tantalisingly out of
Mike’s reach.
“There are too many variables
remaining,” said Eugene. “You require a more accurate count.”
“Yes,” said Katie, “but unfortunately
we’re not operating under laboratory conditions.”
Mike tended to agree – anything more
sophisticated would be too easy for the casino to spot, and more likely to lead
to mistakes.
“The problem is,” said Mike, “I need a
large enough bankroll to see me through the bad patches. Even when the count is
good, I still sometimes lose.”
“You could flip a coin forever,” said
Eugene, “and you would bet on it landing on heads at least once, but it might
only ever land on tails.” He spoke as if in awe of this statistical
possibility.
“Or,” said Mike, “and this is more
likely – it could land on tails until I run out of money, and then land on
heads,” said Mike. “I don’t know, I think I make more money on the stock market
than I do in the casino.”
Katie thought of pointing out that this
was maybe the way it should be, but she knew Mike could never let it go; he was
convinced of some golden payday in the future. They started travelling further
afield, first to Leeds and then to London, where at least they weren’t so well
known. Mike couldn’t cover the cost for them all to go on these trips, so he
took Bruno and Katie, who were more use to him; for Katie, the trips held the
added attraction of seeing other cities for the first time.
Katie eventually made her peace with
Bruno – she had to if she was to spend time with Mike. By the end of their
second year, the group had crystallised into a friendship between these three.
Katie was never totally at her ease in Bruno’s company, and avoided being alone
with him for any length of time, but she knew she was not the easiest of
characters herself. Whatever chemistry had brought them all together in the
first place – and Katie continued to believe that chemistry was Mike – the
dynamic held strong for the three of them.
Bruno continued to stretch Katie’s
tolerance to the limit. He turned up at a drinks party to celebrate the end of
that year’s exams, and deliberately antagonised Rory with Irish jokes. It was
the time of the hunger strikes, and Bruno’s jokes split the room in two; some
laughed, while the others felt as though they shouldn’t.
“What’s Bobby Sands’ phone number?”
Bruno asked.
Rory looked away and didn’t answer.
“Ate nothing, ate nothing, ate nothing,”
said Bruno.
Rory wasn’t strong enough to stand up to
Bruno, and besides, Bruno was too high to care. Katie watched and listened from
across the room. Bruno saw her looking and smiled, but Katie didn’t smile back.
“What?” asked Bruno, but Katie said
nothing.
She already knew that come the following
year, Rory and Eugene were likely to drift away – not so much because of Bruno,
but the ever-increasing demands of college work. Katie only saw them
occasionally around the campus, or less often at the gym; for the most part
Rory and Eugene’s wild days were over.
Mike cited the hunger strikes as his
reason for choosing to work in Manchester that summer, but Katie thought there
was more to it than that. She suspected Mike had a sweetheart back home in
Belfast, though if he did, he wasn’t saying. Katie and Mike worked together as
traders in the stock broking firm, but Mike’s heart wasn’t in it. Katie, on the
other hand, became the star trainee in the company, and it was obvious she had
a future there if she wanted it.
Mike taught Katie how to drive – another
example of her new found confidence – and she passed her test at the first
attempt. Mike bought an old Jaguar for next to nothing – not for him any old
student run-around. It cost Mike more in petrol than it had to buy. They often
drove out to the hills after work, and called into village pubs for some supper
– they appeared to be quite the couple. Katie loved spending the time with
Mike, especially working
Mike’s reach.
“There are too many variables
remaining,” said Eugene. “You require a more accurate count.”
“Yes,” said Katie, “but unfortunately
we’re not operating under laboratory conditions.”
Mike tended to agree – anything more
sophisticated would be too easy for the casino to spot, and more likely to lead
to mistakes.
“The problem is,” said Mike, “I need a
large enough bankroll to see me through the bad patches. Even when the count is
good, I still sometimes lose.”
“You could flip a coin forever,” said
Eugene, “and you would bet on it landing on heads at least once, but it might
only ever land on tails.” He spoke as if in awe of this statistical
possibility.
“Or,” said Mike, “and this is more
likely – it could land on tails until I run out of money, and then land on
heads,” said Mike. “I don’t know, I think I make more money on the stock market
than I do in the casino.”
Katie thought of pointing out that this
was maybe the way it should be, but she knew Mike could never let it go; he was
convinced of some golden payday in the future. They started travelling further
afield, first to Leeds and then to London, where at least they weren’t so well
known. Mike couldn’t cover the cost for them all to go on these trips, so he
took Bruno and Katie, who were more use to him; for Katie, the trips held the
added attraction of seeing other cities for the first time.
Katie eventually made her peace with
Bruno – she had to if she was to spend time with Mike. By the end of their
second year, the group had crystallised into a friendship between these three.
Katie was never totally at her ease in Bruno’s company, and avoided being alone
with him for any length of time, but she knew she was not the easiest of
characters herself. Whatever chemistry had brought them all together in the
first place – and Katie continued to believe that chemistry was Mike – the
dynamic held strong for the three of them.
Bruno continued to stretch Katie’s
tolerance to the limit. He turned up at a drinks party to celebrate the end of
that year’s exams, and deliberately antagonised Rory with Irish jokes. It was
the time of the hunger strikes, and Bruno’s jokes split the room in two; some
laughed, while the others felt as though they shouldn’t.
“What’s Bobby Sands’ phone number?”
Bruno asked.
Rory looked away and didn’t answer.
“Ate nothing, ate nothing, ate nothing,”
said Bruno.
Rory wasn’t strong enough to stand up to
Bruno, and besides, Bruno was too high to care. Katie watched and listened from
across the room. Bruno saw her looking and smiled, but Katie didn’t smile back.
“What?” asked Bruno, but Katie said
nothing.
She already knew that come the following
year, Rory and Eugene were likely to drift away – not so much because of Bruno,
but the ever-increasing demands of college work. Katie only saw them
occasionally around the campus, or less often at the gym; for the most part
Rory and Eugene’s wild days were over.
Mike cited the hunger strikes as his
reason for choosing to work in Manchester that summer, but Katie thought there
was more to it than that. She suspected Mike had a sweetheart back home in
Belfast, though if he did, he wasn’t saying. Katie and Mike worked together as
traders in the stock broking firm, but Mike’s heart wasn’t in it. Katie, on the
other hand, became the star trainee in the company, and it was obvious she had
a future there if she wanted it.
Mike taught Katie how to drive – another
example of her new found confidence – and she passed her test at the first
attempt. Mike bought an old Jaguar for next to nothing – not for him any old
student run-around. It cost Mike more in petrol than it had to buy. They often
drove out to the hills after work, and called into village pubs for some supper
– they appeared to be quite the couple. Katie loved spending the time with
Mike, especially working
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