The Mocha Music TV Challenge

Jason was not at all sure about the room arrangements.

OK, so sharing with any of the Flotsam and Jetsam guys would have been fine. He knew those lads well and was comfortable with them.

Sharing with Kirk would have been OK, even if Kirk would have hogged the bathroom for hours on end. Though if they’d have had one of the rooms that wasn’t en-suite, that wouldn’t have been a problem.

Sharing with Lars would have been fine too, even if Lars would have talked Jasons’ ears off before going to sleep.

However, Jason was really not sure about sharing a room with James. James, with his wild behaviour that seemed to get worse if he even looked at a beer. James and his oxymoron fetish of wanting to insert sun-loving plants into areas where the sun definitely didn’t shine.

And other things too Jason thought, sipping at his beer in a melancholy fashion. Ah, why did the guys all decide to do this anyway? It’s not like we’re short of cash. Or publicity.

Jason glanced over at James, who was sitting at a table in a dark corner. A selection of beer bottles and glasses stood in front of him and he was drinking from new, full glass. He drained half the glass in one go and set it down on the table with a thud. Then he wiped his hand across his foamy mouth, sighed and flopped back against the worn seat cushions behind.

At least that’s one thing James and I do have in common Jason thought. Neither of us really want to be doing this weird challenge.

“Hey Jason?” Eric’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “What’re you looking at?”

“Um, just James” Jason replied.

“James? Is he here?” Eric peered into the dingy corner. “Oh yeah. Poor guy, sitting all on his own. Where’s his other band mates?”

“I dunno” said Jason, (Well Kirk and Lars were probably shagging but Jason didn’t want to reveal that fact to Eric).

“Go and see if he wants to come and sit with us” Ed Carlso suggested.

Jason looked alarmed. What, approached cacti obsessed, drunk James?

“But…“ he began.

“Go on, it’s OK, we’ll watch your beer”.

Still looking worried, Jason got up and went over to James. James raised his eyebrows.

“No, I haven’t had too much” he said, picking up his glass and draining it.

“Uh, the guys wanna know if…you wanna come and sit with us” Jason stammered.

“Nah, I’m alright, I’m hanging out with Cliff” said James.

“Huh?” said Jason, staring into the gloom. Sure enough, there was Cliff, sitting next to James and looking pretty stoned.

“Hey Jase” he said.

“Oh…hi. I didn’t see you there” Jason said. “I-I guess they oughta get decent lighting in this place”.

“See, they weren’t all my beers” James pointed out. “Some were for Cliff, ya know”.

“Uh…“ said Jason.

“Maybe they’re trying to preserve the spooky atmosphere and all” Cliff suggested with a grin.

“What? The beers?”

“No dumbass, he means the lights” James snorted. “Or lack of fucking lights”.

“Dude, don’t swear, there’s a lady present” said Cliff.

“Hahahahaha!” James laughed, staring at Jason with bleary eyes.

“Nah, I meant Mrs Terrys” said Cliff, pointing to the barmaid, who was fast approaching.

“I knew that” said James.

Mrs Terrys smiled at the guys. She was an agreeable woman, friendly like her husband and James seemed to like her because she had many different brands of beer on tap.

“Just came over to tell you lads that’s its closing time in ten minutes” she said. “So if you want anything else to drink, you best order it now”.

“I’ll have another bottle please” said James.

“Certainly Mr Hetfield? Which brand would you like?”

“Um, the one that’s the highest proof”.

Jason looked at James’ flushed cheeks and dozy expression and felt that it was a good thing that it was nearly closing time. Much more beer and they’d have to carry him up to bed.

“And you, young man?” Mrs Terrys spoke to Jason, startling him. “What would you like to drink?”

“Oh, I’m OK, thanks” Jason replied. “I’ve got mine over there”. He pointed to the table were the Flotsam and Jetsam guys were laughing and talking.

“Alright then dear”. Mrs Terrys set a tray down on the table and began loading empty bottles onto it. “Now, I didn’t notice that it was so dark in this corner. I’ll have to speak to my husband about getting the lights fixed. Only half of them seem to work only half of the time”.

Mrs Terrys stood up straight, the tray rattling as she lifted it.

“Is it just me or does it seem to be rather cold in here” she mused.

Jason hadn’t really noticed before but now that it had been mentioned, he realised that the bar was cold. Not icicles forming indoors cold but still, the air was definitely chilly and damp.

“Yeah, I’m pretty cold” Jason admitted.

James shrugged. “I don’t like places that are heated up like furnaces”.

“Well, as long as you’re comfortable, dear” said Mrs Terrys. She shivered. “I expect the boilers on the blink again. I shall speak to my husband about it but I’m afraid he won’t be able to fix it tonight. He’s already gone home”.

“Home?” said Jason, puzzled. “You don’t live here?”

“Oh no dear, we live in a little cottage about half a mile up the road” said Mrs Terrys. “Neither my husband or I would sleep here at night for all the tea in China”.

With that ominous statement, she bustled away, the tray clanking as she went.

Jason flopped down in the vacant seat, feeling nervous. He hadn’t realised that he and the other musicians would be spending the night at Walter Towers WITHOUT their hosts. That put a whole new spin on things. A new, scary spin.

He looked at James and Cliff, to see what their reaction to this new news was.

“Aw Jason, man up will ya” James grumbled. “You look like you’re gonna pee yourself with fear in a minute”.

“He’s OK, aren’t you dude” Cliff said, giving Jason the thumbs up. “We’ll look after him”.

“Hah, I call bullshit on this anyway” James scoffed, before Jason could reply. “I reckon Mr Terrys and his wife are just making all this up, trying to scare us to make us leave”.

“Uh, you really think so?” Jason asked.

“Sure” said James. “Seriously, if this place is haunted, may somebody…buy me a beer!”

“Dude, shouldn’t it be something ew and that you totally don’t like?” Cliff asked.

“No, course not” said James, shaking his head so his fluffy hair covered his face. “If I hope for beer, it’s a win-win all night for me”.