High society by Ben Elton Page B

But I do recommend eating it off an E’d-up naked bird. It looks even better and who gives a fook what it tastes like?’

A COUNCIL FLAT, LAMBETH
    F rancois looked up at Jessie and smiled as the brown melted slowly in the dirty spoon. ‘OK, Jessie, I got a present for you. Make you feel good, real good. You like to feel good? Sure, everybody wanna feel good and this is the best stuff, baby. No bullshit, this is pure…What do you think it is, little girl? It’s heroin, that’s for sure, golden brown, like in the song. A little silver twist of magic to make the world OK. I just gotta warm it up a little, make it smooth and easy, like honey, OK? Don’t worry, baby, I just give you a little taste, gotta brand new needle, too, see, straight outa the plastic wrapping. You ain’t gonna get no Aids or hepatitis or nothing offa this. I told you, I’m looking. after you now. You’re my little girl. For sure are you lucky you met me.’
    The skin on Jessie’s unblemished arm was so white it almost glowed. So white it was translucent. Francois had no trouble finding one of the veins that ran pale blue beneath their gossamer cloak.

A FEMALE DETENTION CENTRE, BANGKOK
    P lease. Yow have to get me out. I’m desperate. I’ll doy if they put me back in there.’
    The girl from Birmingham who had been so excited to be buying cheap CDs in Bangkok wore a blue smock. Her hair was pulled back and gathered with an elastic band and her canvas shoes had no laces. The man sitting opposite her was the first English person she had spoken to in ages.
    ‘Sonia, it’s taken us two weeks to even get access to you. You have to understand that there is no possibility of our getting you out at present.’
    ‘But…but…‘ Sonia stared in shock and bewilderment. ‘I…want…to…go…howm.’
    ‘Sonia, we only have an hour to talk. Pull yourself together and talk to us.’
    The girl had fallen from her chair and was now writhing and weeping at the consular official’s feet. She thrashed her bare, bruised legs about like the helpless trapped animal that she was.
    ‘Sonia, please, get up! Pull yourself together. If you scream like that they’ll certainly suspend our visit. Stop screaming, Sonia, calm down, please try to calm down…Stop it, Sonia! Stop hitting your face…If you hurt yourself they won’t let us see you any more…There, sit on the chair, Sonia, stop hitting yourself!…That’s better, OK now, breathe slowly. Focus on the moment. Here, wipe your eyes…Good…good…well done.’

A COUNCIL FLAT, LAMBETH
    J essie! Come on, Jessie! You been out long enough. I didn’t give you no big hit. Come on, baby, we got things to do…’
    Slowly the ebony eyes opened. Dark ebony and blood red.
    ‘OK, good. You hear me now? Sit up, little girl, get up offa that couch. I got stuff to say. OK, so we got some nice clothes here. Little skirt, booby tubey, all nice stuff, the best, make you look beautiful like I promised. First you gotta take off all that shit you wearing now. What you want jumpers and jeans and that stupid coat for? Make you look like a fucking tramp, girl, ‘stead of a sexy baby which is what you gotta be. Come on, take all that stuff off now…’
    Jessie was slowly coming to her senses. Was he asking her to strip off in front of him?
    ‘Sure, in front of me, of course in front of me, that’s for sure. What? You shy? That’s a laugh, come on, baby, ain’t no shy girls round here, ‘cos they pretty soon starve to death, OK? So get those fucking filthy rags off and let me see what I got here! You hear me, bitch! I wanna see how clean you are. You don’t wanna take your clothes off? Who cares what you want, girl, you think I’m interested in what you want?’
    She pulled her big coat closer about her. Trying to remember where she was. Who she was.
    ‘OK, baby, I’m gonna tell you this right now and I’m only gonna tell it once. If you’re a good girl and do like I say I’m gonna give you another little tae