Nick I’m not blaming … Listen. Your dad, when they laid off your dad, when that bastard buys it up and they’re gonna asset-strip, chuck your dad away and you wanted him dead.

Helen I was twenty. Everyone was a fascist or a scab or a class traitor. ‘Eat the rich.’ We used to chant that, I mean what the fuck did that mean – ’eat the rich’?

Nick And you said to me … ‘He should be killed.’

Helen Did I?

Nick Yes.

Helen Then I was very stupid.

Nick And I said: ‘I’ ll do it.’

Helen I don’t remember. Because I can’t imagine that I ever thought –

Nick It was real for me. Scab, class traitor. I wasn’t playing.

Helen Yeah, well, we all thought it was real at the time. At the time, we all believed it. Do you still believe it?

Nick I’ve only just got out. I don’t understand anything now.

Helen Well, everything’s changed.

Nick And you’ve changed?

Helen Of course. Look at me.

Nick Let me stay.

Helen No.

Nick Looking at you now, I still feel a lot of the same stuff. About you.

Helen You’re looking at a different person.

Nick Same feelings.

Helen Yeah?

Nick Yeah. And what are you, feeling right now?

Helen I don’t know.

Nick A few of the old feelings?

Helen Maybe … Yes, a few of the old feelings.

Nick A couple of days.

Helen … okay.

Nick I want to learn … I want to understand how the world works now.

Helen Don’t ask me. You start with the little stuff… Okay?

Nick Alright.

Helen Bit by bit, you do what you can and you don’t look for the bigger picture, you don’t generalise.

Nick You were always a good teacher.

Helen Yeah?

Nick Yeah. You taught me a lot of stuff.

Helen What kind of stuff?

Nick All sorts of stuff.

They kiss.

Nick Of course I’m a bit rusty on a few things. I need a bit of revision.

Helen Then you sit here and revise on your own,

Nick There’s a word for that.

Helen I wouldn’t know.

Nick That’s all you get in prison.

Helen That’s all you’re getting here.

Nick That’s a shame.

Helen I’ve got to go now. I’ll see you later.

Nick And what’s your meeting about, councillor?

Helen Boring stuff.

Nick Go on.

Helen It’s nothing … Boring stuff.

Nick Tell me. Tell me.

Helen It’s bus companies. They’ve deregulated the buses and now there’s hundreds of different buses whizzing around and the whole thing’s a mess and I’m trying to coordinate …

Nick You’re making the buses ran on time?

Helen I’m trying to make the buses run on time. Yes.

Nick Fucking hell.

Helen You see? I knew you’d do this. I knew you’d be like that.