2: The cheat
Dad turned to me with a beaming smile, his eyes were bright and watery with alcohol. He slapped me on the shoulder, "Cormac, how'd the match go? Did ya score? Did ya win?" I could see Fergal watching me over the rim of his pint glass. "No Dad we lost, the rain came pissing down." Dad continued smiling, "Ah no, What a shame, don't worry well done lad." I couldn't help feeling good when he said that but then I caught sight of the black book tucked under his arm.
"Dad, have you been gambling again?". He looked at me and his smile disappeared, his mouth shrinking. "Just watch de race, Cormac". His voice was quiet but the T.V. was loud, blaring with harsh cheers from the speakers. Dad's eyes were wide with excitement. The horses trampled over the white line that cut through the screen. Dad jumped out of his chair with anger sending it flying into the corner. I shivered into the corner in fright. Dad grabbed Fergal O' Mahony, the devil gambler, the town liar. "Ya said that horse was gonna win". "Ya said that horse was gonna win"! I stared at dad as he held Fergal high above his head, Fergal shivered and squirmed. "Get off me, ya fecker." He slapped dad hard. Dad shoved him to the floor and kicked him three times in the ribs. Fergal yelped in pain. Dad picked me up by my jersey and steered me towards the door. He was spitting with anger and flung me out onto the pavement, barefoot in the rain. "Come on, Cormac, we're going home, we ain't got time for Fergal O' Mahony, we ain't got time for no cheats."
