"Are you gunna have babies then?"
"Max! please, not now"
"fine..."
He couldn't understand, he thought to himself for a while. What’s wrong with her? It’s a simple question? People often thought Max had mental problems and he never had known why, judging by the look he was getting from the bridesmaids, he got a hint its because of stuff like that. He wanted to feel happy for his mum because he knew this would make her happy, not that she wasn't happy before, but just happier. He wanted to, but he couldn't. In his opinion, life was over for him. He had experienced what life was like with this new guy Andrew, just by him staying over on the weekends and holidays, max did not like it at all.

"How do you know my mum then?"
The party of wedding goers, including the bride and groom, had been split into different cars to take us to the church. Max found that stupid, given that the church was a two minute walk away. He had asked his mum about this and she had said the usual answer Max had been receiving for his questions over the past three weeks, "don't be silly max".
"We've worked together for the past 12 years sweetheart, I’m Gail, has she not mentioned me?"
"No actually, she hasn't"
Max despised this woman already. It was fair to say Max was protective over his mum, if anyone was rude or even the slightest offensive to her, Max would get furious, and they would know about it straight away. Once in Shepherds bush market, a stall seller shouted a bit too close to Max's mum. At first Max was calm and mature; just asking for a simple apology. When the man chuckled at Max's confidence for such a small kid, Max went berserk, kicking the man in the privates and screaming "It's not nice being hurt is it? Is it?". At that point, his mum quickly rushed him back to the car, where they fled from the scene. The woman sitting opposite Max continued;
"Think of it this way, I’ve probably spent more time with your mum than you have"
This triggered a short artificial laugh from the other passengers, all of whom Max was not familiar with. The woman noticed Max going red in the face with anger and told him to calm down and that it was a joke, but Max could tell she was scared of him now judging by a sweat droplet slowly falling down the side of her chubby face that matched her body. Either that or the smell of the old man sitting by the window had finally got to her. After that, Max was noticeably eyeing Gail from head to toe, and as the cars parked and stopped, Max asked a question which he knew he could escape in time from;
"So, when is it due?"

​

Will was not surprised to find that the vibes in the church he was getting were frustrating. Being at a place where everyone was celebrating about something you dreaded was tough. Max felt like he just wanted to run out the church and never stop running. Max had kept a close eye on Gail from the car, she had wandered in unaccompanied and headed straight for the drinks. After that she merged into a group of gossiping women, then a few seconds after she opened her mouth, there was horror in all the eyes of the women. They turned and started glaring angrily at Max, who was glaring angrily back at them and then down to his feet.
Then to break the tension, comes a familiar voice to Max,
"Wonder what they’re looking at?"
"Gramps! I forgot you were gunna be here!"
"Do you really think I'd miss my daughter’s wedding Max"
Gramps, A.K.A Michael Frey didn't really want to be there either. Andrew wasn't Michael's biggest fan for all the same reasons as Max; not funny enough, not tall enough, wore the wrong clothes etc, no one really like Andrew apart from Max's mum Tiff.
"That would make me a bad Father you see"
"I know Gramps, I know"
The look they gave each other then didn't need explaining, they both were thinking the same thing, but neither dared to say it.

Michael led Max to his seat near the front, he was put next to his Uncle, Aunt and there 3 kids; all teenagers.

Within in a flash Michael was gone and Max was left alone with his Uncle. Being in such a tight space, Max's Aunt who usually gave Max a demoralizing talk about how cute he looked and give him a big, sloppy kiss, deciding just to give him a pat on the knee by leaning across over Max's Uncle.
"You're really brave Max", it was the usual demoralizing tone which made Max feel like he was five.
"Why am I brave?"
"Well, you know. Going through a whole other marriage, it's hard"
"Thanks but I think I don't find it that hard"
Max's aunt and himself both knew that Max found this difficult, but Max just didn't want to admit it.

​

So there they were, standing together, looking deeply into each other’s eyes, saying their marriage wills.
"Crap, balls, bugger!". Max doesn't normally say those words out loud however when he does its either a mistake or that he is off his head with anger. This time, it was a mix of the two. Just as the ring was being slipped onto his mum's finger did the words slip out. Max had been saying them in his head for the whole ceremony and it was only then that they came out. His Aunt and Uncle sprang up in there seat like startled dear and Max quickly shrunk down in his seat to the size of a hedgehog so to be out of view from all the deathly stares. Hushes and gasps was all he could hear, filling his head with guilt, he didn't dare look at his mum and Andrew.

After the wedding, Max sat by himself playing on his GameCube at one of the tables. He was trying to forget about what happened by playing Pokemon for hours on end. His mum hadn't spoken to him yet, she was still getting through the mass crowd of family and friends.
 

Finally, Max's mum, now named Tiffany Stoden after the marriage, came out of the crowd huffing and puffing, holdings up her sparkling white wedding dress. And like nothing ever happens she whispers in Max's ear
"I'm shattered, let go get an ice cream"
Max couldn't resist one of his trademark laughs. Hand in hand, the too walked out of the building into the nearby park. It was quite a sight, a newly-wed in a long white dress and her son eating ice cream both playing on the swings. Max now had a warm buzz of happiness within; Tiff knew that he hadn't had a great day so this was a nicer ending. Max had a feeling that "it" was okay, "it" being the situation. This extraordinary situation.



















Analysis of Pastiche



As I have spoken about in my opinion piece, Hornby often incorporates a deeper meaning into a more humorous story. In this pastiche there is continuous humor and it has a happy ending however the deeper meaning is the common story of young kids dealing with marriages, divorces and new relationships. I showed my deeper meaning from the beginning by writing, "In his opinion, life was over for him. He had experienced what life was like with this new guy Andrew". By adding a deeper, hidden meaning to my pastiche it creates a more consequential story rather than a senseless story that will have much less of an impact on the readers life.



I have also added humor to my pastiche which replicates Hornby's style of writing. This humor is mostly sarcastic and witty, this creates more of a feel good book. A good example of this is when Max is angry with Gail and says "So, when is it due?". This humor makes the book a more enjoyable read which makes you want to read on. The humor also captures the personality of the character because often their sense of humor can depict the overall personality.



The ratio of speech to thoughts aloud writing makes a significant impact. By using the "thoughts aloud" method I can communicate with the reader on what that character is actually like instead of how he speaks and acts to other people. Although Max is quite upfront and rude to people naturally "So, when is it due?" however for most of his emotions, he wont say them out loud, therefore the "thoughts aloud" technique is very useful.



​