‘Listen, Maiko,’ he said, ‘thanks for all you did for me—’
‘Oh shut up, Doyle,’ said Jez, throwing a five-thousand-yen note on to the table and pulling Alex towards the door.
‘Gomennasai,’ said Alex over his shoulder. ‘I really am.’
Outside in the corridor, Alex contemptuously shook Jez’s hand off. ‘You’ve just offended that girl,’ he said.
‘Oh boo-hoo,’ sneered Jez. ‘I bet she’s on the phone to the newspapers right now.’ He pointed at Alex again. ‘If this gets in the Japanese press I will personally kill you. You know the Nip market is important to us.’
‘Nip market?’ said Alex, incredulous at Jez’s racism.
‘Don’t pretend you care about your slanty-eyed friends,’ spat Jez. ‘You’re over here for the same thing as the rest of us – some quick bucks and a shitload of yellow pussy.’
Alex flung out his fist, catching Jez in the mouth, splitting his lip and knocking him on his backside.
‘You’re out of the band, Doyle!’ shrieked Jez, spitting blood on to the floor. ‘Out, do you hear me? I hope it was worth it, your little fucking Oriental bunk-up.’
‘I didn’t have sex with her,’ said Alex to himself as he walked away. ‘She’s my friend.’
Year Zero flew home from Tokyo that night. At check-in, Alex arranged to exchange his business-class seat for an economy one. The student who moved up front in his place was ecstatic. Alex knew the drinks trolley wouldn’t be quite so free-flowing back in cattle class, but it was worth it not to sit with the rest of the band.
He wasn’t sure if Jez was serious about kicking him out, but neither was he sure if he wanted to fight too hard to stay. If he left Year Zero, what the hell was he going to do? It was a little late to take up his place at the Royal Academy and he wasn’t really qualified for working in a bank. He resolved to spend the whole flight thrashing it out, drawing up ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ lists, but instead he drank three Bloody Marys and woke up as they were descending into Heathrow. Emma would know what to do, he thought as the taxi pulled up in front of their Notting Hill apartment. They had moved here six months ago and he was still excited to think that the proud white stucco townhouse was theirs. Home, sweet home, he thought with a smile. Although how he was going to pay the mortgage if he got booted out of the band was another thing.
Alex knew something was wrong the moment his key turned in the lock. His footsteps sounded hollow on the floor and there were boxes in the hall. Emma was sitting on the bedroom floor sorting through a pile of CDs, an overflowing ashtray in front of her. Two large suitcases were open on the bed and the wardrobe was empty on one side.
‘What are you doing?’ he said.
Emma continued to flip through the CDs without looking up. ‘What does it look like, Alex?’
‘You’re leaving? But why? I don’t get it.’
Finally she looked up, her face cold. ‘I know all about it, Alex,’ she said. ‘I know you went missing for three days high on who knows what. I know you were found in some Japanese model’s bed. I know everything.’
‘It was two days, and she wasn’t a model. A nice student took me to her flat because I collapsed in a nightclub.’
She snorted. ‘Do you think I was born yesterday?’
Alex’s confusion gave way to anger. ‘Who told you all this? Jez?’
‘Yes, if you must know. He was worried about you.’
‘Worried?’ Alex laughed. ‘That lying bastard never worried about anyone but himself. It’s lies, Emma! Bullshit!’
‘Well, the tabloids don’t seem to think so,’ said Emma, flinging a paper at him.
He picked it up: the headline read ‘Big Trouble In Little Tokyo’ and featured a shot of Alex dancing cheek to cheek with an ‘unidentified’ Japanese girl he immediately recognised as Maiko. According to the story, he had been ejected from the club after trying to snort cocaine from another girl’s breasts.
‘Oh shit,’ said Alex. ‘The PR guy said it wasn’t a big st
ory.’
‘Well your mother read it,’ said Emma. ‘I’ve had her on the phone in tears.’
‘I didn’t sleep with her, Em,’ he pleaded. ‘She looked after me.’
She gave a caustic laugh. ‘Is that what they call it now?’
He tried to touch her, but she lashed out at him. ‘Don’t come near me!’ she screamed, backing up against the bed. ‘I can’t do this any more, Alex,’ she said, and the misery in her voice made his heart crack.