17 August 2023

Jinx is not happy

Jinx is sitting glumly on the seat under the bus shelter, looking at the letter 

He looks at his newly-acquired key

and the key to number 9.

Gwern is searching . . .

In the kitchen of number 7, Gwern searches in the cupboards 

. . . and finds a cigarette lighter

and he eventually discovers a cigarette lighter, which he hides when Dani comes downstairs.   

"We're going for a picnic"

She announces, “We’re going for a picnic this afternoon – do you want to come?”

"I'm not coming"

He declines the offer, but Dani maintains that a bit of fresh air will do him good,   

"If you want to talk, Gwern . . ."

“Gwern, if you want to talk, I’m here,” she adds, but he replies that he does not and goes upstairs, 

Mark comes in for a drink

just as Mark comes in through the front door.

Dani tells him they are going for a picnic and when he sees all the luggage he comments, “Are you spending Christmas there, too?”   He has not quite finished his shift, but wishes that he had, because he is shattered.   

"Sorry about Gabriel"

Dani apologises for Gabriel’s activities during the night which kept him awake.

Mark gets himself a drink and she informs him, “Gwern isn’t coming – 

"I'm worried about leaving him on his own"

“I don’t know what to do to help him – I’m worried about leaving him on his own.”   

"I'll keep an eye on him, Dani"

Mark has almost finished his shift and volunteers to keep an eye on him, after he has made his final delivery.   Dani hopes that he can persuade Gwern to eat something.

She is sure sure that there is something else that they need and Mark helpfully suggests, “The kitchen sink, perhaps?”

Jinx is still sitting there

Jinx is still looking doleful when Kelly comes across the road from Tomos ac Ellis;  

"Is there something wrong, by any chance?"

“OK – so this is just guess, right, but is there something wrong by any chance?” she asks.   

He displays the key

He shows her the key and she remarks, “Good news for you?”

He thinks otherwise;  “I feel sick – with all of this.”   

She sits beside him . . .

Kelly sits down beside him 

. . . the decides they are going to the Deri

and then instructs him that they are going to the Deri.

Arwen is out of bed

At Cysgod y Glyn, Ffion is packing snacks into a bag and expresses surprise when Arwen appears in the doorway;  

"We're going to London – today!"

“You’re up at last!   We’re going to London – today!”

When Arwen demands why they are doing that, 

"I got last-minute tickets"

her mother explains, “I heard this band were playing and I got last-minute tickets.   

"What are they called now?"

“What are they called now?   Er . . . The Weeknd?”   

"Really?"

Arwen is very excited about this and cannot believe it.   “Go and brush your teeth – we’ll leave soon, all right?”

“Are we going on the train?” demands Arwen, 

"There's a strike"

and is told that there is a strike, so Ffion is driving, 

"That's not the same as driving to London"

and she adds that she is fine, reminding her daughter that she drove to the Karting place with no problem.   “That’s not the same as driving to London,” Arwen protests.

"I feel as healthy as a horse"

Ffion declares, “I feel as healthy as a horse – honestly.   It’s so nice to have a break from school – that’s what it was – I was working too hard and not sleeping because I was stressed.   But now I feel great!   

"Just the two of us"

“A trip to the big city – just the two of us!”   

Arwen goes to get dressed

Arwen  hurries off to get dressed.

Kelly brings the drinks

Kelly brings over the drinks in the Deri;  

"That's brandy – you look a bit pale"

“That’s brandy,” she tells Jinx, but he says that he has not had a shock.   “You do look a bit pale, OK?” she goes on, “So tell me what the problem is with the house.”

"I just feel incredibly guilty"

“I just feel incredibly guilty about keeping it,” he answers;  she points out that it is his house.   

"More than one person thinks I should give it to Gwern"

“Yeah, but more than one person in the village thinks I should give the house to Gwern – Gwern himself, and Britt.”

"There isn't a person she hasn't given a mouthful"

“Well, there isn’t a person in the village Britt hasn’t given a mouthful – so suck it up, Jinx.   What does Dani think?”   

"Dani sort of understands"

He explains that she sort of understands his decision.

"Any normal person would do the same"

“Exactly – because any normal person would do what you’re doing,” Kelly insists, “Forget about it, Jinx, and please go for it!”   He warns that Britt has said that she is going to tell everyone what he has done, so Kelly advises him to let Britt do just that.

"If they don't understand – tough!"

“Because, you know what?   Everyone will understand – and if they don’t – tough!   It’s impossible to be perfect all the time – and do you know what?   It might be a good thing that you’re not, like, St Jinx any more – 

"You're just, well, ‘kind of normal' Jinx"

“that you’re just, well, ‘kind of normal’ Jinx.”

She wants to know what else is bothering him;  he answers, “Who lived there – 

"What if her ghost is there?"

“Gwyneth – what if her ghost is there?   Perhaps the place is haunted.”

Mark is eavesdropping

Mark is by the bar and listens 

"Perhaps the evil things have tarnished the place"

as Jinx continues, “She did some terrible things and perhaps that’s tarnished the place.”   

"There are no such things as ghosts!"

Kelly is laughing by now and tells him to come back from ‘la-la land’ for a second, emphasising that there are no such things as ghosts;  “When people die, they don’t haunt the places where they’ve lived – no chance!”

"Yes, they do exist"

Mark intervenes to insist that there are such things as ghosts, 

"This is s private conversation, Mark"

but Kelly points out that theirs is a private conversation.   

"I talked to a WW1 soldier once"

“I talked to one once – the soldier from the first world war – you could do an exorcism in the house.”

"Thanks for your input, Mark"

Kelly is becoming angry;  “OK, right – thanks for your help, Mark, for your input, but I’ll handle it from here – do you mind?”

"I believe him, you know"

When he has walked away, Jinx says that he believes Mark, 

"It doesn't mean the ghost is in the house"

so Kelly concedes, “Perhaps Mark is right – but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Gwyneth’s ghost, like, is in the house, does it?”   Jinx wonders where else she would be.   

"Where she had the accident, perhaps"

“I don’t know – where she had the accident, perhaps!”   

"I suppose that's possible"

Jinx considers that may be a possibility.

“Come on, now – we’re going over to the house now, so I can show you that this is seriously nonsense,” she urges, 

"I'm going to finish this brandy first"

but he wants to finish his brandy first.

Ffion is loading the car

Ffion is packing their luggage into the back of the car 

"I'm ready to go, Arwen"

and calls to Arwen that she is ready to leave.

Gwern finds a key

Meanwhile Gwern finds some keys then looks at his phone, 

He sends a reply to the message from Arwen . . .

where he finds the message from Arwen;  ‘We’re going to London to see The Weeknd!   See you tomorrow.’   

. . . maintaining that he is 'going to have fun'

He sends a reply, ‘I’m going to have fun here,’ 

"Shift over – at last"

and then Mark comes in, muttering that his shift is over at last.

“I told Dani I’d keep an eye on you,” he says, “You are all right, aren’t you?   

"If you want to talk about anything . . ."

“If you want to talk about the house or anything,” but Gwern declines the offer, 

"No, I just want to live here"

insisting that he just wants to live there.   Mark praises him for being sensible, 

"I'm going to make beans on toast"

and is about to make beans on toast.

"I'd prefer pizza"

“I’d prefer pizza – there are plenty in the shop,” Gwern says, 

"Go and get one, then"

and when Mark offers him some money to get one, as he is feeling tired, 

"It doesn't matter"

Gwern simply goes upstairs, grumbling that it does not matter.

"All right, I'll go and get the blinkin' pizza"

Mark shouts upstairs, “All right, I’ll go and get the blinkin’ pizza!”   However, as soon as he shuts the door behind him, 

Gwern picks up the rucksack . . .

Gwern comes back down, picks up his rucksack 

. . . and makes a swift exit

and quickly leaves by the back door.

They enter number 9

Kelly and Jinx enter number 9 

"It feels as if she's still here"

and he comments, “It just feels as if she’s still here – or that she’s going to walk in any minute.”

“Well, I can 100% guarantee you that’s not going to happen,” is Kelly’s response.   

"It's dark and cold"

Jinx wonders what it is going to do with the place, describing it as dark and cold.   Kelly opens the curtains and explains, “It’s cold because no-one’s been living here for a while – and do you know what?   

"This amazing thing called central heating"

“They’ve invented this amazing thing called central heating – have you heard of it?”

"You could sell it . . ."

Jinx decides that he does not think he can live there, but she emphasises that, although it is not big, it is comfortable – or he could sell it.   

". . . massive wad of cash!"

“Massive wad of cash – I could give you a valuation now if you want.”

He invites her to continue, so she adopts estate agent-speak;  

"We'll go out to the extensive garden first"

“We’ll go out to the extensive gardens first, then, shall we?”

Ffion and Arwen have begun their journey

Ffion’s car is travelling along a country road;  

"Have you told Gwern where you're going?"

she asks Arwen, “Have you told Gwern where we’re going.”   Her daughter does not answer, 

"Is he being nasty?"

so she wonders if he is being nasty or something.

"It's a weird message"

“He just says he’s going to have fun,” Arwen tells her, “It’s a weird message.”   Ffion imagines that he is probably jealous.

"I've got the pizzas!"

Mark is back with the pizzas and calls to Gwern, but of course there is no reply.

Now they are upstairs at number 9

Next door, at number 9, Kelly peers into a bedroom and informs Jinx, 

Jinx is apprehensive

who is still looking rather frightened, “This place has loads of potential – 

"Fitted wardrobes"

“you could have, like, fitted wardrobes either side of the bed, a shelf here, double fitted wardrobes over there, perhaps – and, I don’t know, a statement piece in the corner – your guitar.   

"Perhaps a statue of something"

“Or perhaps a statue of something.”

"Why would someone have a statue in their bedroom?"

Jinx cannot imagine why someone would put a statue in a bedroom;  

"That's what I would want to do"

“Not someone, Jinx – me!   That’s what I’d want to do if the house belonged to me.”

“A statue of who?” he demands, 

"A statue of me, perhaps"

and Kelly suggests one of herself.   

"If you were still my girlfriend . . ."

He adds, “If you were still my girlfriend, perhaps I would have a statue of you in my bedroom – 

". . . they place would belong to both of us"

“this place would belong to both of us then!”

Kelly gives him a reproving look

Kelly gives him a stern look and he realises that he should not have said that.

Mark's round has exhausted him

Mark is exhausted;  he is lying on the sofa when the timer sounds 

"The pizzas are ready, Gwern"

and he shouts to Gwern that the pizzas are ready.   

He goes up to investigate

Again receiving no reply, he goes to check on the boy, and at that moment Dani comes in through the front door.   She hears Mark shouting Gwern’s name.

"You were meant to be watching him, Mark"

“You were meant to be watching Gwern,” she reprimands Mark, 

"Probably gone to see a friend"

who says that he has probably just gone out to see a friend.   

"They want sleepovers tonight" (Notice the phone on the right)

“They want sleepovers tonight,” she says as she packs some more items and then leaves again.

"Come on, Gwern – answer your phone!"

Mark calls Gwern’s number, but he ignores it, 

Gwern is otherwise occupied

as he is in the back street, busily preparing what used to be known as a ‘Molotov Cocktail’.   

He takes a photo

He uses his phone to photograph his handiwork, then sends it to Arwen.

"Tell me about this band"

As they continue their journey, Ffion asks for more details about the band they are going to see;  

"It's one man who writes and performs his own songs"

“Well, it’s one man really, not a band, but he writes and performs his own songs,” Arwen explains, “He’s amazing.”

Gwern's message arrives

Then she receives the text message from Gwern 

"We have to go back to Cwmderi"

and exclaims, “We have to go back to Cwmderi – I’ve forgotten something.”   Ffion tells her not to be silly, as they are on their way.   “We haven’t reached the motorway yet,” says Arwen, “Please, Mam, this is really important!”

"You have to tell me why first"

“I’m not going all the way home unless you tell me why I have to,” Ffion insists, and Arwen points out that Gwern is angry about Jinx getting the house.

"I think he's going to set the house on fire!"

“I think he’s going to set the house on fire!” 

She shows Ffion the photo

and she shows her mother the photograph.   Ffion tells her to contact Dani, but Arwen is reluctant to get Gwern into trouble.

“My phone is there – phone Dani now, in case – do it, Arwen!” Ffion orders.   

Dani left her phone behind

Unfortunately, Dani has left her phone behind and it rings unnoticed.

"I don't know why I said that"

Upstairs in number 9, Jinx apologises for what he said and does not know why he said it.   “Jinx, you’re obviously feeling really weird at the moment – and that’s OK – 

"I love Jason"

“but I love Jason, and you’re starting something with Dani.”

Again he says he is sorry that it just came out;  

"There's nothing between me and Dani now"

“But, as it happens, there’s nothing going on between Dani and me now.   The business with the house is too much for her – she doesn’t want to turn her back on Gwern.”

"I know you'll find someone else"

Kelly is sorry to hear that and assures him that he will find someone, she is certain of that.

Gwern will not answer

Arwen urges her mother, “Can’t you go faster?   I’ve tried Gwern, but there’s no answer.”   

What is happening to Ffion?

The stress is obviously beginning to tell on Ffion.

Gwern is in the alley . . .

Gwern looks around into the alley to check that the coast is clear, 

. . . then crosses the street . . .

then carries his home-made bomb into the deserted High Street.   

. . . where there may be a potential witness

Someone, carrying an umbrella, comes round the corner 

Does he realise the enormity of what he is doing?

and Gwern appears to be having second thoughts.

The car is heading westwards again

As the car speeds back towards Cwmderi, 

"We'll have to phone the police"

Ffion concludes that they will have to phone the police, 

Ffion loses consciousness . . .

but suddenly Arwen realises that her mother has passed out again.   

 . . . whereupon Arwen skilfully steers the car . . .

With remarkably quick thinking, she grabs the steering wheel, 

. . . into a field

managing to divert the car through a gateway into a field, where it stops.

"Mam, wake up!"

Arwen attempts to revive her mother, 

"Which emergency service do you require?"

then very urgently calls 999.

"You and I would never have worked out"

Jinx predicts that Kelly and him would never have worked out;  “You’re a friend – a special one – so will you forgive me?”   

"There's nothing to forgive, Jinx"

She maintains that there is nothing to forgive and they will have a new start.

Why was there a key to number 9 at number 7?

Unknown to them, Gwern is unlocking the front door of the house.

"How do you always know what to say?"

“How do you always know what to say?” Jinx asks, 

They cwtch

and the pair of them hug.

Gwern 'lights the blue touch paper' . . .

Outside, with, unbelievably, no-one in sight to witness the scene, Gwern lights the paper in the top of the bottle 

. . . and hurls the projectile into the house

and flings it into the house.   

"What was that noise, Kelly?"

Upstairs, Kelly and Jinx hear a strange noise, 

Gwern looks at the resulting conflagration . . .

and Gwern, outside the door, watches as the contents of the house catch fire, 

. . . and makes himself scarce

then runs away.