No Sleep Was Given

King's Drift

It was an overcast and dull Saturday afternoon when I was attacked. I was twelve years old at the time and despite the threat of rain, we took to the streets as my friends usually did at the weekends. The neighbourhood always seemed safe and, looking back, it was a wonderful place to grow up; living in the vibrant shadow of the city centre (only a 15 minute train journey away) while the parks and quiet streets of our suburb, on the outskirts of that urban madness, provided plenty of places to explore.

That day, it was my two friends Andy and Stewart who had knocked on my door, asking if I wanted to head out for a while on our bikes. Both lived in the same street as me and for that reason we had been as thick as thieves since we were toddlers. We took to the pavements at first in plain sight of our parents, before turning a corner and showing off to one another on the roads, pulling wheelies and unimpressive bunny hops as most kids that age often do - I say most kids, I was pretty timid at the time, and while I loved hanging out with my friends, I never had the same sense of abandonment or recklessness which they thrived on. They would quite happily bomb down the highest, steepest hills we knew of without a care in the world while I would stutter behind, scuffing my feet on the ground to slow my own descent.

After buying some sweets, chocolate, and a packet of trading cards complete with cheap and brittle bubble gum from Jackie’s shop, we intended to head to King’s Drift; one of our favourite places to ride about on our bikes. But just as we exited the shop, Stewart noticed someone from his class. His name was Ricky, and he had moved to our school the year previous. We didn’t know him all that well, but we had hung out with him once or twice before. Stewart walked over and struck up a conversation with him for a few minutes before coming back over and picking up his bike. We turned to leave but, there was something that bothered me about that boy Ricky. He seemed, lost somehow. Stewart said that he was waiting on his mum coming out of a shop, but I could see that look in his eyes, something which I’m sure I had worn many times before myself. It simply said: “I want to hang around with you guys”. We all got on our bikes and, just as we left I shouted over to him.

“Ricky, do you know King’s Drift?”

“Yeah, I do.” He replied.

“We’ll be up there for the next few hours. Why don’t you get your bike and come meet us after you’ve helped your mum?”

Ricky seemed pleased to be asked and while he wasn’t certain how long he would be, he did say that he’d try and meet up with us at some point.

We said goodbye carrying our provisions from the shop in stuffed pockets and cycled off towards our destination. King’s Drift was where we were heading, and I couldn’t wait to get there. It was perfect. The street was long and straight, the road surface was uncommonly smooth, and it ended in a small circular cul-de-sac which resulted in little traffic if any to speak of. We could ride up and down all day without being disturbed, except on the few occasions that one of the grown-ups who lived there would get tired of us hanging around or sneaking into their gardens, playing tig or one man hunt.

But for the most part, that long secluded street was a fantastic place to get away from rules and complaining adults, yet only ten minutes away from our homes. We weren’t a gang or anything close to it, but that place was ours and while many of the other kids in the neighbourhood hung around a park or at the shops, we quite happily clung on to that perfect stretch of quiet tarmac which no one could take away from us.

Tearing up and down the road, cycling as fast as we could, Andy enjoyed showing off, pedalling quickly while putting both hands behind his head as if relaxing on a sun lounger. Stewart was no slouch himself and would dart about off kerbs and back on again, occasionally mimicking a character from an Australian soap opera that we often laughed at. The clouds knitted together tightly above, brooding menacingly, but the afternoon was not over yet as we continued to play and enjoy our patch.