Bare Necessities 2 (The Bare Necessities)

  Copyright 2016 John Harding

  To Emma, William and Emily

  With thanks to my alpha readers who are listed below:

  David Gilham, Emma Harding

  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Author's Note

  Three years ago, I wrote a tale about a young naturist, Paige, who formed a band and refused to sing without being able to express her naturist ideals on stage.

  It was a light-hearted premise, although laced throughout the story was the police harassment that is a common tale reported from many public naturists, as well as moralistic fundamentalists, familial pressure and my own dry humour.

  I enjoyed writing it; more than any other story, I was and am proud to put my name to it. It also garnered a surprising number of positive reviews and I've been asked more than once for a sequel.

  Well here it is.

  This is my third attempt; I wasn't happy with either of the other two storylines and they got binned.

  For this tale, I look at what is inevitable in every band: the split – or “hiatus.” Looking at how the band mates move on from their success and try to recreate it.

  And when that fails, the reunion for a European song contest as they try to tap into their popularity to win for the UK.

  As ever, I would love feedback, either on the book stores or direct at my site (http://jdharding.co.uk). All of it is read, negative and positive, and it helps me to become a better author.

  As Lucinda would say, bottoms up, and 'til next time!

  John

  Recap

  The original story, The Bare Necessities, was the tale of the creation of a naturist band. If you need a reminder of what happened in the previous book, then this text is here:

  Paige (18), Hazel (16) and Jeremy (15) are the children of naturists, Suzanne and Robert Simmons. Whilst on holiday at a naturist camp site, Paige enters a karaoke competition with Claire Baynes (also 18), which they win.

  This friendship develops when they return home, and having discovered that they both live in South London socialise regularly.

  Claire’s mother, Teri, is a cleaner for a local entrepreneur, Paul Rees-Montague, and after earning some money assisting the gardener, Claire meets the eldest child of the local businessman, Jack Rees-Montague. Jack has a passion for music and lends his recording equipment to Claire and Paige to begin recording Paige’s voice.

  Paige demands that Claire follow her naturist ideals and with Jack on the keyboard and Claire on the guitar, the three become friends – despite the class differences. They convince a local pub to allow them to play a gig in their unused function room, and then do another in leafy Surrey.

  A video of the naturist musicians is uploaded to Internet and they attract the attention of agents; Paige rejects them until they meet Andre Wilson – the nephew of the owner of a struggling talent management agency.

  They agree to sign, and then fall out, and the band arrange a tour around Britain. However, once Jack’s father discovers his eldest son planned to tour Britain naked with the “underclass,” he puts attempts to stop it.

  With the help of his alcoholic aunt, Jack runs away to tour Britain with Paige and Claire, playing at naturist venues and festivals. They are arrested at Stroud before being released, and agree to sign with Andre, while receiving condemnation from media celebrity, Peter Moran, and a religious pressure group, Christian Outrage.

  Paige storms the recording of Peter Moran and hijacks his radio show, before the band travel to Southend and disrupt a church service in front of the leader of Christian Outrage. They open a live performance in Wembley, and are asked to play at a music festival in Hyde Park.

  The media furore around them reaches fever pitch, so Jack and Paige travel to Southend to make peace with Christian Outrage; the religious group attempts to blackmail the band and Paige secretly records the conversation. This is played to the crowd at Hyde Park.

  Jack is given an ultimatum by his Dad after the band are arrested in Hyde Park; he either cuts his ties with Paige or is written out of his father’s will. Jack refuses and runs to find Paige; the band are then reunited and start working on their first global tour.

  The bond between Hazel and Paige is shown to be exceedingly strong; Hazel had attempted suicide in the months before the story starts and it was Paige that discovered her sister in a pool of blood in the kitchen.

  The conservative Paul finds the lifestyle his son chooses to be inherently wrong, and there is a lot of friction between the charismatic, serial divorcee Lucinda (his sister) and himself. Paige’s dad, Robert, and Lucinda were childhood sweethearts until the families intervened.

  Paige is confident, brash, impulsive and uncompromising and her ferocious will and unpredictable behaviour is a defining constant throughout the story.

  Prologue

  The work experience trainee tried to hide her beaming, excited smile. She turned away from the world-famous musicians as they walked towards her, avoiding their gaze. Her admiration of the three talented artists showed in her delighted expression.

  The hairs on her arms stood on end. The rumbling excitement in the pit of her stomach bubbled, and the adrenaline flowed into her blood stream. Her heart pounded. Her hands felt clammy. Her cheeks burnt.

  When her careers advisor had arranged an unpaid work experience placement in the media, she didn't expect to be working on prime-time television. She thought she would be running errands for a home shopping channel or answering telephones to radio phone-ins. Not working on The Lucy O'Donnell Show.

  Not that she was a regular viewer; no-one in her circle of friends ever tuned in to watch the daytime programme. They weren't in the target demographic, and neither her nor her friends, would have had little interest in the show, if it weren’t for the guests. The Bare Necessities – months after the band of naturist musicians had split – were being interviewed by the bland presenter and the work experience trainee was running errands. Making tea, relaying messages, ferrying equipment, and other such menial tasks made up the day of the unpaid slave labourer.

  Only now Paige was inches from her quivering body, smiling broadly at the teenager. Her idol, her inspiration and now within touching distance. They had met four years ago. The Bare Necessities were unsigned then, and she was on holiday at a naturist festival with her parents when the young band performed live at the small, intimate venue. She had sung with her heroine on stage. Paige had joked with her.

  Now years on, the Bare Necessities were no more. For awhile at least. She had hopes that their hiatus would be brief but rumours of the three artists undertaking new endeavours was proof that they were drifting apart. They had released three albums during those three years but they were a long way from recording a fourth.

  Jack had spoken of political ambition and the gossip columns said Claire was talking about touring with an unknown indie band, The Nuclear Monkeys. Paige had already recorded a couple of songs with other musical artists, duetting with International stars for one-off additions to their albums as a guest vocalist.

  It wasn't the Bare Necessities though. A little piece of the intern died when the three band members announced that they were having a break. A little piece of so many fans wilted as Paige sniffed back the tears in that press conference. The end, so quick, just like their accent to the top table of international music.

  The intern watched the naked behind of the former lead singer confidently str
ide into the wings of the set. The hot lights were stifling and the red-haired star was probably the most comfortable person in the studio.

  It was the band's brash approach to nudity that won them many friends, and also a handful of vocal critics. She'd not been naked in front of thousands of people until she tried it on a bicycle ride through London; shedding her clothes in front of the city of strangers and then cycling the nine mile route through the city centre. The nudity was exhilarating. It gave her a sense of freedom she'd not experienced before, and the behaviour of the militant naturist made more sense to her as she rode naked through the busy metropolis, feeling the elements on her skin.

  The Bare Necessities had helped take naturism out of the enclaves of the naturist resorts and into mainstream society. The intern adored them. She understood the band; she understood Paige. She could feel the meaning behind every lyric the fiery singer sang and every sentence she uttered. Every word meant more, a deeper connection between the singer and the listener that only a naturist would understand.

  A cacophony interrupted her thoughts: the loud applause and generous reception as the three band members strode on stage, and the work experience trainee hurried to a monitor to watch the interview unfold with two semi-clothed members and a bare-bodied Paige. Paige never cared that the world saw her au naturel. It never caused her a moment's concern.

  “First question I have to ask,” the simpering host begged as the bandmates took their seats. “Is this a split or a pause or what?”

  Paige ran her hands through her red hair. “We've split, but we're friends. Really good friends so we will get back together at some point. Maybe for a one-off project, or to make an album or several.” Jack and Claire nodded as Paige spoke. “And we're still dating,” she added as she patted Jack's thigh.

  “I needed to explore the world around me and we'd been on top of each other relentlessly for months and years and so we needed to split as friends or wait for twelve months and split with rows and fights!” Claire added before Jack spoke.

  “We all agree that at some point we'll make music together again. We enjoyed ourselves but we needed to take a break. We want to explore different things. It will help keep us fresh, and the hiatus will only end when it's good for us all. In the meantime, we're keeping ourselves busy.” He glanced at his girlfriend. “Aren't we?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, went on holiday. Only came back yesterday from shooting a video in the Caribbean with my sister and Beyonce. Great fun!”

  “I'm sure it was …”

  “I just need to get on and sort out my first solo album in the New Year.” Her eyes twinkled. “A couple of legal obstacles but that's all.”

  The legal obstacle was Andre; he had them all signed to an exclusive contract and their notice period, despite announcing they would be taking a “brief hiatus,” did not expire until the New Year. They were now only working with his employee and Paige's sister, but his agency would see a cut of all earnings until February, and Paige didn't want to undertake significant new projects while that was hanging over them. There were unexplained complications between the band and Andre, their soon to be ex-manager.

  The tone for the following hour had been set. It was no rigorous interrogation like a Paxman-style grilling, but the trio talked through their musical successes, the split and the trainee hung on their every word.

  She learnt about Claire's split from their agent, and her boyfriend, amid wild tabloid rumours. She heard about a number of businesses that they had invested in, and she saw how unpredictable Paige had been while they were in the band.

  The interview finished and the three musicians left the stage to a rapturous applause. Paige smiled at the staff of the television company as they walked towards the Green Room.

  Stopped only by a sixteen year old, spewing a plea in a hurried, uncontrollable voice between breaths. “Paige, please make some more music again. You're the best there is ever since you got me on stage to sing with you and you have the most amazing …”

  Paige interrupted. “Stroud Festival,” she slowly recalled. “Summer of 2012. Yes I remember. You sang with me.”

  “Hot N Cold!” The girl squealed excitably.

  “That's right. I was arrested that night, and I still have a lifetime ban from Stroud.”

  “From Stroud Festival,” Jack corrected her. “You can go to the town.”

  Paige shrugged. “Why would I want to?” Jack rolled his eyes. “So if you're a naturist why are you wearing those garments?” The girl spluttered. Her hands quivered. She was talking to her heroine.

  Her mouth arid and her mind fogged with panic. “I'm not sure it's allowed.”

  “Ah no,” Paige laughed. “But that's the best bit. About doing what you know to be right rather than what everyone expects. I never do what anyone expects, I never do what anyone wants.”

  “As her boyfriend, I can attest for the truth in what she's saying.”

  “Be free, little one,” Paige said as the band edged towards the Green Room. “What's your name?”

  “Pavlina!”

  “Be free Pavlina! Be free! Embrace the freedom.”

  Pavlina blushed. “Should I?”

  “Of course,” Paige giggled, and she wiggled her bare arse as she walked away to emphasise her nakedness.

  Chapter I

  Paige

  “The next round is This Is My. We bring a mystery guest who has a close connection to one of the panellists. This week it's David's team who claim they have a genuine connection to the guest. And it's up to the other team to spot who's telling the truth, and who isn't!”

  Paige shifted in her seat; the towel given to her was soft and luxurious. The game-show production company were happy to allow Paige to be naked on their show; it was broadcast post-watershed and Paige was famous for always being naked. The audience expected to see her without garments; Paige demanded to be free.

  The glare of the spotlights moved away from the popular singer, educated comedian and sports-star that made up David's team, and on to the front of the stage. A brunette model wearing seductive lingerie, strode confidently into the limelight to a mixture of applause and whooping from the crowd.

  “Wow!” The opposing team captain cried above the laughter.

  “This is Sammy. David, how do you know Sammy?”

  The middle-aged man smiled broadly at the big-breasted woman, pretending to cough as his cheesy grin engulfed his face. He ogled the half-naked woman in a way that nobody had done with the naked singer inches to his left.

  The translucent lingerie hid little, forming a whitish triangle over her mound and two small patches over her nipples, that contrasted with her bronzed body. Knee high boots added raunchy sauciness. Every inch of her was society's definition of perfection; no flaws, no spots or a smattering of flesh out of place. Just pure sexual allure.

  “This is Sammy,” he flustered. “She runs the local newsagents and sells me my papers. And has a modelling contract.”

  The eyes of the panellists turned to Paige, who looked at her school friend. Five years had passed since they had last really crossed paths.

  “This is Sammy. She was my friend at high school and she won the annual talent contest.”

  The ex-England international football star laughed. “This is Sammy, a friend of my wife. She came to a party at my house and fell in the pool when drunk.”

  The opposing team questioned the panel members on the truthfulness of their stories.

  “So Paige, tell us about this talent contest.” Paige laid back in her chair as she started her account.

  “I was fifteen and there were about twelve of us competing.”

  “And this was at school?” The opposing team captain interrupted.

  “Yes. In the school hall,” Paige replied. “And I was the last but one up on stage and I stood there and opened my mouth.”

  “Naked?”

  “No I wasn't naked.”

  “Why?”

  Paige shrugged. She'd rarely
recounted the story of her freezing on stage as the school community waited for her to sing. “I don't know,” she finally admitted. “Probably wasn't allowed to. It was the last time I tried to sing with clothes on.”

  “So what were you wearing?”

  “T-Shirt, shorts.” He waved for her to continue. “And then I froze and no words came out.”

  “Because you weren't naked?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you weren't allowed to sing naked?”

  “Correct.”

  “And then what happened?”

  “I froze, got some boos and then freaked and ran off stage. And then Sammy came on and did her dance.”

  “What sort of dance?”

  Paige looked at the barely naked model. “Exotic, I think they call it. Belly dancing maybe.”

  “So, you had to be fully dressed for your act and Sammy gets to be half-naked for hers. Is that your story?”

  “Yes,” Paige said, firmly. She stared at the team captain, and comedian sitting opposite and did her best to smile.

  “Because I've known Paige for awhile,” he continued. “We've done a couple of benefit gigs and I know, if there is any possibility of being naked or half-naked, she'd take it. Look at her? BBC game show and she's refusing to get dressed. No chance of her singing and she's treating it like she's on holiday in the Caribbean!”

  “Her story doesn't add up,” a member of his panel concluded.

  “Indeed.”

  Paige didn't reply. She zoned out of her surroundings and allowed her memory to bring that torturous evening in front of hundreds of expectant teenagers into focus. The recollection always made her shiver.

  She could still see the distraught face of her sister in the front row. The unbelieving expression from her music teacher and the unrelenting laughs of the school bullies.

  They had particular reason to revel in her failure. It was the individuals that had taunted her as she froze on stage, that been on the end of Paige's anger and violence when they had bullied her sister. One of them had the scars to remember his run in with Paige. A permanent memento of Paige's wrath.