'Streets' by Jo Bober

I’m walking with Degsy, and he’s still laughing at the kid he just smashed. He walked right up to him and punched him in the jaw yelling, ‘Come on then lad, av a go!’ but the kid, he just fell to the floor and held his face. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and the chips he just bought were all over the floor. It was sick, and it was really funny too cos Chunks kinda stopped and was staring at the chips like he wanted to get right down there and eat them. Degsy called him a fat bastard and Simo nearly choked on the cig he was smoking. Simo is cool, but not as cool as Degsy.
    At the shopping precinct we put our hoodys up. People step out of our way. If they don’t, Degsy or Simo stare them down. One time Simo stuck some lad in the ribs with his blade. He can’t remember why, only that the lad was pissing him off.
    We spend ages in the precinct, sitting off and shouting stuff to people. Eventually the security guard comes up to us. You can tell he really doesn’t want to but it's his job. He tells us to move, and Degsy laughs and tells him to do one, but then the guard points to the security camera and Degsy tells him he’s bored anyway and the precinct is shite and we move on.
    Chunks gives Simo money for ciggys and then we have a smoke. It burns my throat but I smoke it anyway. Chunks doesn’t, he has a bar of chocolate. He never stops eating. Then we walk back down to the main road. There’s a load of cop cars parked up. The police stare at us as we walk past but they don’t stop us, and Degsy and Simo start yelling at them and run off. I run too, and Chunks follows far behind. 
    We walk past the flats where Simo lives and there’s a gang of girls sat on the bollards. Degsy and Simo start whispering and then pass me a bottle. They tell me its got Simo’s piss in it and to go throw it at the girls. They’ve never asked me to do anything before but I do it and all the girls start screaming. The piss hits one of them pretty much in the face and she‘s choking and crying, all her friends have run away. I feel bad but also excited and I throw the empty bottle at her head. I can’t hear her screaming cos Degsy is laughing so loud.

Then as usual it's time for me to go home.

But in two months time I’m gonna be ten years old and Mum said I can stay out later then; I really can’t wait.
I love playing out on the streets.