Slightly peered down the row at the other contestants. They all appeared to be between the ages of 16 and 21, and were in varying stages of attractiveness. Today was the start of the Mr. Capital contest. They were going to do the talent portion now, and the competition would continue the next day with the finalists.
Slightly felt a tad nervous as he surveyed the large theatre where the event was taking place. They were all seated in the front row, the judges were near the back, and the rest of the seats were filling up fast. He spied the Mayor greeting people as they came into the theatre.
The lights dimmed, and a woman named Rhonda Brown, who apparently was somewhat famous, came onto the stage.
"Welcome to the Mr. Capital contest! An event to showcase some of the most promising young men in London!"
The crowd cheered and after some introductions and explanations, the competition began. Slightly would be last to perform, which he supposed was a decent position to be in, except that he had to sit through all the other contestants. The first young man played a rather impressive piano solo. Another did magic tricks. One claimed that his talent was his face, and he stood there for three minutes making various expressions while music played. There were a couple who sang, one of them did more screaming than singing, thrashing his head around and looking as if he were going to eat the microphone. And one talked with a parrot on his shoulder and told dirty jokes. There were several more instruments played, including the guitar, the trumpet, and the bagpipe. The competitor immediately before him roused the audience with some flashy dance moves, making Slightly a bit nervous to follow.
His legs shook as he walked up to the stage. The lights were temporarily blinding, and in the second before the music started, a memory flashed across his vision. He saw a stunning landscape, with lush forests, beautiful waterfalls, and a sparkling body of water. The image faded as quickly as it had come, but it left Slightly momentarily bewildered. He stumbled through the first few words of "Try A Little Tenderness," but he willed his confusion away and soon began singing more comfortably. As the song picked up in tempo and intensity, Slightly let himself get carried away in the music, singing so passionately and completely that he almost didn't notice how much everyone was enjoying his performance. At the end of his song, the audience cheered and gave him a standing ovation.
Slightly was announced among the five finalists. They were given some additional information, and then everybody began to disperse. As Slightly was exiting the theatre, the Mayor stopped him.
"Your voice is inspiring!" The Mayor exclaimed, clapping his hand on Slightly's shoulder. "I'm having a small party in a couple weeks, I would love to have you sing there."
"I'd be honored," Slightly responded. The Mayor gave him his card and a few more words of praise and then Slightly headed outside. He thought he'd go back to the hostel and take a nap, but on his way there he heard some shouting from the other side of the street. He glanced over and was surprised and delighted to see Lily. He crossed the road and was about to call out to her, but stopped when he saw she was in the middle of a tense situation. A group of five young men stood in a semi-circle around her, and they seemed rather aggressive.
"Do you think you're better than us now, Tiger?" A stocky boy sneered. "Do you make more money cleaning toilets than you did running with us?"
"Or maybe she's doing it for the loot!" Another boy said, laughing. "It's easier to take valuables from someone who can't get out of their bed!"
"Leave me alone!" Lily yelled, trying to move past them, but the largest of the young men blocked her path, his eyes flashing with malice.
"The problem is, Tiger, you can't just leave the gang. There are consequences."
Lily tensed, then turned and ran down a nearby alleyway. The group of boys followed her, and Slightly was right behind them. His intention was to help Lily, but when he reached the entrance of the alley, he saw that she didn't need any help at all.
The passage was blocked off at the other end, so Lily had turned and confronted her attackers. She was running up walls, flipping, kicking, punching, and generally beating the senses out of the young men. Slightly was enthralled by how quick she was. Every time one of the boys would try to grab her or pin her against the wall, she would slip out of their grasp and usually incapacitate them with a well-placed kick. At one point, she jumped from wall to wall to get out of their reach, but one of the group grabbed her foot and pulled her down. She twisted out of his grasp and slammed his head against the wall.
Slightly's heart raced as he watched the fight progress. One of the young men was unconscious and another was lying on the ground, moaning and holding his leg. Lily was still trouncing the other three, but Slightly could see she was getting tired, and the boys were relentless. He considered going in to help her fight, but he was fairly certain he wasn't skilled in any kind of combat, and he didn't want to make things worse. He decided the best way to help Lily was to stick to his strengths.
Slightly took a few steps back, climbed up on a low wall, and began singing "Scarborough Fair" at the top of his lungs. After a few seconds he had attracted a crowd, including a couple police officers who had been across the street. Out of the corner of his eye, Slightly saw the group of boys disperse and scurry out of the alleyway, leaving the unconscious one on the ground. Lily caught her breath, gave Slightly a look of surprise, and then slipped into a nearby shop.
Slightly finished his song and a few bystanders gave him their spare change, which was a bit confusing to him, but he accepted it graciously. When the crowd had gone their way, Slightly went into the shop and found Lily near the back, pretending to look at some coats. When she saw him, her eyes widened.
"What were you doing out there?"
Slightly felt suddenly embarrassed. "It looked like you were in a bit of trouble, so I thought I'd try to help."
Lily bit her lip. "Oh. You saw that?"
"Yes, and you're incredible! I've never seen anyone move like that! You've got some amazing skills."
Lily looked down at her hands. "Yeah, skills for inflicting pain," she said sullenly. "A talent I wish I didn't have." She glanced back up at Slightly and a flicker of a smile crossed her lips. "Speaking of talents, your singing was beautiful."
Slightly blushed. "Thank you, but it's nothing compared to what you can do. My voice never saved anybody's life."
"It did today."
A moment passed and Slightly thought he detected a faint blush on her cheeks as well. Or it could have been from the exercise of taking on five attackers at once.
"So who were those guys anyway?"
Lily sighed and looked pained.
"Never mind," Slightly said quickly, "it's not my business."
"No, no it's alright," Lily replied. "It's just... can we go somewhere else?"
Slightly smiled, thrilled at the prospect of spending more time with Lily. "Of course. There's a cafe around the corner. I just made some money, so I'll buy us some lunch."
They walked the short distance to the cafe and sat down in a booth by the window. Before Slightly could even glance at the menu, Lily started talking, quickly and laboriously, as if she were confessing something. Slightly put down his menu and focused on her.
"Those boys are part of a group I used to belong to," she began, avoiding his eyes. "My older brother roped me in, and I got caught up in it for a while. We didn't do anything too serious, most of the time, just stealing cash and valuables. I usually didn't touch the goods, just kept an eye out for trouble and passed on rumors of promising targets."
"Then, about five months ago, I gave them some information to help them break into an old man's house over in Knightsbridge. They went in the middle of the night, but the old man woke up and threatened them with a gun. They fought back. They were just trying to disarm him, but they pushed the man up against a window that broke and he fell through to his death. I was watching from the street when it happened."
By this time, Lily was gripping the side of the table and shaking. Slightly reached over and took both of her hands in his, and she didn't pull them away.
"That's when you decided on a career change?" Slightly asked gently.
"Yes," Lily responded, swallowing hard. "At that moment I realized I wanted to give life, not take it away. Trying to become a doctor might not be the best way to rectify the situation, but I felt like I was responsible for his death."
"Lily," Slightly said, his eyes searching hers, "there were so many variables, so many choices that led up to that outcome. You cannot possibly shoulder all the blame."
Lily exhaled. "I suppose you're right," she whispered.
Slightly tried to steady his own breathing. She'd basically just told him she was a criminal, and yet, he'd never been so smitten. She was obviously trying to make restitution, and who was he to judge her? He might have done similar or worse things in the life he couldn't remember.
Lily slowly pulled her hands away from his and wiped away a few tears that had escaped her brown eyes. Then, surprisingly, she smiled. "I've never told that to anyone," she admitted, "and I think it helps to get it out. Something about the way you listen makes me want to tell you everything."
Slightly smiled weakly. He was on the verge of telling her everything. How he wanted to know every little thing about her, even if some of those things should be reported to the authorities. How he wanted to hold her close and feel her lips on his...
"So, why did you leave the hospital?" She asked.
It took a few moments for Slightly to turn off his thoughts. Lily looked composed and ready to change the subject, and he was still floundering in his fantasies. He straightened and cleared his throat. "I thought I'd have better luck recovering my memories if I wasn't stuck in a hospital."
Lily nodded. "How has that worked out?"
"I've remembered a few things." Slightly recounted all that had happened to him since he had left the hospital. Lily raised her eyebrows when he told her about the contest.
"They really do those sorts of things?" She asked, sounding amused. "Beauty pageants for men?"
"Apparently. The finals are tomorrow. You're welcome to come watch."
Lily winked at him and he nearly melted in his seat. "I'd love to."