“He’s my boss so I humour him”, Maurizio explains.
“Is his dad rich?” asks the girl with brown hair.
“No, no. His dad owns (=possiede) a shop in Italy,” Maurizio is truly (=veramente) inspired now. “A spice (= spezie) shop. That’s why he named the group he created after spices.”
“Your boss discovered The Spice Girls?” asks Suzie. Her eyes are wide with excitement
“Oh, no! Oh, I wish I hadn’t told you. Don’t tell anybody. I beg you (=ti prego) . Please. He hates people to know that he is a talent scout, and right now he is meditating so please be quiet.”
The girls are hushed (=zitte) and expectant.
“Can I meet him?” asks the blonde girl.
Fabio, who can hear the conversation, nods his head enthusiastically.
Maurizio looks sorrowful (=dispiaciuto) , “Fabio can’t meet any girls this week.”
“Why not?”
“Because he is selecting members for his new group, and he doesn’t want to meet any girls unless they are interested in a career in pop music.”
The three girls want to meet Fabio, and Maurizio leads them over to his friend.
Suddenly, the skies open and pour rain down on their heads. The fields of Glastonbury are full of mud (=fango) but Fabio thinks he is in paradise. He spends all afternoon talking to the three girls. Of course, the girls soon realise that Fabio is not a successful record producer. Fabio never really remembers what they did that afternoon only that he laughed a lot. He remembers looking at Suzie. She is a very pretty girl, but Fabio thinks Suzie is not as good looking as Ingrid. After that, all through the wet funny afternoon he thinks about Ingrid in Dublin. He hopes Ingrid is thinking about him.
They all go to the beer tent. The girls are still friendly, but they depart (=se ne vanno) .
Gon appears. He is with a small serious man and carrying a bag. He passes the bag to the boys.
“Listen, little brothers I have got some business with my man here. Take this out to the van and keep it hidden. I’ll see you in an hour.”
The boys take the bag and step out into the rain. Their legs are covered in mud, but they are laughing about the girls. Gon’s van is parked with several thousand other caravans and campers. The boys search under the wet sky and finally find the van.
Chapter 15 – You’re Nicked (=beccati)
The boys are entering Gon’s van when a man stops them.
“Is this your van, lads?”
“No,” says Fabio.
The man leans over (= si piega9 and holds his arms. Three other men creep round the van. Maurizio and Fabio are both held tight. They can’t move. They are terrified.
“We haven’t got any money,” screams Maurizio. ”You can’t rob us.”
“We’re police officers,” explains one of men.
“Let me go immediately,” says Maurizio. ”My uncle is a lawyer in Rome and my father is part of the Italian government.”
One of the policemen has opened Gon’s bag.
“There’s half a kilo of marijuana here,” he says.
One of the policemen turns to the boys and says, “I am arresting you on suspicion of drug trafficking. You are not obliged to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.”
The policeman smiles “You’re nicked.”
The policemen take the boys to a large car and drive them to the police station. They pass through a back entrance and into a long, sad and depressing corridor. It is painted in yellow paint and lit with a yellow light. It smells clean. The door is covered with iron bars. A policeman open the cage. The boys are ordered to empty their pockets and take off their shoes. They are locked in separate cells. The police leave them alone for five hours.
Maurizio screams at the door. He again tells the police that his father is an important lawyer. He says he wants to speak to the Italian ambassador.
“I don’t even smoke cigarettes,” he screams. “I DON’T TAKE DRUGS.”
Fabio, alone in his cell, can hear Maurizio shouting. Fabio says nothing, he is afraid. The cell is small and no one comes. Nobody knows the boys are imprisoned. Fabio thinks no one can help them. After four hours he thinks the police will leave him there forever and that he will never be free. Eventually, the door opens and Fabio is taken to a room. A policeman is sitting at a table.
“Sit down, Fabio,” he smiles. “Tell me about the marijuana”
Fabio explains the whole (=intera) story.
“So, you’re saying that this man, Gon, owns the drugs?” says the policeman.
Fabio agrees.
“We traced Gon through his van and he is helping us with our enquiries in Harlow. He should arrive soon.”
The police leave the boys in the same cell to wait for Gon. An officer brings them food served on a metal plate; the boys are provided with a plastic knife and fork to eat the food: But they can’t eat it. They are too depressed and frightened. At about half past ten that night they hear someone shouting, but most of the time there is a profound and frightening silence in the cells.
Eventually, at about midnight, the door is unlocked and they are taken to the Interview Room to meet Gon. The boys find it difficult to recognise Gon. He is standing with the two policemen who drove him from Harlow. He has cut his hair and shaved his beard. He is wearing a suit.
“Do you know these boys?” asks a policeman.
“I certainly do,” says Gon. “They are two Italian boys whom I helped. They had no money so I gave them some money and I let them sleep in my camper.” Gon waits a moment, “I am 53 years old, officer, I don’t smoke cannabis.”
“Gon,” says Maurizio, ”You gave me that bag. They’ll put us in prison if you don’t confess.”
Gon looks at the policeman. Gon, in his suit, is a picture of middle-class respectability.
“I helped these boys because they haven’t got much money, and now I am under arrest,”
The policeman looks puzzled