Don’t @ me. Blast the skeng.

Emphasis was heaped on the rise and fall of the lyrics. Girls in dark corners raised their arms.

You know I blast the skeng.

Free my guys from out the pen.

A group of youths created a core group of dancers jumping up and down to the rhythm.

Big man drillz.

I don’t bare pop pills.

It was clear that a crescendo was coming. Jordan watched as the mass prepared to sing the chorus. The jerking and leaping intensified.

At the party like holla, hello, hey.

At this point, the whole room erupted and sang ‘holla, hello, hey’, rising and falling as one brotherhood, arms in the air, hoodies nodding. Jordan watched and joined in. He opened his eyes to look at the girl, and she smiled, holding tightly on to him as they jumped. As the music pulsed on, she beckoned him to another room. On his way out, he noticed a tight group in intense conversation. Like most males in the room, they wore hoods, and some had bandannas over their mouths. A couple of them nodded to the girl. She pulled his hand and he found himself in front of the group. It seemed quieter over there, and the buzz of the music and the electricity he imagined coming from the girl’s body dissipated.

‘Come on, Adam, leave us alone,’ the girl said to one of the men.

‘You rubbin’ up one o’ mine, bruv, and I don’t know yuz.’

Jordan sobered up. He felt something against his back and suspected it was a blade. He thought of his mother.

‘I’m not carrying a shank, bruv. I’m staying in the tower with cousins. I came with them.’ He pointed to the group of youngsters. One of them noticed and came over.

‘He’s sick, man,’ he said. ‘Nuffin’ goin’ on, swear it. He’s safe. Calm.’

Adam smiled, then glanced over Jordan’s shoulder and shook his head. The item sticking into his back was removed.

‘Enjoy fuckin’ her, man, she’s hot.’

The girl took his hand and led him away. Jordan could feel that he was shaking. And he was no longer aroused. He wanted to stay and get to know Adam. He wanted to study his body and work out where to stick a blade so that it would fucking hurt. She led him to a mattress in the corner of the next room and fell onto it, pulling him on top of her. She was high or drunk, or both, and Jordan looked at her differently now. He held back, but she took his hand and kissed him. The music came back to him, and without thinking any more, his body responded to her. She took her top off and he stared at her. She was beautiful. Anyone else in the room was forgotten. Within seconds, she was fully naked and he was inside her.