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off.
    When Adele arrived she had two big brown shopping bags and a bundle of excuses.
    ‘It took me two buses to get here,’ she said, collapsing into the chair next to him.
    ‘What do you want to order?’ said Abdul, from the till.
    ‘A frothy-soya-mocha-with-cream top with chocolate sprinkles and vanilla syrup!’ Adele said, like a film star.
    ‘I’m not sure they do that here,’ Marcus whispered.
    ‘One frothy-soya-mocha-cream-top-chocolate sprinkles-vanilla syrup coming up!’ said Abdul.
    Abdul served the fancy coffee to Adele and went back to his stool by the till.
    Adele sipped the coffee froth.
    ‘What school do you go to?’ Marcus asked. It was the only thing he could think of saying.
    ‘St Elizabeth’s.’
    ‘Wow,’ said Marcus. St Elizabeth’s was the poshest school in the area.
    ‘My Talented Brother goes to an even posher one. Bowker Vale,’ Adele added.
    ‘I know. “My Talented Brother”. Is that your name for Anthony?’
    ‘Yes. MTB for short. According to the whole world, MTB is
good-at-everything
. And I am
such-a-disappointment
.’
    Marcus smiled. ‘I bet you have some talent.’
    ‘Shoplifting.’ Adele reached inside her shopping bag and pulled out a silver necklace on a pad. ‘Do you like this style? You can have it if you want.’
    Marcus looked at the necklace. It was on a proper display pad. They didn’t normally give buyers the pad when they bought things. Did they?
    ‘No thanks. It’s a girl’s,’ Marcus said.
    ‘Oops. So what have you been up to?’ Adele asked. ‘Anything exciting?’
    ‘Football. Talking to my mates at the bus stop,’ Marcus said. ‘That’s about it.’
    ‘Who are your mates, then?’ Adele asked.
    Marcus thought about it. ‘Jamil, Horse, Ira—’
    ‘Why’s he called Horse?’ Adele interrupted.
    ‘Why’s he doing what?’
    ‘Horse. You said Horse. Why’s he called that?’
    ‘Dunno. He’s always been called Horse.’
    ‘What are they like?’
    He shrugged. ‘I dunno.’ Marcus thought. How could he describe them? ‘Jamil is gangly and walks like he has springs in every bone of his body. He can back-flip off a wall all day and never get tired.’
    ‘Cool.’
    ‘Sanjay has big, soft hands, two big feet, a face that’s perfectly round, like a clock, and he’s the fastest at running backwards and the best arm wrestler. Andrew is like … he strolls. Even when he’s running, he looks like he’s strolling.’
    As he was talking Marcus could tell Adele wasn’t really listening. She was nodding in the wrong places and looking into his eyes like she was giving him an eyesight test. He didn’t really mind. Even he wasn’t listening to himself much either, his mouth was moving but he was considering how he liked the curious little mark below her bottom lip on the right hand side. And her eyes were a sparkly green like the Westfield swimming pool tiles. He found himself drowning in them and his whole body went hot.
    Abdul was stood over them again. ‘Last of the big spenders you two, eh?’ he said.
    Marcus bought another coffee and another coffee milkshake. That was his bus fare gone.
    ‘Where do you live?’ he asked her.
    ‘Roeville. We have a mansion by the river.’
    She said it in an off-hand way, like it meant nothing.
    ‘And a flash car,’ Marcus added. ‘You’re loaded, aren’t you?’
    ‘It’s all appearances,’ Adele said.
    What did that mean? Marcus thought. But he let it go. ‘What’s this secret you had to tell me about then?’ he asked.
    She gave him her sideways glance. ‘Can I trust you?’
    ‘Course.’
    ‘You won’t tell My Talented Brother?’
    ‘I never see him unless it’s a match.’
    ‘The lift they gave you, didn’t you think it was a bit strange?’
    ‘Not really.’
    ‘They’re trying to discover your secret. You know what I mean? How you can play so good.’
    ‘He can come practice with us if he wants.’ That was it? Marcus thought. All this rushing, just for that?
    ‘Dad