“Yes,” said Andrew. Impatience now enveloped every word that came out of his mouth. “Just step away from it, please. It’s brand new.”
Frankie nodded his head and whistled. “You hear that everyone? Brand new Mercedes. Nice.”
“Yeah, nice” agreed a young girl beside him. Her unkind face was caked in gaudy make-up and framed by streaky-blonde hair. Her tits were practically hanging out of her top, despite the chilly weather. “Thinks he’s well bling, innit,” she said, “with his flash motor.”
Andrew stared at the girl and shook his head. “Do you know how stupid you sound, young lady?”
“Thinks his shit don’t stink,” added a Black kid, identical to the one stood beside him. They were obviously twins, matching in both genetics and clothing; they wore the exact-same blue jeans and plain, white t-shirts.
“I don’t think anything like that,” said Andrew. “I just think you should all respect other people’s property, and that pretty young girls should be home this time of night.”
Andrew didn’t know why he used the word ‘pretty’, as the girl was anything but. It was meant only to be a placating gesture to try and stem the animosity. It seemed to do the opposite, though, and the girl scowled and spat right at him.
“Fucking Perv,” she said. “You’re a pedo, innit? A sick, child-banging pedo!”
Andrew’s temper broke its bonds. “How dare you!” he snarled. “Show some bloody respect to your elders, you nasty little harlot.”
Frankie shot forward and pushed Andrew’s shoulder, jarring the plastic bag from his hand and spilling the chips all over the road. He moved forward again and poked Andrew hard in the chest, repeating the gesture with each word that came out of his mouth. “I…think…you…need…to…respect…me…”
The sudden fright flooded Andrew’s system with a surge of adrenaline. His stomach turned over and he felt like he might throw up over the teenager’s shoes, but he would not allow such an indignity to take place. He had to man up and not let the situation get to him.
I’m not going to be intimidated by this hooligan again. No way in hell.
Andrew snarled right back into Frankie’s smug face. “Why the hell would I respect an idiot like you? You’re nothing but a pathetic bully trying to show off in front of your equally pathetic friends.”
Frankie seemed to enjoy Andrew’s reaction. He turned and looked over his shoulder at the assembly of teenagers. All of them laughed as they crowded around the Mercedes, their loose circle tightening around the entertaining spectacle of Frankie and Andrew.
“Now, now,” said Frankie in a voice so patronising it sounded like he was trying to teach a foreign language to a guinea pig. “No need to get upset, mate. We’re just talking. In fact, it’s me that should be upset.”
Andrew huffed. “Why, exactly, is that?”
Frankie punched Andrew in the stomach. The sudden pain was excruciating and took his breath away so completely that it felt like he no longer had lungs. Andrew fell to his knees, wondering if he would ever breathe again.
Frankie crouched down beside him. “I asked you for a pack of cigarettes and you just mugged me off – then you come and make pervy comments about my girlfriend. I thought we were friends, but you’ve gone and hurt my feelings. That’s a really stupid thing to do.”
Andrew couldn’t speak. The tightness in his chest and stomach seemed like it would never let up. Mortal panic clamped every cell of his body as he struggled to suck in even the tiniest morsel of oxygen.