Jimmy is standing nearby on the edge of the road, wriggling out of his soaked compression shirt like it’s a wetsuit. He finally manages to peel it off, leaving him half naked on Swanston Street. He wrings the shirt out and a stream of sweat gushes to the ground.

‘Bottle this shit, boys, you’ll be able to sell it for millions one day.’

‘There are no words.’ Naya shakes her head in her hands.

‘Damn, we gonna be crumbs come tomorrow, I tell you that. Those synthetics was strong, son.’

‘I’m tired, Jimmy,’ Naya says. ‘I’m going to head back to the hotel now.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Just let me dry off a little first.’ He slings his wet shirt over his shoulders and blows all the air out of his lungs. ‘Boys, for real though, how fucking dope was BMT?!’

‘I was tuning that chick really good,’ Tyson moans from the curb. ‘Why’d you have to pull me away?’

‘Wigga please.’ Jimmy clasps Tyse’s boulder shoulders with two hands. ‘I saved you from humiliation, she was playing you and—’

‘Whatever.’ Tyse sighs. Then he starts chewing loud like a camel, gnawing on his front teeth denture plate.

‘You right, cuz?’ Leon asks him.

‘Farrrr out! No, I’m not. I told youse ages ago I need food. And I feel weird. Really weird. That bloody rock candy is no good.’

‘Puhleez, bruh. You love it.’

Tyse has blobby sweat blotches all over his white tee and his deodorant has finally lost the tug of war with his body odour.

He starts scratching his stomach with both hands. ‘Yeah, it’s all right, I s’pose.’ Then he moves up and scratches his whole torso in a line from his hips to his puffy pecs. He zeroes in on his nipples and caresses them with his fingers. His eyes close and he breathes heavily.

‘Jesus, man,’ Jimmy screeches, ‘what the fuck are you doing?’

‘It feels good…so…good,’ Tyson murmurs. ‘I like… the way it feels.’

‘Oh fuck, this is gold,’ comes a voice. It’s Shitty. He’s standing on the road with Trav. They look more like brothers than Trav and me. They’re around the same height, a full middle finger taller than me, and have similar haircuts—rough and hanging over their ears like it’s been hacked at with a blunt knife. Shitty’s hair is darker, though, almost black.

Shitty gets his phone out and takes small steps forwards like he’s entering a gorilla enclosure. The white torch off his phone spotlights Tyson. ‘And now the elephant starts foreplaying himself,’ Shitty commentates over his recording. ‘Left with no one who wants to fuck him, he has no choice but to fuck himself.’

‘Stop rubbing your titties, Tyse!’ Jimmy shouts and slaps Tyson’s hands off his nipples. ‘That’s fucking weird, blud! Shitty, man, don’t record this, please.’

Leon leaps up and snatches the phone.

‘Oy!’ Shitty snaps. ‘Little abo faggot!’ He swipes at the phone but Leon turns his back to shield it.

‘Just deleting the video, wanker.’ Leon runs up the street.

Shitty goes after him but I take a step to block him.

‘Snitch?’ he says to me, surprised. His bloodshot eyes pop out and he sneers. ‘What are you gonna do, mate?’

I say nothing. I’m scared. I’m frozen.

‘That’s what I thought,’ Shitty says. Then in one move, he swipes the back of my leg with his foot and shoves me over onto the pavement with a stiff arm.

I squeeze my eyes shut and focus on the pain. My back feels soft and sore like a dropped apple.

I open my eyes and find a bitter purple sky framed by hazy street lights. There are no stars, no sparkling perforations anymore.

‘Hey, stop fighting!’ Naya calls. ‘You fucking children.’

It hits me that I’m splayed out on a road that thousands of people trample over every day. I feel the bacteria sinking into the cotton of my clothes. It’ll break through to my skin soon. Shit. I spring to my feet.

‘Pass me the phone, Leon,’ Naya says and he hands it over. ‘Have you deleted the video?’

‘Yep.’

‘Okay, good.’ She gives the phone to Shitty. ‘Here. Asshole.’

‘Uh, I guess you’re Naya, then,’ Shitty says, suddenly looking embarrassed in a way I’ve never seen him look before.

‘Correct.’

‘K, nice to meet you. I’m sorry you had to see that and not know who we are. I’m Chase. And this is Travis.’ Shitty points at me. ‘Trav is that boy’s brother. These blokes are our mates too. We’re just having a laugh.’

Leon scoffs. I would too if I wasn’t still winded. We are not mates—we are the furthest thing from mates.

But the bullshit works on Naya. She does that look that girls always give Shitty. All coy, basically blushing, feeling privileged to be getting the attention of a boring footballer.

‘Oh, so you’re from Banar-ang too?’ Naya says.

Banarang! It’s pronounced Banna-rang.

‘Yep. We are.’

‘That’s great. In that case, maybe we can work on the way you acted tonight.’

Shitty’s face crinkles up in confusion.

‘You’ve clearly got some personal issues you need to deal with.’

Ha! She is clever.

‘Like I said, they’re my mates, but okay, sure. Maybe you’re right. Maybe a little bit.’

‘Great. I’ll catch up with you in the future then. I’m going to crash now. Jimmy, I’ll see you back at the hotel.’

‘Just wait. Dad said I have to walk you.’

‘I can handle myself, thanks.’ She takes off up the street.

‘Bones,’ Jimmy whispers and signals for me to walk with him towards an alley.

‘I guess now we know why she’s single,’ he says when I catch up. ‘I know Shitty was being a dick, but she still sounds like a narc.’ He hands me the black Sofitel card. ‘Yo, take this. I don’t want y’all to miss out. I’ll be back later. Sophie’s been sending me pics all night, I think I’ma get back with her. Gonna call her now and see if she still talking dirty. Then I’ll hit the hotel and clean myself up before the parentals come. So, when Shitty and Trav fuck off back to the casino, take the boys to the room and download any movies you want. I’ll be there in like half an hour.’

‘Okay.’

‘Aight, peace.’

I walk back to tell Leon and Tyson but Shitty steps to me.

‘What’s that he gave ya, Snitchy?’

I usually struggle to string a sentence together around Shitty because I’m so nervous about how he might react. But tonight I hold the card up proudly. ‘Our hotel room key,’ I say. ‘On the third highest floor of the tallest building in Melbourne.’

I made that last bit up.

‘Bones,’ Travis says, ‘you’re coming back to Gran’s. All of you are.’

‘Yeah, ya hear that?’ Shitty cackles and snatches the card off me. ‘A hotel room with the fresh meat, eh? Sounds good to me.’

‘Fuck off, Shitty!’ Leon shouts and jumps at him. But Shitty shuffles to the side, so Leon tackles the air and lands hard on his knees. Shitty cackles more. ‘You guys are fuckin’ pingin’ out your heads,’ he says. He jogs after Naya.

‘No, you don’t,’ I mutter.

I don’t know why, but I follow him.

I take three steps.

Six steps.

Shitty turns around when he hears me. He stops and smirks.

‘Two times in one night, eh? What you gonna do, cunt?’

Nine steps.

‘Snitches get stitches,’ he shouts. ‘So come and get ’em.’

Twelve steps.

I stop dead. Frozen again. I try to take one more step forwards but I’m yanked back by a hand, like I’ve reached the end of my bungee cord.

‘Bones, don’t fucking move,’ Travis yells with a fistful of my shirt. ‘We’re going to Footscray. The Uber’s here. Get in!’

Shitty winks and struts away victoriously towards the Sofitel.

He wasn’t even a part of Jimmy’s game but it looks like he’s about to shoot the three-pointer.

I don’t know why I even thought about trying to stop him. Entertainment, I guess. Because I don’t care. I don’t care at all.

‘Bones! Get in the fucking car!’