I examined her dress, undone to the third button. Black bra. That was all it came down to, surely? Curtis was determined to conquer his personal wilderness, desolate for seventeen years.

‘Me and Clem have grown up together, haven’t we, Clem?’

‘I guess.’

‘Got up to a lot of trouble, haven’t we?’

‘Some.’

‘Like what?’ Tracey said, smiling.

‘Can’t tell you. I’d have to eat you afterwards.’

‘Gross,’ the same girl said.

Thomo: ‘Come on, it’s not a coffee shop, I want results. Full face, quality stuff. No bullshit.’

‘We used to go in the substation, didn’t we, Clem?’

‘Yeah.’

‘And throw sticks at the high voltage lines.’

‘That’s really intelligent,’ someone said.

‘Coulda killed yerself,’ Tracey added.

‘Not if you know what yer doin’.’ He whispered in her ear, ‘To do thy bidding pleases me so well.’

It was becoming obvious. He loved his tight pants, but they probably weren’t the best choice, considering. He moved about awkwardly. Tracey’s head was still an oval, with a sort of pig nose and elephant ears. She said, ‘That doesn’t look like me.’

‘I can’t draw.’

‘Why’d you do art?’

‘Either that or Home Economics.’

Curtis crossed his legs, but that made it more obvious, so he adjusted his jumper to cover it. The Devil called: big, flaky horns with sharp tips. And red wings, spread to display their venation, and some sort of sword for lopping heads. ‘Yep, me and Clem, we were the neighbourhood terrors, weren’t we, mate?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Even got picked up by the coppers, once.’

‘Did you?’ She seemed to like this idea. She held his arm, he crossed his legs again.

‘We got locked up for the night but they didn’t have any evidence. Reckoned we’d stolen some grog but, you know …’

She added lines to his portrait, and now it looked like a donkey. Then she studied my devil and said, ‘You read them cards?’

There didn’t seem any reason not to. Thomo was caught up, and the girls were talking about Target and two-for-one dresses. So I opened the pack, shuffled it and selected three cards. Then I studied them, lifted my hand and chanted a few times. ‘This is bizarre,’ I said.

‘What?’

‘The Lovers.’

She smiled. ‘Yeah?’

‘Someone’s entered your life, and he needs something from you.’

‘What?’

‘It’s not what you think.’

‘No?’

‘Not long-term, you know? Something, quick.’

She clung to Curtis’s arm. ‘You sure?’

‘And this card. Strength. This indicates self-control. It’s like they’re saying, Don’t give in to your weaknesses.’

‘Lift up thy voice of gold!’ Curtis said.

I drew a few more cards until I reached the Fool. ‘Of course, the Fool. A spirit in search of experience.’

‘What experience?’ she said.

‘I’m trying … they don’t want to tell me.’