‘Fuck you gonnae dae wae that, wee man?’ A swing the board n hit him in the face. There’s a nail through the wood, just a wee wan, but big enough tae go intae his cheek, leavin a cut where it’s hit him. He folds on the deck.

A throw doon the plank n turn tae McColl. ‘Fuckin mon then, ya dafty. Come ahead!’ A shout at the cunt. He sees me as just a wee guy, a younger wan, so there’s nae fear. The two ae us start scrappin like fuck. A git landed wae a right, but A barely feel it, full ae wine n adrenaline. Even wae a burst nose, A grab him by the tracky tap n header fuck oot his beak. His nose is splattered. It gets split up n is over before it really starts. Whytey pulls him back n whispers that we’re Wee Kenzie’s pals n backed-up aff the big man. He walks away n shouts tae his wee squad tae bounce. McColl, Bailey n Whytey start walkin up the road. They’re shout-in doon, Yir a dead man, Azzy, ya wee dick! Wait n see after school! Yir dead, wee man! A’m geein them the finger n tryin no tae git para. Commotion over, everybody else goes back tae stand-in aboot in their ain wee groups, chattin n swallyin. A kin see a few cunts n burds glancin at us, wonderin who the fuck yi ir.

A turn tae Finnegan n Kenzie, who’ve appeared miraculously noo the trouble wis past. ‘Where wur yooz? Ya fuckin pussy bastards! Yir mate wis gittin set aboot n yees stood n done fuck all.’ Both ae them hide behind cigarettes n look towards the deck.

A kin see Danny n Broonie sprintin up ahead ae his wee lumber fur the evening. ‘Wit happened, mate?’ Danny asks us.

‘That Bailey n that wur tryin tae fuckin steal Addison’s phone, n whacked him.’

‘Fuck sake, man. That’s shite,’ Broonie says, shakin his wee baldy nut.

‘Bastard, man! Cannae fuckin believe A missed it!’ Danny says.

Repercussions start tae flood ma mind as the adrenaline fades. A kin see people lookin at me, n A kin hear ma name floatin aboot among the young team, celebrity noo – a rising star. Patricia n Monica come over tae our wee sub group. A wipe the blood aff ma ain nose wae ma sleeve n take a drink ae ma bottle n spark a fag.

‘Fuck sake, son, you didn’t half go tae town,’ Monica says.

‘A hate fuckin bully bastards.’

Aw ma pals ir star-struck as they look at the two nicest burds fae the team. Taz walks back up wae another lassie. Somebody tells him aboot the events which just unfolded n he jogs up tae our group wae a MD bottle in hand.

‘Well done, Azzy wee man. They three huv thought they wur mental fur ages,’ Patricia says wae a wee wink n ruffles ma hair.

‘Oi! Watch the gel, you! Aye, they wur bang oot anyways!’