off tour: look for a nicer place to live. Somewhere with a bit more space for a start.

Linda's personal phone rang: a number was displayed, but she didn't recognise it.

"Hello?" she said, a bit warily.

"Hello, I'm hoping that I'm speaking to Linda Jacobson?"

"Who is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Trevor Nelson, I work for 'Behind the Pipes Productions', we're the production company that makes TV shows like 'Singer Behind the Mask'. Are you alone, and can you spare me 5 to 10 minutes of your time?". Linda was at home, very alone, and was in the middle of doing close to nothing.

"Ummm... yes, and probably..." replied a slightly disbelieving Linda, worrying that this could be some sort of prank call.

"Now, before I go any further, I suspect that you are very wary of my calling like this, thinking it may be a prank, or maybe I'm from the press. So, do you have internet access there? I'd like you to check us out, and call me back..."

"Yes, I have internet access...."

"Ok, so go and google 'Singer Behind the Mask', and find out who it's made by, then go to the website, our website. Down the bottom of the page is a 'Contact Us' link, which will give our main phone number: call that public number, and just ask for me. Tilly is on reception today, so she will answer your call, and as soon as you say that you want to speak to me, she will NOT ask who you are. While you're speaking to her, feel free to ask any questions about me or the company.... Does that all make sense? I really hope you'll call me, because I have a proposal that you might be interested in...."

Linda realised that Trevor had been in this situation before: anyone in a similar position to Linda would be quite apprehensive, especially when getting a call on their personal phone.

Did he say 'Singer Behind the Mask'? But surely everyone on that show was either a non-pro singer, or a bit of a has-been.... Well, Linda wasn't busy, and you never know, if she was asked to perform on Singer Behind the Mask', it could be an interesting experience!

"Ok, sure, give me a few minutes will you?"

"Oh, take as long as you need. Just ask for me, Trevor Nelson, when you call.... I'll say goodbye for now, and look forward to your return call."

Linda went over and grabbed her tablet, and googled 'who makes Singer Behind the Mask', to discover it was indeed 'Behind the Pipes Productions'. She scrolled down, and selected 'Contact Us': the next page listed their address, emails, and phone numbers.

Over on her phone she called the main phone number. "Good morning, 'Behind the Pipes Productions'. I'm Tilly, how can I help you today?"

Well, so far so good.

"Hi... I'd like to speak to Trevor Nelson... but before you put me through, can you tell me what it is that he does there?"

"Of course I can. Our company produces many shows, some of which involve members of the public, and some that involve professionals. Trevor is what we call one of our 'Talent Managers', he's responsible for finding people to take part in our shows. Does that help?" asked Tilly.

Linda was quite impressed with both her friendly manner, as well as the simple way she had answered her question. "Yes, it does, thanks Tilly!"

"Would you like me to put you through to him now?"

"Yes please!"

"Half a moment..." The line went silent for a moment.

"Hello... Trevor Nelson!"

"Hello, it's Linda Jacobson here...."

"Hi, Linda, thank you so much for calling back. Ok, so, I just need to check that you're alone there, and that no-one can overhear you?"

"Don't worry, I'm 'home alone' today! So what's with all the mystery?"

"Ok, I'm sure you have heard of the TV show 'Singer Behind the Mask'. Well, it's the time of year when we start to look for people to come on the show...."

"Yeah, about that. Aren't all the singers either non-pro's or 'singers from years ago'? I don't think I fit either of those right now!"

"Historically you would be right, but this time we were thinking that it might be fun to see if we could persuade a couple of 'current stars' onto the show. Clearly you'll be suitably recompensed."

"Ok, I can see that would be interesting for the viewers... and the panel too. But I'm not sure I'll be able to help, we're about to go on a major tour..."

"Absolutely, and I'm very aware of that. But, as I understand it, your tour ends near the end of September?"

"Yes, about the third week of September..."

"We'll not be starting the actual recording until the third week of October, although there will be stuff to do in the weeks before. The recording takes somewhere between two and three weeks. So, plenty of time after your tour finishes... I'm hoping that could work for you?"

"Yes, I guess so... And it airs...?"

"Usually in January. Now, before we go any further, I do need to explain a few 'ground rules'. First of all, just because we are talking now doesn't guarantee that we'll actually want you on the show: we're currently researching who might be interested and available. We need to have loads of internal discussions before we make the final choice. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, makes a lot of sense. I guess we'd sign contracts once you've decided?"

"That's right. However, in the meantime, I'd like to meet up with you, get you to sign an NDA, and talk some more. I'm sure you've read that everything we do has to be so secret, so the names of our performers don't get out. It's also very important that you don't tell anyone. Yes, if you have a boyfriend or similar that you really MUST tell, then that's ok, but they'll need to sign an NDA too. And if you need a professional legal representative to look at the contract, that's fine too, they are already covered by so many laws that stop them leaking anything! But, if anyone else finds out that you even MIGHT be on the show, then we'll have to drop you. It's a royal pain in the butt, but we have to do it!"

"I've read a couple of those articles about the show, sounds like a secret military operation, but I can understand why."

"Yes, it does feel a bit like that at times. So, the big question: are you at all interested in being on the show??". To be honest, that's what Linda had been thinking about for the last couple of minutes.

"I think so. I probably need to think about it a bit more... you said about meeting up: I'd like to do that, understand more about what would actually be involved."

"That sounds good to me. How busy are you in the next few weeks? Can you find a slot for me?  I'll do my best to fit in with you..."

"Well, next week things start to get busy, what about this week? Maybe even tomorrow?"

"Yes, I can manage tomorrow. Let me text you an address: it will be a very anonymous office in a very anonymous building. And please do anything and everything you can to minimise anyone recognising you."

Linda was lucky that, without all the 'glam' like she had worn last night, she looked surprisingly plain and anonymous, which was really nice for her if she wanted to go out in public.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm pretty good at that! What time? And roughly where?"

"Hmm, we have a couple of places we use in London... roughly where are you?"

"I'm in the Croydon area, and I have a car.."

"Oh, excellent, one of the places is in Surbiton, I'd guess at under an hour away from you. So what time would be good for you?"

"Any time after say... 11am...."

"Ok, let me go and check when the office is available. There is parking in front of the building... I'm hoping you don't drive a Roller or something else that's a bit obvious?"

"No, my Skoda is pretty anonymous!"

"Excellent! Look, Linda, thank you very much for your time, I appreciate it, and I'll look forward to meeting with you tomorrow.... And in the meantime, you have both my office number as well as the mobile number I initially called you from, so any issues, please call."


Linda sat down to think for a bit. Yes, being on 'Singer Behind the Mask' could be a LOT of fun. Plus it wouldn't hurt her singing career! Although she'd read that it could be a bit lonely whilst actually doing it all. And then she'd need to keep it all a secret from everyone until January. OMG, she would SO want to tell the other three, but wouldn't be able to say a thing to them!


About an hour later she got a text, suggesting 11am, no more than an hour for the meeting, and giving an address. Linda texted back to accept.


[19/3785]

Chapter 15


Linda had dressed quite simply today: no false eyelashes like the other night, just a minimum of makeup. Hair held back in a simple ponytail with an elastic hairband. Jeans. T-shirt. Trainers. And, rather perversely, a pink 'CJD' hoodie that had been left over from the last tour! (With the band's name having changed, they were now pretty worthless, but heck, give it ten years and they could become collectors items!)

Linda parked her car: the building was in a not-so-modern bit of Surbiton and looked a bit dingy, but clean, and she could see that would help in making things a bit more 'anonymous'. She walked to the front door, where there was a paper note taped to the door: "Behind the Pipes Productions - ring top bell!". She did so, and very quickly she saw someone coming down the stairs. They opened the door to her, removing the sign at the same time.

"Hello Linda, come on in, I'm Trevor...". She followed Trevor upstairs, and into a small office, where a lady - Linda guessed her to be in her thirties - was waiting. "This is Viv, she and I are one of a handful of people who not only select but also know the identities of our celebrities."

"Hi, Linda, really nice to meet you - and I do like the irony of the hoody!" said Viv, offering a hand. "I hope you're ok with instant coffee..." she added. There was a kettle, some cups, coffee, milk, and a small crate - obviously to hold everything - on the side. It was instantly clear that both Trevor and Viv were completely at ease dealing with someone like Linda: they must have met a LOT of very well known people over the last few years.

"So, before we go in deep with the NDA, let me explain a little about how things work, and what we'll need of you. I've also got a couple of videos that have been recorded by previous contestants, which try to explain what things will feel like for you. Oh, and ask us questions at any time!"

Trever and Viv explained about the way the show was filmed, about needing information for clues, and then about the costumes. "I don't suppose you've had any thoughts about the sort of character you would want to be?"

"Well, not a lot... but I was hoping for something relatively light-weight, so I'd be able to move about a bit, maybe dance a bit. And something that's slightly... well... 'cute'!"

Trevor and Viv smiled. "Ok, well, we can show you a few costume ideas in a moment. First, can we show you these videos, to help you understand what you'll be letting yourself in for?"

The two videos were by well-known ex-competitors, and they didn't pull any punches. They included words and phrases like 'tiring', 'ruthless', 'expect to get bored, very bored', 'early starts, late finishes', 'you can only talk to your partner, and maybe 6 others at most, and then only when you're alone', 'you have to be completely covered up at all times' and 'it feels like a top secret military compound'. The final two comments were rather more positive: 'an amazing fun challenge!' and 'but I'm SOOO glad I did it, it was an amazing experience, so worth it!'.

"So, have we scared you off? Or are you still interested?" asked Viv. "We're both hoping the latter: it would be such fun to have a current pop star like you on the show. I mean, you'll have just come off tour, so they'll never think that anyone like you would ever be able too come on the show!"

"You know, that's so true, and I think that's what seals it for me. Teasing your judges and the audience would be such fun!"

Linda read the NDA: it was very simple and to the point: basically say NOTHING! With the NDA signed, they started talking about other things: what sort of music she would feel happy singing. Some of her life history, so they could start to work on 'clues'. They even took her basic measurements, then showed her some concept art of a few of the possible costumes. Linda rather liked the 'Miss Pig' costume.

"Hey, don't suppose you have some sort of 'Ninja' costume do you?" asked Linda, thinking aloud.

"No, but I do like the idea!".

They chatted more.

"So, about your 'appearance fees'.... " started Trevor.

"Yeah, about that," interrupted Linda. "I get the feeling that, because of my 'status', you might be looking to offer me more than the others, to persuade me to come on board. But I don't think that's right, if anyone were to find out, it could get awkward for everyone. I'm sure you guys have a standard fee you pay, and I'll be ok with that."

"You're sure?"

"Yup! By the way, how DID you get hold of my number?"

"Oh, that was me..." said Viv. "A friend of mine knows Callum Stevens, so I spun her a story about wanting to ask you about someone you might have worked with, background for a new show."

Linda smiled. "Nice idea, and yeah, I can appreciate that Callum would be ok giving you my number for that."


She went and sat down in her car. Oh my goodness! What HAD she just agreed to? Yes, ok, she appreciated that it still might not happen for a load of reasons, but wow, it would be such fun to do it. It was just unfortunate that she wouldn't be able to tell ANYONE a thing - that was going to be the hardest bit.

Chapter 17

Linda took her bike to her local bike shop: the guy there was amazing, and replaced the 2 tyres and tubes, as well as giving the bike a good service. She also got him to fit a better phone holder on the handlebars.

Even better, the bike was ready early Friday afternoon, and it didn't cost Linda a lot. Linda was very happy, as she could now go on that bike ride with Zac...


Zac came over to Linda's late Saturday morning, and put her bike onto the car with his on his bike rack, then they drove to the park and woods near Addington. The weather was overcast, but the sun was trying hard to escape.

Linda was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved top, with that pink CJD hoodie on top. Over that, she had put a lightweight coat. Zac was also wearing jeans, a shirt, and a slightly thicker coat. They were both wearing trainers. Linda's bike had a nice big basket on the front, so she had filled that with a small rug, a couple of small drink bottles, and a pack of snacky chocolate bars.

The plan was to have a ride, and end up at a pub about half a mile the other side of the park for lunch. The park was sufficiently quiet, and the paths wide enough that they could ride alongside each other, and chat. After a bit, they reached the trees, where the paths were narrower, and in places rather rougher. Finally, they reached a clearing in the woods.

"Can we stop a few minutes?" asked Linda. "I could do with a drink."

"Sure."

As they got off their bikes, the sun came out. Linda grabbed the bottles from the basket on her bike, passing one to Zac.

"Wanna sit down for a few minutes?" Zac suggested. The grass was still a little damp, so Linda got the rug out, and they sat on it. Linda looked at Zac, and Zac looked at Linda.

"Ok, I'm not sure how to say this without you taking it wrong... so I'm not trying to be judgemental in any way but..."

"But?"

"Well, some guys have a thing for girls hair, liking the colour, the style.. long hair or short hair, fringe or no fringe. Some guys like girls with big... errr... boobs, and some like smaller ones, and can be seen sometimes staring at them for a bit too long..." Zac had an idea where this was going. "Or maybe it's glasses, or the shape of their nose. For you, it seems to be my mouth, and more specifically my teeth, or more likely my braces." Linda's tone of voice was very pleasant and relaxed, and definitely not a 'telling off' voice. "So, am I right, do you like my braces? Remember, I'm not being judgemental, just interested to know..." and with that she gave Zac a lovely smile, letting him see her lovely metal smile.

"Well.... errr... ummm..." Yes, Zac was, as to be expected, a bit embarrassed.

"It's ok, I don't mind!" and she smiled once more, this time running her tongue over her shiny metal brackets and wires.

"Umm, yes, I don't know why, but for some reason I find braces to be... well... very attractive!". That had been very hard for Zac to admit. It was something that he'd only ever shared anonymously, online.

Linda kept smiling. "I thought so! Any idea what it is about them? I suspect you actually don't know, just like guys who have a thing for boobs have no idea WHY they do."

"Ummm... I think it's a mix of things. It's something I never got to experience, so I wonder what they are like to have. They make you look... well, different, but in a good way. And there's the embarrassment factor. But otherwise, I'm not really sure what it is that attracts me to them."

Linda took a breath: she had been thinking whether it was time to do this, and she had decided she had waited long enough. "Ever kissed a girl with braces?"

"Sadly not..."

"Would you like to see what it's like?". She put her hand up to Zac's face, and softly touched he cheek. "I promise I don't bite..." Zac hadn't yet confirmed either way, so she took his silence as being a 'yes'. She leaned towards Zac, and put her lips on his, then gently pushed her tongue out, and between his lips, just touching his teeth. She then pulled it back, inviting his tongue into her mouth. Linda relaxed as Zac's tongue started to explore her braces: at first just the front ones, then the ones on her canines, his tongue eagerly running around the metal brackets, then exploring her archwires.

After a few minutes, they paused. "I actually have a few extra bits in my mouth, but they are probably too far back for your tongue to reach. She opened her mouth, and pulled her lip back, letting him see the TADs screwed into her top jaw, as well as the pieces of powerchain that were connected between them and two of her teeth.

"Wow. Didn't it hurt getting those fitted?" asked Zac.

"Not at all, I was numbed up when they were actually installed. I guess there was a bit of discomfort for a few hours later on."

"They don't seem to affect your speech. Don't they get annoying?"

"I read somewhere that your mouth quickly gets used to small things like that, so you're right, I don't have an issue talking... or singing for that matter. Generally they aren't an issue, except for when you get a bit of food stuck in one of the bits of elastic."

Linda took Zac's hand, and brought it towards her mouth, letting Zac run his fingers over her braces: she knew that Zac would be enjoying it, and whilst it might seem to be a little strange to some people, it wasn't really a big deal to Linda. After that, they kissed again, with Linda running her hand through Zac's hair.

It was clear to Linda that Zac was enjoying kissing her and her braces, and to be honest, she was also enjoying being kissed. Zac was actually quite gentle in the way he kissed. His enthusiasm gently increased, until finally Zac became a bit more relaxed.

"So, Zac," said Linda a few minutes later, "I have a question: is there something more than my braces that you like about me?" asked Linda with a cute smile.

"Oh, definitely! While your braces were the first thing that got my attention... just like girls with big... ermmm... 'attributes' might for some other guys. When I discovered that you were a star in a girl-band, I got a certain picture, one that turned out to be oh so wrong. Then later on at dinner, I saw you interacting with the others, and you weren't being the 'spoilt brat' I expected, you were very much a normal person. Then, when you took us all out to dinner and you told us about writing that song then recording it so quickly, I really understood you: I've been there too, and it's something I can respect. And as we just chat... well, I like you..."

Linda could sense that Zac was indeed warming to her. "Thank you... it's actually the first time I've been in this situation... not with a guy, I mean as someone a bit more famous. Life's been a bit full-on since I joined the band, so I've not had a lot of time."

"So, how you feeling about me?" asked Zac. Linda thought for a second or two.

"I'm liking what I see and hear. Many people just seem to get star-struck when they meet us. But, as my first anti-fan, you're definitely not like that. You seem quite relaxed with me, treating me normally, and that's not been happening a lot this last year, so thanks!". Zac smiled when she said 'anti-fan', it seemed to be a bit of a running joke between them, and he didn't mind about it.

They continued to chat, mostly about inconsequential things.

"So, if I ask you out again, are you going to say 'yes'?" asked Zac.

"Oh, I think so... which does raise the question: do you want to see if we can make a go of things? I'd like to...".

"Yes, me too..."

"In that case, sorry to be a party-pooper, but I need to mention a few practicalities of dating a member of CJDL. First of all, you can't give out my phone numbers, especially the one you have, that is for friends and family only..."

"You have another phone?"

"Yeah, my 'work' phone, but again, I'm quite fussy who gets to know it. Jenny told me how she had to change her phone number a couple of years ago because someone got hold of it, even posted it online. If someone wants to get in touch with me, get their number, and I'll call them."

"Yeah, I understand, makes sense. There is one thing that worries me: as your boyfriend, getting hassled by the press."

"That was my second thing: we need to tell the world about us. When Carol started going out with Tom, she got a friendly press photographer to take some pictures of them on a date... so we'll need to do something too."

"How does THAT help? Surely it's just gonna draw more attention to me?"

"Well, we have a 'gentleman's agreement' with the press: we try to be as open as possible about stuff that's going on with us, and in return they leave our boyfriends alone when they are not with us. Yeah, they may say 'hello' to you: I know Tom's had a few nice chats with a couple of the guys when he's been alone." Linda then related the story about how Jenny had once thrown a reporter out of a press conference for crossing the line!


[23/4769]

Chapter 19

The girls had already arranged to meet at the house on the Monday for dinner, ready to go and meet Northern Girls at the airport on the Tuesday. As they knew things were about to go from 'quiet' to 'stupidly hectic', Ben and Tom had both also come along. Which is part the reason that Linda had invited Zac to join them too. Besides, she wanted him to meet the rest of 'the team'.

Linda was actually the last to arrive with Zac: she had left her car at home, knowing she could eventually get a lift back with one of the others, and had come with Zac (who'd be going home again that evening).

"So, a couple of things you need to know..." said Linda, while they were on the way there. "First of all, Dianne will probably be wearing her headgear and lip bumper, so..."

"Headgear AND a lip bumper... OMG!"

"Yeah, so I am sure you'll 'enjoy the view' but please don't make it awkward for her by being at all obvious. Part the reason I got braces was to support Dianne: I knew that her treatment would be extreme. Carol has braces too: she actually only needs a retainer, but she changed to brackets to support Dianne too..."

"And I know Jenny has braces too, coz I've seen quite a few pictures of her."

"Sounds like you've been busy checking us all out?"

"But of course, I need to be ready for you guys. As your anti-fan, I need to know who I'm dealing with!"

"Yeah, right... well, as I said, please be discrete about Dianne's treatment." Linda explained a bit more background about Dianne's treatment, and how she had braces as a teen. "Oh, yeah, almost forgot: Tom, that's Carol's boyfriend, he has braces too. Nothing special, just metal brackets...."

"Of course. I'm not planning on knowingly upsetting you: I'm sure I could easily do that without actually trying to!"

"Ok, so something else: we're inevitably going to be 'talking business', so please treat ANYTHING you hear as confidential. We really don't want anything getting out before we're ready."

"What sort of things you thinking about?"

"At the moment, it's probably going to be mainly tour stuff. I know you probably want to show off a bit to your friends, but please don't! I'll try and think of some bits you can tell them, if you like... Ah, hang on, turn coming up fairly soon on the right...."



"Hi everyone, this is Zac, my new boyfriend..." said Linda, introducing the new love of her life. People were sat around in the lounge, having pre-dinner drinks.

"About time!" said Carol.

"What do you mean, we've only been going out a few days?"

"I was meaning more 'it's time you had a boyfriend!'. Hi Zac! I'm Carol by the way..."

"Ok, so that's Jenny, and her boyf... sorry, fiancé Ben. Callum there is Jenny's brother... So, Callum, do you remember Zac?" continued Linda.

"Now I see him, I do. We weren't really in the same social groups at college though... Hi there, Zac, and welcome to the house of madness!!" replied Callum.

"Brian and Lisa are their mum and dad, but more importantly are our managers... Then this is Paige, she works for the team doing all sorts of stuff. Sat next to Carol is her boyfriend, Tom, he works at a local radio station. And finally, that's Dianne, who you already know!".

Zac looked over at Dianne again: she looked a bit different from the other night. For a start, she wasn't dressed up. And there was something else different about her... yes, her lower lip was sticking out a bit, and she had a lovely metal facebow between her lips!

"Hi again, Zac. I'm glad you two finally got together!" said Dianne, "Now, for the rest of you, you need to be aware that Zac is actually an anti-fan, it seems that he doesn't like girl bands...." she added smiling widely (and showing off her lovely braces, which both Ben and Zac appreciated).

"And he's a very NICE anti-fan too!" replied Linda, looking lovingly at Zac.

"So, Dianne was saying the last she knew, she had passed you Zac's phone number, so come on girl, we need the gory details...." said Jenny.

"Well... I called Zac the following evening..."

"And how many glasses of wine did you need to make that call then?". Clearly they had all been relaxed by the glasses of wine they were drinking, and were willing to have a bit of fun.

"Probably as many as you've had so far tonight!" retorted Linda, giving as much as she got. "Which reminds me, where's OUR drinks? Anyway... I called him, and we met the following day for lunch. I discovered that Zac likes going out on his bike, and we agreed to go out for a ride together."

"You have a working bike?" asked Carol.

"Well, I do now..."

"Ooooh, it's definitely lurve..... So how was the 'bike ride' then?" said Jenny, making slightly lewd insinuations.

"We had a lovely ride through the park. Oh, come on, Jenny, it was our first proper date, what sort of girl do you take me for?"

"Not saying another word!" added Jenny, smiling, allowing Zac to get a good view of her braces. Zac was sat next to Linda, not saying anything, but he was smiling at the banter going on between the girls. Linda had warned him that things may get like this, and not to worry, she could look after herself!

"Yesterday, I took Zac out for lunch, then we spent the afternoon relaxing, by which I do NOT mean checking out the bedroom... or any other room for that matter!"

"Don't worry, Zac, I got something similar to this when I started dating Carol." said Tom quietly to Zac.

"And today, Zac had that inconvenience called 'work'! So now you know our history together! Umm, guys, I was thinking we could all do a stream tonight, and I could  introduce Zac to the world... I'm hoping you're all up for it. After dinner...."

"Sounds like it could be a bit of fun!" said Dianne, who had grabbed a couple of glasses and the wine bottle for Linda and Zac.

"So, who's cooking us dinner tonight?" Linda asked once they had sat down. I guess I should explain that, when there was 'just family' around, then Lisa was ok cooking dinner, but once the numbers got higher - for example when the 4 girls were working there, or evenings like tonight - then Lisa would get one of several people to come in and do the cooking for them.

"It's Trevor and Gilly..." replied Lisa.

"Oh nice, they do really tasty stuff!" said Linda...



"So, a couple of bits of news to share with you" said Brian as they were eating dinner. "First of all, the record company now has Yu Eye's final version of our recordings, and are very happy. Plus they have confirmed that 'Friends' will be your next single..."

Zac turned to Linda: "Hey, you kept that quiet!"

"Well, it wasn't ACTUALLY confirmed when I played it at dinner with you all last week." replied Linda, beaming with a huge smile. So, it was actually confirmed: HER song would be their next single.

"Well done, Linda," said Lisa, "I think it's a really good song, and it's style is gently moving the group's music style forwards... and definitely VERY different from their first couple of albums!"

"Are the rcord company ok with our 'evolving style'?" asked Linda.

"They seem to be fine with it, in fact I would say very positive about it. John commented that it was another step of change just like when Jenny met Ben, and the band's style changed back then!"

"Tom and I were chatting about it the other night, weren't we? He reckoned it was good for us to change...." said Carol.

"Yeah, a band can live with the same style of music for a while, but if they just stay there, people get a bit bored with 'it's another one just like the last one... and the one before'. But you take someone like Bowie, his style changed many times, and it's what kept him popular. Or someone like Pink. So yeah, you maybe loose a few fans - like I guess you did before - but you'll get plenty more to replace them. Besides, your loyal fans will stay with you pretty much whatever you guys do! Now, as for 'Friends': it took a couple of listens for me to appreciate it, but I think having as your next single is spot on... I'm really looking forward to being allowed to play it on the radio!"

"What you REALLy mean is that you're looking forward to being the FIRST to play it on the radio, don't you?" said Carol with a smile.

"I would never be quite so presumptive..." replied Tom, pausing a moment. "But yes, it would be nice!"

"I'm sure that can be arranged!" said Brian. "Anyway, another couple of bits of news, all  related: that certain cereal company, that you recently recorded the adverts for...."

"You guys have done some adverts? Have they been on TV yet?" asked Zac excitedly.

"Yes, we did... and I'm guessing they simply haven't been aired yet. Brian?"

"That's right. I think they start in 3 or 4 weeks time, and will air throughout your tour. So, one of you came up with the idea of some product placement on your opening night, recording it, and using it for an advert: they absolutely loved that idea - they'll clearly need to agree to what you do - but have come back with a counter-suggestion... how would you feel about doing it EVERY night for the UK part of the tour?"

"Well, as I said at the time, I think it could be great fun for both us and our fans - as long as we keep it short - but I worry about their reactions on the money side." said Jenny

"In what way?" asked Linda.

"Well, it's a bit like the Amazon Prime Video thing: fans will have paid once for the ticket, and now they are also being advertised to. And as I said before, the only way I can see around that is that we do it for charity..."

"I like that idea!" said Carol. "We can make it clear on the backdrop that it's for charity. So it's not ACTUALLY costing the fans anything, except a bit of their time, but we look really good for not profitting, but helping a charity."

Zac was smiling. "You know, I just love your craziness! As CJDL's biggest anti-fan, I think it's a great idea! Just do it! I'm sure your fans will go for it too!"

"I guess the question is then: which charity? Or, depending on how much we make, charities, plural. But we don't need to decide just yet, do we? Any legal issues if we give the money to charity, Brian?" asked Linda.

"I don't think so. I'll have a word with the guys who 'fiddle our books', to find out the best way to handle it, from a tax perspective. But it sounds like you all like the idea?" 4 heads nodded. "Ok, final bit of news, again related to the adverts, and I have a feeling you're going to like this bit, Linda: they would like to work with you all on your idea of 'Gimme Cereals'. Not only that, but this morning I got an email from Babymetal's management company, and given a few fairly simple conditions, they are happy for you to use the song, both as an advert, and a standalone song."

Linda smile widely once again. "Oh, wow, that is going to be so much fun: we get to sing Babymetal! We just need Northern Girls to agree to be our band."

"Erm, I'm trying to understand this," said Zac. "So you're going to sing what? A version of Gimme Chocolate?"

"That's right! The way I was thinking it was we get Northern Girls to be our 'Kami Band', and we four dress up like the girls from Baby Metal, and sing 'Gimme Cereals' rather than 'Gimme Chocolate'. Although, when we do it for the actual advert, it will be 'Gimme Nibosco'" explained Linda.

By now Zac was giggling. "You KNOW I love Babymetal, but that sounds so crazy... but just BRILLIANT! I'm just trying to imagine you in one of those black and red Baby Metal dresses!"

"Ok, I'll be honest," said Linda, "that's part of the reason I want to do it!"


[25/5091]

My writing methods are sometimes a bit strange... I'll write a chapter, then realise not only does it need  some braces chat in it, there's a good opening to do so, so I go back and  adjust things. In this case, I realised that Dianne would be in a relaxed setting, so would be in her hg, which Zac would appreciate!

So, story-wise, we're getting to the end of this Linda story... Northern girls arrive "tomorrow" so the story will move to a new one, covering the two bands preparing for the tour,going on tour, and the reaction to their first night. And then there's the bit about their penultimate performance of the tour....

I would have loved to include a performance with Babymetal joining them, but have decided not to include real performers in anything more than a 'passing role'