A scruffy boy in a footy jersey came pumping up the hill on a bike, no helmet. He wheeled the bike through the gate next door, dumped it on the grass then ran inside, reappearing soon after with a pack of chips in one hand and an iPhone in the other, the dog panting at his heels. He came to the fence and looked over at Leon. He was thin with a mop of mousy brown hair, hollow cheeks, pale skin.

‘Hi,’ Leon said. ‘How are you going?’

‘Good. Who are you?’

‘Leon.’

The boy opened the chips and pulled out a handful, which he shoved in his mouth while the dog ogled him hopefully.

‘What’s your name?’ Leon asked.

‘Max.’

‘Nice dog.’ The dog curled its lip and snarled.

‘She’s Rosie,’ the boy said, stroking the dog’s back. ‘She’s Dad’s dog, not mine. Dad takes her up to the forest to guard his ute against greenies. He wanted a boy-dog but Mum said we had to have a girl because boy-dogs piss on everything.’

‘You like dogs, don’t you?’ Leon said.

‘They’re okay.’

Max ran a hand over Rosie’s head while she panted up at him.

‘She likes you,’ Leon said.

‘That’s because I feed her chips.’

‘What’s with her teats?’

‘She’s had pups before. But she ate them.’

That didn’t sound likely. Was the kid having him on? ‘Why don’t you get her spayed if she’s no good as a mum?’

‘Costs too much.’

Leon wondered how many litters the dog had delivered. More than one, judging by those dangly teats. Looking at the size of her belly, another one was probably on the way. ‘How old are you?’ Leon asked.

‘Ten.’

‘You’re tall for ten.’ The kid stood up straighter. ‘You play footy too.’ Leon pointed at the kid’s jersey. ‘What’s your team called?’

‘The Devils.’

‘How did you go today?’

‘We lost.’

‘That’s too bad. But you can’t always win.’

‘We never win.’

‘Bad luck, eh?’

‘Dad says it’s nothing to do with luck. He says it’s because we’re crap.’

‘Nobody’s good when they’re ten.’

‘Callum’s brother Jaden is good.’

‘Is he ten?’

‘No, twelve.’

‘You’ve got two years to get good then.’

Max shook his head. ‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘I’m useless.’