The crowd has thinned and the music has got louder.

A few people are lying on the couch, too drunk and stoned to move.

Polly and Rick are sitting together on a chair, kissing.

You lean against the wall and survey the debris.

Kate comes over, 'We're going to a club, wanna come?'

A group of people are heading for the door, some of them you spoke to earlier.

'Where's Ned?' you ask.

She shrugs, 'Never reappeared after he slimed off with that girl. He won't have taken her back to our place though. Never does. They'll go to her place and as soon as they've done the nasty, he'll turn back into the evil creep he is and say he has to go home for some stupid reason and he'll leave and she'll hope she never sees him again except she will and she'll probably do it all over again.' She smiles, 'See?'

'Maybe you should tattoo him.'

'Graffiti in the girls' toilets works wonders,' she winks, 'So, now you have two choices, no, three actually. You can come with me, you can stay here with Polly and Rick who, I'm sure, won't even notice you're here, or you can go home and watch Ned slink in.'


© Philippa J Burne 1996

e-mail pburne@peg.apc.org