Friday night in South London. The sky is the colour of grape juice. The full Moon and the Sirius star can be seen.
Four boys in their mid-teens are in a park.
Jake, Russell, and Luke are sitting on a bench. Thomas is facing them, standing up. Luke's left foot is resting on a football.
Thomas's phone screen illuminates his face as he unlocks it to read a text message.
'Fuck, Jennifer is saying it's off.' Thomas locks his phone, bringing his face back into darkness.
'She's chatting shit.' Replies Jake.
'Trust man, funny how she says that when she hears Luke is coming.' Adds Russell.
'Bro, we are going to her house, call Lauren and see if she is still going.' Says Jake.
Thomas unlocks his phone and once again his face is lit up. Luke stands up and rolls the football in front of him, flicks it up and begins to juggle it with his feet. Russell stands up and the two begin taking turns juggling the ball in the air. Russell loses control of it and the ball bounces on the floor.
'You're shit man, this is why Palace released you.' Says Luke.
'I can barely see the ball.' Replies Russell.
Thomas holds the phone to his ear as it begins ringing.
'Aye, put it on speaker.' Says Luke.
Thomas holds the phone out in front of him and it looks like some bioluminescent creature suspended in the air. The call is answered and a faint 'hello' can be heard.
'Lauren are you still going to Jennifer's thing tonight?' Thomas asks.
A muffled voice replies that she is there now and Thomas hangs up the phone and locks it, once again leaving the boys in darkness.
'What did I tell you, come let's go.' Says Russell as he flicks the football with his feet into his hands.
Jake gets up from the bench and all the boys begin walking together out of the park. Russell drops the ball back to his feet and the boys begin passing it between them. As the ball is passed back to Russell, he trips over it and stumbles on to his hands before returning to his feet. Thomas, Jake, and Luke start laughing.
'I told you this guy is dead, I don't know why people think he can kick ball.' Says Luke, still chuckling.
'Bro, it's pitch black.' Says Russell, wiping his hands on his trousers.
'You ain't been eating your carrots.' Says Jake.
'Fam, have you seen what I'm wearing? This is not football attire.' Replies Russell.
The boys continue walking together. Jake picks up the ball and the boys arrange themselves in single file as they leave the park. The cold metal hinges of the park gate squeaks as it opens and as it closes there is a clang. The boys are now on pavement under streetlights. Thomas leads the group and is wearing a black hoodie and his brother's jeans which are slightly too big for him so he has to keep pulling them up, they fall in stacks on his trainers. Russell and Luke are behind Thomas. Russell has a beige trench coat on and smart black trousers which rest on his shoes. Luke has a grey hoodie on with the hood up and the strings tightly fastened so the cotton borders his face on all sides, he has on jeans with rips in them and white trainers. Jake is at the back of the group and holds the ball firmly in his hands. Every now and then he throws it into the air, bounces it off his head and catches it back in his hands. He is wearing a black tracksuit, a black pouch hangs across his body and he has basketball trainers on his feet.
