Busola watched as I got into my pyjamas and said there was blood on my leg and I had a bruise, but I didn’t answer and got my trousers on quickly.

‘You can’t hide it,’ she said, ‘the side of your face is red. Don’t be sick over me.’

I just wanted to go to sleep and woke up in the evening with my top soaking and Manus and Connor wanting to go to bed. ‘Get out my bed,’ Connor said, and I had to take my top off and get back in with Busola, but I was shivering.

‘What have you got?’ Manus said.

I didn’t answer him, but Busola said, ‘He got arrested by the police.’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘They beat him up,’ she said, ‘look at his bruise on his leg.’

I pulled the blankets tight up under my chin and shook.

The Taste of Black Jack

‘Where is it?’ said Manus.

It was there, but it was gone. It was a patch of dirt on the pavement with strands of hair in it.

‘There,’ I said.

Everyone looked. The stain was wet where water dripped down the wall of the tunnel. A train went over and made us get out, rumbling over the walls and shaking the ground under our feet. Only Connor stayed behind, looking down at the pavement where the woman froze, ignoring us and the weight of the train passing. He looked up at me and put out his chin, ‘That’s where the woman fell asleep? On the ground?’

I shrugged, because maybe she was on blankets.

‘Let’s go home,’ Busola said.

‘Don’t tell Mummy you saw it,’ said Manus, looking at her.

‘I didn’t see anything,’ she said, and looked at me. ‘How do I know you’re not lying?’

‘Why would he?’ Connor said, coming up. ‘Anyway, you can see the hair on the pavement.’

‘He’s not good enough to lie like that,’ Manus said as well.

Busola poked me with her finger, ‘You said they were gonna clear it all out, but they didn’t, did they?’

‘You said you didn’t see,’ Manus said, ‘but you did.’

‘I don’t want to see dead tramps,’ she said.

‘But you did,’ Manus said. ‘What you gonna do about it?’

We went quiet for a bit, looking back into the tunnel. It felt cold and empty. A train was going over the other way, like you couldn’t sleep under there even to be out the rain it was so loud. There was a patch of sky through to the buildings on the other side. You could see traffic passing along the embankment.

‘What if one of us dies,’ Manus said.

‘Why would we?’ said Busola.

We looked at Manus. He was screwing up his eyes into the tunnel like he was seeing it mist up in a fog and dead people come out and get him. He was shivering.