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The tall girl in the green dress had come to the conclusion of her argument with the man. He held up both his hands in surrender and then waved her away from him dismissively. She continued to shout after him as he retreated up the street, until he rounded a corner out of sight.
Decisions, decisions, thought Vincent. The evening would draw in soon and must finish his business and be away by morning, that was all the time the gold coin had bought him.
After considering the possible outcomes he decided on the girl on the floor. They were leaving and she got to her feet without grace. She followed her friend down the street and Vincent shadowed them carefully.
He was hoping the two girls would split and go their separate ways, leaving her alone for him. To his dismay they came to a three-storey town house and hurried up the short steps together. Converted to bedsits, probably, thought Vincent. Damn.
The light was failing fast and he had to decide whether to stick around to see if his chosen one reappeared or hurry quickly back into town and try to pick up another.
He decided to wait. There’d been something about the way the girl had brushed her hair back that made him think it was worth the risk.
A few hours later his patience was rewarded. She came out alone and made her way back towards the town. She had changed her clothes into something more suitable for dancing and she walked right past him without sparing him a second glance. He caught her scent as she passed.
*
The car park attendants boy had thought about the stranger and his battered camper van for the rest of the day, as he scuttled back and to across the gravel, collecting money from the arriving drivers.
Time and again his gaze was drawn back to the dilapidated vehicle that stood lonely and sentinel in the corner of the lot. No other drivers chose to leave their vehicles within proximity to the camper, so it remained solitary and outcast, almost as if it was shunned by it’s own kind.
One time the boy started as he caught a motion out of the corner of his eye. Did one of the net curtains twitch? Or did it rock slightly on its beaten suspension? As if the weight of some occupant had shifted inside.
A gust of wind pushed at the boy’s back and he dismissed the notion.
As early evening gave way to darkness and the sodium orange streetlamps flickered on in groups, the days customers collected their cars and left. The attendant gave the boy money for a fast-food dinner and got into his own car to make his way home.
“Don’t stay out too late.” He told the boy. “Your mother has fits.”
“I won’t.” He lied. “Some of the lads are coming up and we’re going to the arcade.”
The attendant nodded. “Alright. See you later.” He said and pulled away.
Two others joined the boy after a while and they about to make for the town centre when he held them up.
“I just want to go and have a look at that.” He said, pointing across the car park to the camper van. One of his companions sneered.
“What the fuck for?” He said. “Broke down piece of shit.”
“Some guy left it.” Said the boy. “Reckons he’s leaving it there all night.”