to the flat opposite mine. It was white-painted, anonymous, and slightly ajar. The chatter of electronic gunfire floated out through the gap, the familiar sound of a computer game being played, and I wasn’t totally surprised to hear Dec’s voice providing a thoroughly over-excited running commentary.
There was no answer to my knock and I pushed the door open, following the sounds of shooting to the sitting room. The flat turned out to be a mirror image of my own, although it didn’t have the enormous bay window that had made me fall in love with mine. I had overlooked some fairly serious shortcomings in my new accommodation so I could live with that window. The view was of a small park with iron railings around it, and at this time of year the bare branches were dressing themselves with fresh green growth. I could have spent hours staring out at it, and fully intended to, once I got some time to myself – if that ever happened. I’d never had a view before and it lifted my heart every morning when I looked out at it. My neighbour had two narrow windows that would have had the same outlook, but heavy curtains blocked it out along with extra light that might have cast a glare on the screen. This was a home where the computer game was king, I could tell immediately. Various gaming systems littered the floor, their wires miraculously untangled but trailing everywhere. Shelves of games filled one wall. I couldn’t see a single book.
On the floor, two gaming chairs were positioned in front of the vast widescreen TV, where an animation of a man in uniform was currently addressing the viewer earnestly about the mission they were about to undertake.
‘I fecking hate these bits,’ came from the chair on the left, where my brother was sitting with a handheld controller on his lap.
‘Me too. Just get on with the shooting and stop talking.’
‘Who cares about the plot? It’s all rubbish anyway. Blast anyone in grey who shouts at you or points a gun in your direction, and try not to die. That’s all you need to know.’
Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments .
‘Sorry to interrupt, guys …’
The two of them twisted around, Dec with a sardonic expression on his face, my neighbour with a smile. He stood up quickly and held out his hand, revealing himself to be a couple of inches shorter than me, with shaggy fair hair, a ragged goatee beard and small, steel-rimmed glasses that kept sliding down his nose. He had a shy, lopsided grin that was immediately appealing.
‘I’m Chris. Chris Swain. Sorry for distracting your brother.’
‘Not at all. Thank you for entertaining him.’ I looked down at where Dec was sitting, his tongue protruding from the side of his mouth, concentrating as he switched modes on his submachine gun. ‘How’s it going, Dec? Sorry, I got held up at work.’
No answer. I turned back to my neighbour. ‘Your problem now is to get rid of him. This is his dream environment. He’s basically moved in already.’
‘I just want to finish this level,’ floated up from the floor, where my brother had shed fifteen years and the recollection that he was a married father of two in order to devote himself more thoroughly to murdering everything that moved onscreen. ‘Chris does this for a living.’
I raised my eyebrows and Chris smiled, looking a shade embarrassed. ‘I review games and technology for a couple of magazines. I’ve got a blog that’s pretty popular so I get sent all the new stuff anyway. It’s not very grown-up but it’s fun and it just about keeps the wolf from the door.’
‘Sounds like the ideal job.’ I didn’t tell him what I did for a living. I never mentioned it to strangers. You never knew how people would react. Even perfectly law-abiding folk tended to get twitchy once they knew you had powers of arrest. ‘I’m sorry to have interrupted your evening. And to have broken into your flat without being invited.’
‘No, no. I’ve seen you around
There was no answer to my knock and I pushed the door open, following the sounds of shooting to the sitting room. The flat turned out to be a mirror image of my own, although it didn’t have the enormous bay window that had made me fall in love with mine. I had overlooked some fairly serious shortcomings in my new accommodation so I could live with that window. The view was of a small park with iron railings around it, and at this time of year the bare branches were dressing themselves with fresh green growth. I could have spent hours staring out at it, and fully intended to, once I got some time to myself – if that ever happened. I’d never had a view before and it lifted my heart every morning when I looked out at it. My neighbour had two narrow windows that would have had the same outlook, but heavy curtains blocked it out along with extra light that might have cast a glare on the screen. This was a home where the computer game was king, I could tell immediately. Various gaming systems littered the floor, their wires miraculously untangled but trailing everywhere. Shelves of games filled one wall. I couldn’t see a single book.
On the floor, two gaming chairs were positioned in front of the vast widescreen TV, where an animation of a man in uniform was currently addressing the viewer earnestly about the mission they were about to undertake.
‘I fecking hate these bits,’ came from the chair on the left, where my brother was sitting with a handheld controller on his lap.
‘Me too. Just get on with the shooting and stop talking.’
‘Who cares about the plot? It’s all rubbish anyway. Blast anyone in grey who shouts at you or points a gun in your direction, and try not to die. That’s all you need to know.’
Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments .
‘Sorry to interrupt, guys …’
The two of them twisted around, Dec with a sardonic expression on his face, my neighbour with a smile. He stood up quickly and held out his hand, revealing himself to be a couple of inches shorter than me, with shaggy fair hair, a ragged goatee beard and small, steel-rimmed glasses that kept sliding down his nose. He had a shy, lopsided grin that was immediately appealing.
‘I’m Chris. Chris Swain. Sorry for distracting your brother.’
‘Not at all. Thank you for entertaining him.’ I looked down at where Dec was sitting, his tongue protruding from the side of his mouth, concentrating as he switched modes on his submachine gun. ‘How’s it going, Dec? Sorry, I got held up at work.’
No answer. I turned back to my neighbour. ‘Your problem now is to get rid of him. This is his dream environment. He’s basically moved in already.’
‘I just want to finish this level,’ floated up from the floor, where my brother had shed fifteen years and the recollection that he was a married father of two in order to devote himself more thoroughly to murdering everything that moved onscreen. ‘Chris does this for a living.’
I raised my eyebrows and Chris smiled, looking a shade embarrassed. ‘I review games and technology for a couple of magazines. I’ve got a blog that’s pretty popular so I get sent all the new stuff anyway. It’s not very grown-up but it’s fun and it just about keeps the wolf from the door.’
‘Sounds like the ideal job.’ I didn’t tell him what I did for a living. I never mentioned it to strangers. You never knew how people would react. Even perfectly law-abiding folk tended to get twitchy once they knew you had powers of arrest. ‘I’m sorry to have interrupted your evening. And to have broken into your flat without being invited.’
‘No, no. I’ve seen you around
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