I’ll sum it up with a diagram of amorous geometry, a kind of dangerous liaisons for idiots. There is a circle, or rather two circles, with N (Nico) and M (Maria-Chjara) at their centre. The normal teens, the ones whose first names I’ve given you, are arranged in these circles. The girls in the circle N, the boys in the circle M.

A (Aurélia) and C (Cervone) would like to enter the circle. H (Hermann) would like to draw a straight line to M (Maria). But that’s not the big question. The big question is: will the circles intersect, join, or be superimposed on one another?

N ∩ M?

N ∪ M?

N = M?

The answer is coming soon, don’t hang up, whatever you do, we’ve moved from the lambada to a slow dance. Scorpion’s guitars are weeping, swearing that they are ‘still loving you’. I listen, I admire, Nico’s cassettes are the very model of manipulation. He’s programmed this slow dance to come right after ‘Wake Me Up’, the bouncy rock track by Wham! The girls are drenched, their sweat running down their backs to their buttocks and their tops sticking to their nipples. Smart move, my bro!

I move back gently, almost into the darkness, I only need a little light to go on writing.

Couples form.

Steph with Magnus, Véro with Ludo, Candy with Fred, Patricia hesitates between Estefan and Filip, Katia waits for her friend to decide, it’s the big summer supermarket. Serve yourself, it’s on sale, hurry up, must end by the last day of August.

My buttocks retreat a few more centimetres towards the darkness. If one of these guys asks me to dance I’ll tell him to fuck off. And cry about it until the morning.

No danger of that!

Handsome George Michael is back with ‘Careless Whisper’.

In my dark corner I’m enjoying myself, I’m enjoying myself, I’m enjoying myself.

Are you listening to me, my trusted friend? I’m ENJOYING MYSELF! Like a little mouse in its hole.

The first circle has just parted, my Nico has just let go of Tess, a Swedish girl, without so much as glancing at Aurélia, who was holding her arms out to him. Maria-Chjara has just let go of handsome Estefan. The king and queen of the ball are finally about to meet.

Here it comes, the Marquise de Merteuil walks towards Valmont.

One step, two steps, three steps beneath the strings of coloured lights.

There are no circles now, just scattered teenage couples swaying to the weeping notes of a saxophone.

Just two dots coming together.

Maria-Chjara is wearing a white dress that changes colour as she walks with calculated slowness beneath each lightbulb in turn.

Blue yellow red blue yellow red blue yellow red …

Nicolas is standing under the last red light, wrapped among the branches of an olive tree.

Blue yellow red blue yellow …