The gloom of the pool-room seemed to have deepened. Tierney was setting up the balls. A skinny, hippy type was chalking his cue.

“Hey, how did you do, Jammy?”

Tierney jerked his head up.

“What are you doing back here? I thought I told you to get lost, didn’t I?”

“I heard you, Jammy. Yeah, and I left. I seen the other fella go, so…”

Tierney took a step back and looked him up and down.

“Even in here I can see how wasted you are. The state of you. You’re sweating.”

“It’s a heat wave, man.”

“Oh yeah? Look in a mirror, Leonardo. You’re a mess.”

“Looks aren’t everything, Jammy, man. Come on, man. I just came by to talk to you for a minute.”

“ ‘Talk to you?’ Sure you’re not sussing out the place to see if you can do some dealing to the kids in here? Because if you are, I’ll burst you.”

“I just wanted to say hello. Is that such a big crime these days?”

“What are you into now, Leonardo? You graduated to the hard stuff?”

“No way!”

“Here, let me see your arms. Yeah, you’re wearing a jacket and it’s like the Sahara this last ten days here. C’mere!”

He pushed Tierney’s hand away.

“Don’t start with me, Jammy.”

Tierney laughed.

“Or what? What’ll you do, Leonardo? Faint on me?”

“All I wanted was to say hello and that.”

He looked back into Tierney’s face and took in his scorn. They were the same age. They had been friends since the first day they had started primary school together.

“Did you get a job?”

“I do a bit of this and that. They’re going to cut down me rock-and-roll. They found out I was living at home, you know?”