clumsily. Soon it had broken in half, become identifiable as two entities again. The man who had fallen
once was laid horizontal again, his arms and legs pointing in odd directions, unnatural directions, and his
face was disconcerting in its still calm. The victor spat onto his conquest and walked away slowly, one
hand embracing his ribs while the other steadied him, pressed against a wall.
We had been watching from behind a large industrial bin and we quickly moved in to strip the
unconscious man of his jewellery and plunder his wallet.
Each note entered Alan’s pocket individually so that he could tally up our bounty.
"We should have taken his tie as well," I said as I waited for Alan to tell me how much he had taken. He
Our posture and demeanour seemed out of place as we passed slouching, stumbling creatures that
vocalised their discontented lives or addressed imagined company. They were all, without exception,
terribly ugly with contorted faces, unfocused eyes, uninhibited habits; farting and spitting, some stopping
There was a van distributing hamburgers to the hungry for unreasonable prices that nobody seemed to
mind, or notice. In front of us as we queued were a comically mismatched couple. He couldn't reach her
broad shoulders so his arm rested on her thick hips. Her dress was tightly wrapped around her like
cellophane protecting cold meat. He was but a shade of her, his diminutive frame looked even smaller
next to such a colossus, almost as if they were an experiment in perspective.
Then suddenly a short man in a suit too big for him arrived with a guitar. He repeatedly marched the
length of the line, singing contemporary soft rock songs for a share of someone's burger money. A few
people handed him small denominations, not as reward but to alleviate him of incentive. When he
attached himself to the couple in front of us and began a slow ballad I felt his acute irony had earned him
"I think we should give him a tenner," I had converted my admiration into a currency he would appreciate.
"I might buy him a hamburger."
"Why not give him ten pounds, they're not even our pounds."
"They certainly are. A parasite's profit is as credible as any other." I had no time to argue as the man
