Reunion - Chapter One

Reunion

Chapter One

Invitation

Stephan Court placed his seat back in the upright position in anticipation of the instruction to do so from the cabin crew. He leaned slightly to his right so as to get a view of the stewardess standing in the aisle a few seats ahead of him and about to start the safety briefing.

Although he was a seasoned air traveller, or maybe because he was, he always paid due attention to the safety briefing even though he had heard it or something similar dozens of times.

“...the emergency exits are being pointed out to you now...” came the voice of the purser over the intercom. With a broad sweep of the arm the stewardess indicated the general direction of the exits over the wings and rear of the plane. The way it was done, Stephan thought, made it seem as though the whole side of the plane would fall away as an emergency exit. Which he supposed it might do depending on the severity of the emergency.

The stewardess was now showing how to put on the life jacket.
“...there is a light and a whistle for attracting attention.” This always struck Stephan as particularly pointless, surely the 30,000 litres of burning aviation fuel at the crash site would attract enough attention. As they were in Business Class would their whistles be slightly louder than those given out to people flying economy to ensure they got prompt service from the rescuers?

Something small and hard whizzed past Stephan's left ear and pinged off the seat back in front of him. Before he had chance to work out what it was he felt a sharp stinging pain on the ear lobe and a roasted peanut dropped down in his lap which was met with loud smaning from behind. He turned round to see the innocently posed features of Ian Prince smiling back at him whilst at his side Gareth Laney, like Prince, another keen member of the school Rugby team, trying hard not to burst into a fit of the giggles.

“Will you two pack it in?” hissed Stephen only to be met with a chorus from high pitched woos and mimes of handbags being drawn up to the chest by all the former members of Broadway Grammar School for Boys First XV on the flight.

*

Stephan thought back to when the invitation had arrived. It has seemed like a such a good idea at the time. “You are cordially invited to join me for a 22 year reunion of form 6Sc1 to celebrate our fortieth years” it had said on the crisp, white, gold embossed card. The card was just the first item in a small package of information providing all the details of the proposed reunion. It had been sent out by Stephan's former class mate Anthony Korda, now a well known but rarely seen billionaire who had initially made his money in , of all things, stationery.

In fact Stephan hadn't seem him since he left BGSB that summer of 1987 but since Anthony was now something of a recluse it made the invite all the more, well inviting. That and the fact it was an all expenses paid trip to Bangkok and the Philippines.

If he chose to accept the invitation he would be collected by car and taken to Heathrow where, after a brief stop over and change of flights (business class of course ) in Qatar, he’d have an overnight stay in Bangkok before being transferred in Anthony Korda's private jet to, where else but Manila. Stephan smiled as he read that part of the itinerary. Back at school Anthony had been an inveterate punster and clearly that had not left him.

It would be a great trip and chance to meet up with some other members of 6Sc1 whom he hadn't seen for several years. That said, chances are he would also meet up with some people who he had been only too glad to see the back of since he finished his A Levels and went of to university.

“How many would turn up?” he wondered. Well it was an all expenses paid trip, the information pack just mentioned bringing a little “walking around” money but that would be all that would be required. What, he wondered, classed as walking around money to a multi-billionaire like Anthony Korda. Stephan's software company was doing quite well but nothing like the in the league of Korda International or even one of its smallest subsidiaries. Still he was proud of the achievements of System Sync Software and its 12 employees and he felt nothing to be ashamed of. He would hold his head up high when he met up with the other former old boys.

So he had decided to RSVP the invite and booked a week off work for the following month.

*

Thus it was he entered BA executive suite seven at Heathrow a few weeks later and was pointed to a small private room at the back of the main lounge by the receptionist in her crisply starched blouse and neck scarf.
“Mr Korda's party is convening in the Copton Room, Mr Court. If you'd like to go through. There are already a few of you there.”

Stephan took back the folded itinerary and with a deep breath, walked up the steps and through to the private room . There was a small group standing a little awkwardly in twos and threes round a table laid out with coffee and Danish pastries. He easily recognised Subbu Esacam and Nalesh Mougal from his advanced maths group. They had hardly changed at all, a few grey hairs at sides of Subbu's temples perhaps but aside from that it could have been the summer of 1987 again. He had kept in touch with Subbu and Nalesh for a couple of years after leaving Broadway as they went their separate ways to university. Subbu and Nalesh both to Oxford, he to Cambridge and then again for a couple of years after that before dropping out of touch.

“Esacam, Mougal!” Stephan beamed, his hand presented forward to shake those proffered to him. Though he knew both their first names it felt perfectly natural to Stephan to call them by their surnames. That was how things were done at school. There were in fact boys in his class whose first names he had never known and then several that he had forgotten.

“Court” said Esacam and Mougal almost in unison and then fell to laughing.
“Great to see you man, how's the software business?” asked Mougal.
“Yeah pretty good thanks. How's the world of making pretend money?”

Both Esacam and Mougal had been maths geniuses and subsequently ended up working as “quants” for different investment banks. Employed to use their mathematical powers to find ways to create unique money making financial instruments. Stephan suddenly realised with the current financial crises he could well have put his foot right in it. There was an awkward second’s pause before the broad smiles returned to Esacam’s and Mougal’s faces.

“Oh if you know what you are doing there is no such thing as a bad market” said Esacam and Stephan breathed a sigh of relief and looked round the room.

He recognised a couple more of his former class mates but one guy he didn't recognise at all. This striking individual was standing talking to Ian Prince captain of the Rugby First XV who had himself put on a few pounds round the middle, but then who hadn't. His interlocutor was like someone off the front cover of Men's Health. He was tall, bronzed and the black polo neck he was wearing clung to his svelte physique emphasising the obvious musculature underneath. His thick blonde hair fell in gentle waves just to shoulder length and a perfect set of white teeth flashed in his smile now and then.

“You've seen Wiltshire then?” said Esacam seeing the furrow in Stephan's brow as he tried to work out who the adonis was.
“What? Well no I'm living back in Birmingham now. The apple didn't fall from the tree”
“No I meant, Leonard Wiltshire over there talking to Prince”

Stephen couldn't believe it was the same person. Leonard Wiltshire, another geek from school, well actually the ueber-geek to whom other geeks demurred had been a lanky, skinny , awkward lad with a tangle of dirty blonde hair and a set of crooked, discoloured teeth you could have made a set of snooker balls from, well all except for the white.

“That's Leonard Wiltshire? Wilts in the sunshine?” Stephan referred to a name coined by a particularly sadistic gym teacher. (Was there any other sort ).
“Yes, “ confirmed Mougal, “bit of a difference eh? Made his money in security protocols and had a bit of work done.” It was a true transformation from ugly duckling to swan.

For the next thirty minutes or so people continued to arrive in ones and twos and make cautious re-introductions to each other. Some had kept in touch more than others and were soon engaged in the close cloistered chats of school boy exploits and former glories. There was also a certain amount one-upmanship in comparison of how things were going now. In fact it in some areas it turned into a total pissing contest. This seemed to be particularly prevalent amongst the former members of the Rugby First XV, most of whom now worked in sales or marketing and, it appeared to Stephan, only a matter of time before they actually got their knobs out to compare size, at the moment it was down to the next best thing, cars.

Each member of the rugby team that arrived was welcomed to the group with the same salutation “Bob!” short for Broadway Old Boys the name of the team they had played in after leaving school and returning from University. Each time it was met with a hearty laugh all round. Of all the various groupings from the old class, the Rugger Buggers were clearly the most cohesive and it wasn't long before they had separated themselves off slightly from the rest of the group.

When they were called through to their flight they were 12 in number. Not as many as Stephan was expecting from a class of just over 30 but 22 years was a long time and family commitments can even outweigh the prospect of an all expenses paid to trip to Bangkok and Manila. Not that he would know, he'd had a string of failed relationships up to his early thirties and since then decided the bachelor life was what suited him. Some days he even believed it. He wasn't alone in his situation and as far as he could tell though a couple of the group had long term girlfriends or wives none had any kids.

They were on a scheduled flight to Bankgok with a two hour lay over to change planes in Qatar and as the party had relaxed more and more into the situation and their own company, some of the old cliques and scores to settle had re-established themselves, eased no doubt by the copious amounts of free and good quality alcohol available to them in the business class compartment. Hence the projectile peanuts as they waited to take off from Qatar for the next leg of the journey, Bangkok.

*

They were met as they got off the plane in Bangkok by an immaculately dressed Thai woman in a shimmering green, throat high tunic and black silk trousers. She introduce herself as Lili , Mr Korda's personal representative. Rather than taking the group out to immigration and customs Lili led them through the transfer lounge to a small private room overlooking part of the airside tarmac.

Perhaps they were going to get VIP treatment through immigration as well thought Stephan. Once the group had assembled she addressed them in perfect but slightly clipped English.

“Gentlemen.....” The Rugby players were at the back of the group paying no attention, more intent on noisily comparing previous exploits in various flesh pots of the world.

“Gentlemen..” Lili tried again. Still no attention. Lili put her thumb and finger in her mouth and emitted a shrill whistle that almost made the glass windows of their room vibrate. She followed this by an equally loud “Oi!”.
She suddenly had everyone's rapt attention. Lili straightened the bottom of her tunic, regained her composure and smiled.

“Gentlemen. As you know the itinerary was for you to have an overnight stay in our beautiful city of Bangkok and then to travel onwards in Mr Korda's private jet to Manila. Unfortunately the jet has been called away on other urgent business and I am tasked with chartering you an alternative flight to the Philippines. Regretfully because of this busy holiday season this will mean that you must begin your onward journey to Manila today”. This was met with howls of derision and “ah what?” , “no way”, “what a gip” and other stronger terms from the more well lubricated members of the party.

“Well if you don't like it you can always ask for your money back, “ quipped Leonard Wiltshire in an assured baritone. He had a point and the grumbling subsided. Lili inclined her head in thanks to Leonard and continued.

“To make up for this unfortunate circumstance Mr Korda has asked me to assure you that you will all be able to have two night's stay here in Bangkok on the return leg of your journey.” This was met with a small cheer.

“Now if you will please give me a few moments I will go and see how the preparations are going for your flight. Please help yourself to the refreshments available.” Another cheer, larger this time.