Free Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

get killed,’ I say. She laughs again and I like it even more. Like that it’s me who made her laugh.
    ‘Maybe I’ll go home,’ she says. ‘Jazz won’t care now that Leo looks interested. You think he’s interested?’
    I like the mood she and I have got going on, so I don’t want to tell her that when it comes to dating, Leo’s been on the bench since Emma. I haven’t really heard him talk about anyone since her. When the girl you like calls the cops, it’s bound to make a guy hold back. ‘Maybe,’ I tell Lucy. ‘Anyway, she’s got Daisy. I didn’t know you guys were friends.’
    ‘It’s a recent thing. You’re right. Jazz’s got backup. I think I’ll go.’
    For the past ten minutes we’ve been on a couch hanging in the middle of nowhere, and while we’re hanging I don’t think about being broke or being without Beth or being in jail later tonight. ‘We should go find Shadow,’ I say, and close my eyes behind my hand. What are you thinking? This girl broke your nose. She keeps me waiting for her answer. I think about taking back what I said and then decide to leave it out there.
    ‘Where would we look?’ she asks after a while.
    No guts, no glory, Bert’s old voice tells me, and I take my hand off her eyes and watch her blink me into focus. ‘I got one or two ideas.’ I tell her about the pieces at the old train yard and the skate park and I try not to act like I’m excited that she’s excited.
    She says she’ll be a minute and pushes her way through the crowd. I watch her talk to Jazz and wonder what I’m doing. Whatever it is I can’t stop. I push my way after her and before she can change her mind I grab her arm and we heave with the crowd to the window.
    On the grass outside I take a few breaths and while I’m doing that I see Raff and his mates forcing their way past the couple kissing at the front door. Shit. ‘I forgot to tell Leo something,’ I say to Lucy. ‘Give me a second.’
    Before I crawl through the window I look back at her. She’s staring at the sky like she’s having a conversation with what’s up there.
    I move fast and find Leo on the dance floor. ‘Raff’s here. You need to keep him away from Jazz.’
    ‘I’ll take care of it,’ Leo says. ‘Relax.’
    ‘Can I borrow ten bucks?’ I ask.
    He hands it to me. ‘See you back here at two-thirty?’
    The music switches to techno and the party’s a moving trance. You got to get out or go with it. Say no, old Bert says, but I can’t. ‘Two-thirty,’ I tell Leo. ‘Remember. Watch out for Raff.’
    I work my way through the crowd to Lucy and before I go out the window again I look back at Leo. I can’t tell whether he likes Jazz or not. But if I had to take a guess I’d say he does.

Poet
     
     
    Assignment Four
    Poetry 101
    Student: Leopold Green
     
    Remember love
     
    Remember
    Love doesn’t make the world go round
    Sex makes it spin for a second or two
    If you’re lucky
    So do chips, sausage rolls and girls in short skirts
    Remember
    Love
    Lays its fingers on your heart
    And holds it
    Under water
    Remember that
    When the next girl smiles

Lucy
     
     
    I wait for Ed outside and for the first time tonight I see a few real stars, ones I don’t have to imagine. Tiny flares burning far away. I trace around them with my finger and add a UFO or two. Adding things to the world is a game Mum and Dad and I play when we’re really strapped for money. Imagine what you want, Lucy, because we probably can’t afford it. I never really minded because they always found the money for the important stuff like my glass. Al says the game probably made me a better artist. It doesn’t always work, though. I’ve drawn Dad living in the house more than a few times lately.
    Ed’s taking his time so I lie on the grass to wait for him. I draw Shadow in the sky. Dark hair, I’m thinking, scruffy but not out of control. Deliberately scruffy. I’m thinking old Ramones t-shirt. Or maybe a t-shirt that he’s printed