Chapter 17

When she had finished with her phone, she went and got her laptop and clicked on the email program. There were less who had the address, but the inbox still had a lot of messages. She found the one from Peter, looked at the statement, then went into her father’s office and turned on the printer. She sent the statement to the printer, then sat and took it in.

The band had sold another forty-five thousand downloads, giving a total income of four hundred and fifty thousand pounds. The CD sales had made a hundred and eighty thousand pounds, and the DVD sales were split at twenty thousand downloads and fifteen thousand DVDs. That was another three hundred thousand, plus another three hundred and seventy-five thousand, giving a total of one point three zero five million. Pendants had brought in thirty thousand, and posters had added fifteen thousand.

That gave a total income from sales at one point three five million. Other income included twelve hundred from the Cathedral, and fifteen hundred from Malcolm. Costs were thirty-six thousand for the CDs, a hundred and eighty thousand for the DVDs. Posters were five thousand and the pendants were twelve thousand.

The admin expenses included eighty-four thousand in postage, and twelve thousand in office costs. Willow was aware that every CD and DVD needed to be packaged and addressed, even if they were using standard PO mailing boxes. The school had received twelve thousand.

That left over one point two million, now split seven ways, which gave Willow a total of just over a hundred and forty thousand. Over the page was just her income from the Hikers sales, which was another fourteen thousand less five percent. She had earned over a hundred and fifty thousand pounds in the month. There was an extra cost at the bottom; less two hundred and forty pounds for pendants, at cost.

She sat back, realising that every one of the seven had earned a hundred and forty thousand. She laughed.

“What’s that, darling?”

“The statement for the month, Mum. I should have asked for more in wages. Peter is now splitting the total income seven ways, taking care of all the band. He included the payments for the Cathedral into the total, in the sum of things, it’s a drop in the ocean.”

She showed the papers to Wendy, who had to sit down as she read it.

“So, you’ve asked him to pay a thousand a week into your Uni Fund account. That will be fifty-two thousand a year out and over a hundred and forty thousand going in, every month?’

“It will vary, Mum. When the sales drop off the expenses probably won’t. A lot of the expenses are manufacture of product, as well as packaging and postage. That stays as a fixed portion of the sales, so goes up and down with that.”

“I think that we need to get you to the accountant with this. It may change how he deals with your accounts. He may want you to draw down from what Peter is holding and invest it.”

“I also need to talk to the lawyer about getting my gender changed and having a new birth certificate issued in my current name. I hope the change can be done without shouting it to the hilltops.”

“I’ll talk to your father about this when he gets home. Hopefully, the doctor has enough of the paperwork completed to issue a certificate of sex change. Once we have that, we can start on the rest.”

“If I have my own bank account opened, we could transfer a smaller amount to that to tide me over for everyday expenses. Band related expenses can be covered with a transfer from the Uni Fund, unless it can be put on Peter to pay from our account.”

“Where did you get all this information at your age?”

“Maths questions and a course on ‘Everyday Living and Finances’ that we did in Clifton.”

She then looked at the other emails. There was one from Cassandra Leigh, which had three attachments. Willow went back to the printer and printed them off. She took them back to Wendy.

“OK, what else are you surprising me with?”

“One is an invitation to us all to the wedding of Cassie and Terry, two weeks from today, at our church. It’s taking place at four, on the Sunday, and it’s the day before the beginning of the next term. Gina will be in the Cathedral, so I’m good for the church.”

“That’s close, but we can do it. We can even afford a couple of very nice dresses. We will have to go shopping next weekend. You’ll be in the Cathedral, so that’s doable. What are the others?”

“One is the official request for my playing of the organ at the event. I’ll be here on that day, so it’s also good. She has given a list of the music and the hymns. I expect that the Reverend has a similar email.”

“The third one?”

“It’s a booking for the dance band to play at the reception, a copy of what has been sent to Peter, and there is a three-thousand-pound payment for our services. That’s twice what Malcolm pays us. Gina will be playing until five, so I expect that we’ll start the music a little after six when the speeches are over. We can do the bridal waltz without her. There is also another email from Peter advising us of the booking. The whole band will get that. There was another email, from Racheal and Rick, with an invitation to their wedding at the registry office, next Thursday. I thought she was a little flushed last night.”

“So, no church wedding, that’s sad. Did she mention a reception?”

“That’s when they push the boat out. It’s at the Britannia Hotel, that big white place next to the Cathedral. I expect that a place like that has several reception rooms, depending on the size of the guest list. The wedding is at two, with the reception starting at five. I suppose that means two dresses, Mum, with the events just a few days apart.”

Willow sat at her laptop and acknowledged the emails that needed it. Then they had a light tea, knowing that Ashley would have something in the club. They sat and watched TV until he came home. When he was told about the weddings, he agreed to go with them to Coventry the next Saturday to get a new suit. When he was shown the latest statement, he wrote notes for himself to ring the accountant and the doctor on Monday.

Monday morning, Willow had breakfast with her parents and waved them off as they took their separate ways to work. She locked up and went for a walk along the river, then back through the village. As she passed the church, she heard her name being called, turning to see Gina coming towards her.

“I was just coming to see you, friend. I looked at my emails and had the shock of my life when I saw how much we had earned in the last month!”

“It was rather a lot, wasn’t it? Have you any idea of what you’ll be doing with it? I emailed Peter to pay a thousand a week into my Uni Fund account, and Dad will be phoning the accountant today.”

“I really haven’t thought about it. I hate to think of Peter sitting on it and getting the interest.”

“What about buying a house? You could put a hundred thousand on it, in joint names with your mother, with your present home as collateral, I’m sure that there wouldn’t be a bank that would refuse to give you a mortgage, one you could pay off by summer. If you sell the present place, you may be able to pay it off sooner.”

“That would be good. Something with three bedrooms would give us both one and the third could be the work room. It would be nice to be out of that box room I’m in.”

They walked to Willow’s home, and she fired up the laptop. It didn’t take long to find a newish house on the Birmingham Road for just over four hundred thousand. They scrolled through the pictures and Gina got excited. She stood and they hugged.

“Thank you, friend. I’m going home to show this to Mum and see what she thinks. See you tomorrow.”

Willow watched her friend skip up the road to the junction. Then she went back on the laptop to look for somewhere in an industrial area for a recording studio, just for interest sake. It was Gina’s comment about Peter keeping the interest that was making her think of investing in property. She would be living here until she went to Cambridge, so didn’t need a house as much as Gina, and after that, who knows. She found one place that looked right but had a tenant. She realised that if the lease ran for five years, she would be nineteen when it ran out. She would still be at Cambridge, and another two years would allow her to spend the money to create a recording studio. All it needed was the band to keep selling albums.

Her phone rang and she saw that it was Jacob.

“Hello, you.”

“Hello yourself, sweetheart. I thought I’d call and talk about all this money I now have. Dad nearly fell out of his chair when I showed him the latest statement. Have you thought about what you’re doing with your money?”

“I was just looking at commercial property, wondering if I could buy a place now, and convert it to a recording studio later. That place where we made the album wasn’t much bigger than one of the school classrooms.”

“That sounds like a plan. Did you find somewhere?”

“There’s a unit on Hood Street, in the city. It looks good but has a tenant with a five-year lease. It’s just over four hundred and fifty but returns over thirty-one a year. We can’t open as a business at fourteen, so a few years won’t matter. Dad’s organising a visit to the accountant, so I’ll talk about it to him.”

“If you go with it, can I join you as co-owner?” I’ve spoken to my Dad, and he agrees that I’m not really farming stock. Racheal is studying agriculture, and Rick sounds like he’d be happy living on a farm, so they’ve been talking to my parents about taking over after they get married. You did get the invitation, I hope.”

“I did, and we’re going into the city to get some glad rags on Saturday. Did you get the notification of the big wedding in two weeks? We’re playing the reception.”

“I did. Peter forwarded the booking to me. We’re not playing at Racheal’s reception; the hotel organises a DJ. She’ll be with Rick tomorrow and could open up a bit more about their plans. Rick has made almost enough to buy the farmhouse outright, which would let my folks retire early. They’ve been looking at brochures, or else they may buy somewhere in Stoneleigh.”

“Ask Gina about that, tomorrow. We were looking at newer houses in the village and she seemed keen to drag her mother to look at one. If they buy, her home may be up for sale. It’s only a two-bed and a box room and is what they call ‘character’ but it’s been in her family for nearly a hundred years.”

“That might work. What time are you getting to the club?”

“Before ten. I want to be there to make sure the stage is ready to go before the others turn up. I really don’t know how it will work out. I’m hoping for a friendly swapping of information and advice.”

“We’ll just have to take it as it comes. See you in the morning. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

While she had been talking, her phone had pinged a few times, so she scrolled through the messages. There was one each from Herb, Victor, Brent and Roy, all saying much the same thing about their sudden wealth. There was one from Bruce Miller, asking if there was any news. She rang him back.

“Hello, Bruce, it’s Willow.”

“Willow, I texted to see what was happening.”

“A couple of things. One is that I had an operation a few weeks ago that aligns my body with my school birth certificate, so that story now has an ending.”

“Just a beginning, my girl. Now is the time you really get going. What else?”

“The second are two weddings. The first is at the registry office between Rick Saxon and Racheal Epstein. That’s Thursday week at two. The next one is the society affair between Cassandra Leigh and Terry. According to my invitation, he is Viscount Terrance Appleby. That’s at Stoneleigh church, the following Sunday afternoon, with the reception in the club, with Summer Rose playing.”

“They both sound like events that a social pages reporter should be covering. What else?”

“Tomorrow, there will be a gathering of a few local bands at the club. It’s going to be the debut of some new songs. Wednesday, we’ll be back again to play proper sets, with video and audio recordings made.”

“What are the bands?”

“G-Force, which are a group of fourth-year students; Rick and the Hikers, who you know, and a seven-piece version of Summer Rose. We plan to record two complete albums; one a cover, and the other is all new material.”

“Now, that I can’t miss. Can I bring a photographer?”

“I’ve told a teen magazine that it won’t be allowed, but I expect that they’ll use their phone with zoom. Tell him to keep it unobtrusive. I think that the TV reporter that did the interview on Saturday will be there, I told him the same.”

“Ah! That interview. I was wondering if there’s a chance to talk to your choir ladies for the paper.”

“If you’re there Wednesday, they will be coming along for a practise in the evening. Tom, the choir master from the Cathedral, has said that he’ll help turn them into a semi-professional group. I was doing the teaching but had reached the end of my choral knowledge.”

“Thanks for the information. I’ll be along on both days, as I need to get out of the office to show my boss that I’m on top of things. See you then.”

There was another text, this one from her father.

‘Picking up letter from doc today. Have the cash asked for. Appt. tonight with accountant.’

She texted her thanks back, then went to see what she could find for a late lunch. In the afternoon, she did something that she had left for too long. She went to her room and played violin for three hours until her left hand was aching. Then she went down to the kitchen to see about preparing their dinner, so that they could have it as soon as her parents got home.

When Ashley gave her the money, she put five hundred in each of three envelopes, writing the names on the front. The two who would be filming were Frank and Dave, with the audio expert called Xavier. She had found out that all three were in the same year as the Gees. She put the thousand into another envelope and gave it back to her father.

“Can you put that in the till, Dad, as payment for the two days. I’m hoping that it will return a lot more than that.”

They ate the dinner and Wendy told them that she would tidy up. Ashley drove Willow into the city to see the accountant. When they arrived, the girl in reception wanted her to sign her copy of the album, and then they were sitting in front of the accountant. He looked at the latest account, adding it to her file.

“What do you want to do, Miss Rose?”

“I want to set up a limited liability company, called WR Holdings. I want to open a bank account in that name with me and my parents as co-directors. I want to look at commercial properties in the area, with regard to converting one into a recording studio inside five years, or so.”

“That’s a pretty concise list. What brought you to those conclusions?”

“One is that I’m underage and can’t purchase real estate in my own name, and the other is that we recorded our CD in one of the best places in the city with a studio hardly big enough to swing a guitar. I’m looking at somewhere in excess of twenty-five hundred square feet. There’s one, at the moment, on Hood Street at four-fifty with a sitting tenant that returns over thirty-one a year for five years. If they move out, then good. If they don’t, I’ll have an income producing property that’s fully paid for, which should make getting something else much easier. I’m not counting on my income being as good as this last month, but we’ll be working hard to keep it going. I still have school and uni to get through.”

He laughed.

“Then why do you need me?”

“Because I’m not an accountant. If you don’t want to deal with my affairs, we can always go somewhere else.”

His face tightened.

“You, young lady, are the brightest teenager I’ve ever met. I’m happy to look after you to the best of my abilities, seeing that you’re totally serious about investing. I’ve had clients in your position who only wanted to buy big houses and flash cars, mostly ending up having to sell them a few years later. You have a good head for business on top of your other talents. I saw the interview on Saturday and was mightily impressed by you and your friends but wondered if you’d been coached by the reporter to lift his ratings.”

“The reporter turned up thinking that he’ll be interviewing a few giggly children. Boy! Did he get a surprise when he walked in on our choir practise.”

“What is your expectations for your career?”

“I have another two months of playing the organ in the Cathedral, alternating with Gina Summer. Then we have a big school concert there in May, which could lead to an invitation to fill one evening at the Proms. I think that we may be performing at a few dinner dances during the year, as the Blue Coat School Dance Band, splitting the payments between us and the school. Our manager is talking about us having gigs during the summer, but nothing has been finalised. There has been a suggestion that the orchestra will be playing the Messiah in the Cathedral before Christmas, but the school has to sign off on that one. We will be recording two complete albums to show our manager and may have to go into a studio to record them properly. So, my expectations are that my income will remain close to last month for a good six months, or more.”

“That comes to over a million.”

“I know that but remember that I’m only getting one seventh of the take.”

“You’re telling me that this statement is for just one seventh of the profit?”

“That’s right.”

“Look, I like your idea of commercial property. They’re nowhere near the trouble that owning houses to rent gives you. I will look seriously at what you want and get back to you. If I think I’ve found something, I’ll be in touch. Anything else?”

“I’ve spoken to Jacob Epstein, the lad in the interview, and he has told me that he wants to join me in getting the property.”

“I do the Epstein farm books. I had the idea that he could take over the farm.”

“Not happening. It’s possible that his sister and her husband will take it over. Her husband is Rick Saxon, from the band, Rick Sacks and the Hikers. He’s made a few hundred thousand from his viral video, so can fund any improvements that they want to make.”

“Thank you for that. I have an appointment with his parents at the end of the week. I wondered why they wanted to see me outside the usual tax period. I will set up the company and the bank account. You’ll need to go to the bank, together, to sign the papers. It’s going to be a pleasure dealing with someone as level-headed as yourself.”

They stood and Ashley shook hands with the accountant. On the way to the car, he laughed.

“That was interesting, my girl. He ran into that brick wall you can erect instantly. Gina has told me that they used to call you ‘Wonderful Willow’ at school. You just showed me one of your superpowers.”

“I may be small and a teenager, Dad, but I didn’t come down with the last shower. Years of being bullied gave me that power, but it came at a price. I refuse to roll over for any man who thinks that he knows it all. Talking about men who know it all, when are we seeing the lawyer?”

“Either end of the week or the beginning of next. I have all the paperwork to get your name change started. If we start the company, we’ll need him as well to guide us through the regulations.”

“Thanks Dad. If we have you and Mum as directors, then I can legally share profits with you. If we do set up a recording studio, we will do it as up to date as possible. I’ll talk to our tech guys tomorrow and find out what their future plans are. They’re cluey guys, and it will be interesting to see what they’ve come up with for the recording.”

They went home and Willow took herself off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

In the morning, Willow wore jeans and a sweater, with boots. Today was going to be for working and also networking. When she arrived at the club, there was a people mover outside. It had Frank, Dave and Xavier waiting for her. She was greeted by Xavier’s father.

“Hello. I’m pleased to meet you, Willow. Xavier has been telling me a lot about you and your band. I haven’t been able to be at any of your shows as I work nights. Once we unload, I’ll be off to get some sleep and Frank’s father will pick them up in the late afternoon.”

“We would have been on stage ourselves by then. We have the G-Force in the morning and Rick Sacks and the Hikers will be here as well, so it’s going to be an interesting day. These guys will set up and do their thing, but all we ask is for them to be ready to record sessions tomorrow.”

“I’m told that you’re paying them.”

“Yes, I offered them five hundred each for the two days’ work, plus the software for home if it’s needed. Did you get that, Xavier?”

“I did, Willow. It’s an updated suite from the one we use at the school. I got a package for you as well. Will you have time to see how it works today.”

“I’ll see what I can do as we get going. Jacob will need to learn it as well.”

His father coughed.

“Willow, I was asked by the other two fathers if I would make sure the boys are paid.”

“Certainly, sir, I have their envelopes here.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out the three envelopes and handed them to him.

“The guys will be fed while they’re here, on both days, so you don’t have to worry about that. If we unload, I’ll introduce you to Malcolm, who is the boss here, as well as the Village Manager.”

The guys opened up the back of the people mover and started hauling out rolls of cable and various boxes. Willow introduced Malcolm to Xavier’s father and then showed him the back room while the boys commandeered a table to put the recording unit on.

“Have you seen any of the shows that they’ve recorded?”

“I have, and I’ve been impressed, especially with that dinner dance that you played. Professional bands would line up to shake your hand.”

“It’s the last part of that that is on our website. We can’t give the boys any cut of those sales as it was a school production, but if any of what they record here goes onto the websites for distribution, I’ll organise a one-off payment as our technical team. It could help them to find jobs after they leave school.”

“That would be really good. None of them have any thoughts about doing anything but working in media.”

“The reporter from the local TV station will be here tomorrow, so they’ll have some experienced media people watching what they do. I don’t know who they’ll be bringing, but I expect there would be at least one professional cameraman.”

He smiled, shook her hand, and left to get some sleep. Willow started to help the boys set up, telling them which instrument used which amplifier. They loved the PA, as they could use the Wi-Fi facility to take a feed from it, as well as setting up individual microphones. The recording unit was plugged into a socket with an extension lead, and Xavier had his laptop plugged in as well. Willow took it all in, determined to be able to use the new software that was nestled in her bag.

Marianne Gregory © 2025