Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

Adam Thorpe

is pulling out all the stops because they are very late and he’s anxious for his job and, oh yes by the way he’s a psychopath but no one spotted it. It is too loud and they are swaying and the tracks smack and clatter and the noise is worse than the dentist’s. She has to press herself to Jasper to hear what he is saying, now. She feels afraid of the ice. She can’t go taking a wee when they’re going this fast, she’d be found with her knickers down, although probably headless. Dead man’s handle, is it, if the driver has a heart attack or a stroke like her dad? Jasper could easily end up in the aisle, even, if he passes out. Why should he pass out? No chems for a week. Full functionality, both of them. ‘Makes you want to pull

Suzie doesn’t reply. Her mum loves Escape to the Country. It makes her feel smug because she’s already there. ‘Then it’s no escape, Mum.’ ‘What, pet?’ ‘You have to have summat to escape from .’ ‘Fire and air, she is,’ the little homophobic prick who is her lover-boy murmurs, nodding ever so slightly. ‘Oh my God,’ she groans, part-serious. ‘With a ring, not a stud.’ ‘I’m going to sleep, please, because there’s no tea and I need to vanish.’ ‘In her navel. Her Shakespeare Country. A silver ring on her umber skin.’ She stares at him. His eyes are closed again. He is still smiling, but as if to himself. The train driver

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