Zak: Yeah, I begged Mom not to change the plans. I can’t remember what I said, exactly, but it worked. The next day, I wrote Pea a letter to reassure her that it was all still on.
Pea,
It’s been a weird few days. I thought the whole thing was going to be called off. I mean, not the tour, but the visit to Wildworld. AJ didn’t care about the accident. Neither did I as soon as I’d heard you were okay. I mean, it’s not that I don’t care that someone was hurt, but it didn’t make me not want to come. You know what moms can be like, though. I ended up telling her about you, about us, and how much I wanted to spend that timewith you. She’s a good listener, when she wants to be. She didn’t say a single word. I kept looking over at her to check she hadn’t fallen asleep. We were lying side by side on her bed. Then when I finally stopped talking, she said she appreciated me telling her all that and she would keep thinking about it. Then this morning, she came in while me and AJ were eating breakfast and said she was happy to leave things as they were, since we were both so keen to go. AJ high-fived me and walked off with a piece of toast in his mouth. Mom yelled after him to use a plate, but he didn’t come back.
The US part of the tour is done now, and AJ’s in rehearsals for the Europe leg. He can’t just stand on the stage and sing, there have to be all these costume changes and special effects and dance routines. I go to watch him rehearse sometimes, although as soon as he notices me there he throws a towel or something at me and tells me to get out. They work him really hard. I suppose that’s fair enough, with how much money he makes.
School is weird, too. I’ve got exams coming up and everyone’s worried and serious. People are always asking what I’m going to do with my life, and whether I’m just going to follow my brother around like a puppy. It makes me want to hit something. That English teacher who said she thought I could be a journalist has been sort of coaching me, talking to me about colleges. I’m not going straight from high school to college, and I told her that. She said that was okay, but I might want to go in a year or two, or maybe in ten years.
It made me think about what things might be like in ten years. Will AJ still be famous? Will I be a journalist? Will I still be writing to you?
Love, Zak
Zak,
I was so relieved to get your letter and hear you’re still coming. Mum has been talking to Maggie but it’s felt like everything’s quite up in the air. Not long to go, now. I don’t know whether it’s okay to say this, but I forget, sometimes, what your voice sounds like or what precise colour your eyes are. I keep getting out the photos you sent. It doesn’t feel real that we only spent a couple of days together, and now all these months have passed. It’s going to be amazing to be together for six weeks.
Exams here too. Everyone keeps going on and on about how they’re the most important thing in the world, which doesn’t help. I’m okay at Science and Maths but English and History, or anything where I have to write essays, are my worst nightmare. I’ll never be a writer like you. I’ve been thinking, actually, about what I might do, when I’m finished with school. Mum wants me to go to university – no one in our family has ever gone. Is university in England the same as college in America? I’m not sure. Dad wants me to work at the park, but there’s no way I’m going to do that unless I can be in charge. It’s so sexist, the fact that Dad wants to give the park to his son and not his daughter.
Anyway, all of that is way in the future and I can’t think much further ahead than your visit. Will you go to all the concerts with AJ, or will you stay behind with me when he travels?
Love, Pea
Zak: Something about writing to Pea calmed me. It was to do with the actual physicality of it, I think. The scratching of pen on paper. Forming those letters and words, knowing that they would travel across the world and end up in her hands, and that she would pore over them the way I did with her letters, folding and refolding. I told her that I would probably go to some of the concerts but most of the time I would stay at the park with her. There’s only so many times you can watch your brother dancingaround a stage in front of thousands of screaming girls singing the same songs before you go insane.
Cathy: By the end of March, things were settled. The visit was going ahead. John was so relieved. I mean, we both were, but him especially. The year had started off strong but there’d been a definite tailing off following the accident.
John: I just wanted to get it started. The sooner it started, the sooner it would be over, and we’d have the cash we needed to smarten up the place and reinvest.
Cathy: At night, sometimes, I dreamed about the amount of money they’d agreed to give us. It was enough to start a new life, if we wanted to. We could leave the park behind.
Pea: I never thought about the money, no. Just about Zak.
Sebastian: I felt like if I never heard the name AJ Silver again, it would be too soon. I’d never wanted to take over Wildworld, but I wanted it even less by then. But it didn’t seem to matter what I said to Dad about it; it was like he couldn’t compute it. I couldn’t wait to get out of there, honestly.
Danny: So there you have it. The AJ Silver visit is back on, or still on. And next week we’re jumping right in with that visit, and showing you that even before AJ Silver’s death, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Don’t forget to tell us what you’re thinking on socials at @WhatHappenedThatSummer. And if you’re enjoying the podcast, leave us a review!
JanBee_6
I can’t believe there was no real investigation into that poor kid’s accident just because it didn’t involve someone famous! The 90s were a wild time! #WhatHappenedThatSummer
MikeyBoy
I can’t believe you can just buy a rollercoaster. Anyone else tempted to see whether they could fit one in the back garden? #WhatHappenedThatSummer
Alice_in_Wonderland
So, interesting that John, Pea, Alex and Sebastian all saw how the engineer fixed the loose connection. Do we think one of them could have sabotaged the ride when AJ died? I’m not sure why any of them would, though. What would the motive be? #WhatHappenedThatSummer
NotthatGina
I cannot wait for the next episode because I’m assuming that’s when AJ Silver appears on the scene! #WhatHappenedThatSummer
86Ella86
I’ve had AJ Silver playing on repeat since the podcast started. Kid had some good songs. I was a metalhead at the time so didn’t appreciate them. I think he would have gone on to do something great. Shame he didn’t get the chance. No one should die at 17. #WhatHappenedThatSummer
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