Ewan peered inside the fridge. It was so hot, he’d come home from school and got straight into the pool. Now he was thirsty. And hungry. He looked for anything in a packet, which ensured it would have plenty of additives for flavour. Dad did the Waitrose shop online and Mum disapproved of mostly everything and brought extra home every night. But Dad’s food was tastier, even though Mum said it was crap. He listened to TikTok via his AirPods and dripped water all over the kitchen floor.
Being plugged in, despite the house being empty anyway, made sure his world was quiet. It was only penetrated by the noise he allowed in. The expletives of gaming males were like silence compared to the racket of his family. He opened a can of Coke and found cold pizza, and he chomped it as he went back up to his room to play Xbox before meeting Noah.
Friday was the best night of the week. The weekend stretched before him, and Brandon Stand couldn’t get inside his house.
‘Lads thinking they’re having fun,’ was how the police put it when they called Mum back. Dad kicked off again, which made everything worse.
He was never riding another new bike again. He’d rather dump it in a bush and walk. There were six of them already in the garage, each discarded after a minor accident or vandalism by a bully.
He checked his watch as he went back upstairs with his Coke, having finished off what was left of the pizza. Satisfied, and a lot cooler, he went to his room and began gaming. He logged on and found a couple of mates to play with. Behind his headphones and mic, he was anonymous, brave and fearless. He zoned out of life and lost himself in a world of fake enemies, weapons and women. They were normally victims of crime or innocent bystanders. Occasionally, there’d be a kick-ass female who beat the others, and that was fun. He liked those types of girls. Like his mum. Like Natalie Morgan.
The text was from Noah.
The rec was a few old empty warehouses, surrounded by a couple of football pitches, where kids hung out. They played football, or skated, but mostly they experimented with drugs. Ewan hadn’t tried any yet. But he wanted to.
A notification on the Xbox informed him that he’d been killed inside the game he was playing, and because he told the host to fuck off, he was barred for three hours. He slammed down the controller and texted Noah back telling him he’d call for him first.
He dumped his towel on top of his PC, which sat on top of a bespoke gaming centre, boasting his Xbox, Mac and PlayStation. He listened to music through his headphones, and watched others being exterminated online, unfazed by the sensory overload. He got dressed quickly, spraying some aftershave, bought for him for Christmas by his mum. He took his phone and made sure his bankcard and house key were inside the case.
He never bothered turning anything off in his room.
The house was still quiet, though he noticed that his sister’s door was slightly ajar. He hadn’t heard her come in. He opened the door a little and stopped when he heard retching. For some reason, she was ill all the time. He knew about girls who threw up on purpose because they talked about it at school, but he had no idea why. Why would you? He liked food. The last thing on his mind was to throw up after eating it. What a waste of time, and food.
But that was girls.
He backed out and went downstairs. His family was weird. Except him and James. As if on cue, his older brother came in the back door, through the kitchen and into the hallway. He smiled broadly. His arms looked freshly tanned as if he’d been sitting by the river Cam all day long. That’s what Ewan wanted to do when he was James’s age. That, and smoke weed.
‘You all right, little bro?’
He always called him that. Ewan liked it. He smiled and nodded. ‘Going out,’ he said.
‘Meeting mates?’ James asked.
James was the coolest person Ewan knew. He worked out at the gym. His clothes hung off his chest and his arms underneath rippled with muscle. Ewan wanted to join a gym as soon as he was allowed. For now, his parents argued that he needed to concentrate on his studies, and golf. He fantasised about taking Brandon Stand out in one punch with a fist the size of James’s.
Ewan nodded.
‘You know what Dad thinks of Noah,’ James warned.
‘Who gives a fuck what Dad thinks,’ Ewan spat.
‘Woah, fella. What’s up?’ James asked.
Ewan walked down the stairs and James caught him in an embrace. They pretended to wrestle.
‘Are you taking your bike?’ James asked. Ewan shook his head.
‘Walking,’ he said.
‘Where you meeting?’
‘Noah’s.’
‘You going to the rec?’
Ewan said nothing.
‘You know if you want to try drugs, you can do it with me. It really isn’t all that big a deal. I’ll show you,’ James said. ‘I’d rather you did it with me than with strangers, you need to know what it’s all about, to stay safe, little bro.’
Ewan paused and almost took him up on it, but something inside of him wanted to meet Noah and get wasted without his family watching, not even James. He caught his brother’s eye and nodded.
‘What have you done?’ Ewan asked.
‘Which drugs?’ James asked.
Ewan nodded.
‘Pretty much everything. If you wanna try, just tell me, okay? Don’t take any pills from strangers,’ he added.
‘That’s like warning me of stranger danger, I’m not a kid,’ Ewan said.
‘I know,’ James replied.
‘I’m home!’ They both turned to where the holler had come from and smiled at their mum.