The last class ends and we churn out, shouting, laughing, cursing. Normally I can't escape the building quick enough, but today I head deeper into it. There's a five-a-side soccer tournament in the gym. I'm not playing, and I'm not really bothered about watching, but it'll be more fun than hanging out on the streets.
Kray, Elephant, Trev, Linzer and I wind our way through the labyrinth of corridors. Our school's massive. It holds over a thousand students, and it used to be even bigger. It wasn't always the cesspit it is now. Once upon a time they sank money into this place, kept adding on new rooms. It's not very wide but it's deep. Takes several minutes, with all the twists and turns, to get from one end to the other.
No outdoor spaces apart from a few small courtyards. The gym's a huge room at the rear of the building, solid walls all around, a few narrow skylight windows high overhead, lots of artificial light. The phys-ed staff keep it in good shape. You can play soccer, basketball, hockey, badminton. They have foosball and pool tables stacked at the sides - they bring them out at lunch for those who are so easily amused.
We hit the gym and spread out. There's already a crowd and the first game has kicked off. The teams are from the year above ours, so we give them loads of abuse, trying to distract them. One player shoots us the finger and we cheer.
"Bloody idiots," I laugh. "Running round like maniacs."
"It's the beautiful game," Elephant argues. He loves soccer but hasn't played in ages, still recovering from breaking his foot a few months back.
"Beautiful waste of time," I tease him, but he's too engrossed in the game to pay me much attention.
I get bored quickly and look around for something else to do. There's a small group to our left, cheering on the players, a mix of kids from different years. I don't know most of them, but one catches my eye - Tyler Bayor.
My dad had a bust-up with Tyler's old man a while back. Tyler's dad had accused me of stealing from his son. It was true - I took money from him a few times, like I took the bar of chocolate from the girl today, because Tyler's soft and the cash was there for the taking - but I denied it until I was blue in the face.
My dad was furious that a black guy had dared point the finger at me. Marched round to their home, dragged Tyler's dad outside, fought with him in the street. Others separated them before it got nasty. We retreated with our heads held high, and Tyler's dad didn't push the charges any further.
I stopped stealing from Tyler, even though my dad told me he didn't care what I did to that walking fart of a kid. I didn't stop because I'd been challenged. I stopped because I knew my dad thought that I was targeting Tyler because of his race. I wasn't. I picked on Tyler because he was weak and I could get away with it. But I felt uneasy, seeing myself through my dad's eyes, like I was the same as him.
I never told any of the others about what happened, which is why Vinyl didn't realize it was personal when I was having a go at Tyler in the park. I'm not sure why I kept it secret. I guess I was ashamed, not of stealing, but of my dad turning it into a racial thing.
Even though I don't steal from Tyler anymore, I don't like him. The sight of him reminds me of that night, my dad squaring up to Tyler's old man, me feeling proud and mortified at the same time, all of it brought on by Tyler not keeping his mouth shut and putting up with the theft as any good victim should.
"Hey, Tyler," I shout. "Why didn't you come play with us the other night?"
Tyler looks at me and forces a laugh. Turns back to the game, hoping I'll let it drop. But I'm not in the dropping mood.
"Oi! Don't ignore me."
"I'm not ignoring you, B," he sighs.
"You bloody are."
The kids around him back away and focus on the game. None of them wants to get sucked into this.
Tyler gulps and faces me. "I was looking for a mate. He wasn't there. So I left."
"But you didn't even stop to say hello," I remind him.
"That was rude," Kray chuckles, giving me a dig in the ribs, egging me on.
"I know your kind aren't the most civilized in the world," I continue, taking a few steps towards the small, nervous kid, "but I thought you'd have the good manners to - "
"What do you mean, your kind?" someone snaps.
I halt and blink. A tall black girl has stepped forward. She's glaring at me. She's from the year above mine, Nancy something-or-other.
"You got a problem?" I snarl.
"Yeah," she says, stepping in front of Tyler, who can't believe his luck. "You just said that blacks are uncivilized."
"Not me," I grin.
"Yes you did," she huffs. "I heard what you said. Your kind."
"Maybe I was talking about his family," I chuckle. "Or the fans of the team he supports."