Black Chalk

It was Jolyon who came up with the solution. He had noticed that the local banks were eager for Oxford students to open accounts with them. Some of them offered financial rewards and all of them offered overdraft facilities. So around the city each of them traipsed opening new accounts anywhere they could. And then around they went again, withdrawing the daily limit from various cashpoints in the city, an overdraft carousel.

Chad, meanwhile, had some money saved he could use. He had worked the whole summer long, a tedious data entry job for Susan Leonard’s alumni database. He thought that he would use his savings to travel around Europe during spring break and then perhaps in the summer before returning to the States. Although in the end, of course, he never made it as far as the summer at Pitt.

Tallest arrived at Jolyon’s room at the prearranged time. He had with him a brown leather briefcase. A small piece of blue tape was stuck above its brass buckle.

‘Minor repair required,’ he responded, when Jolyon questioned him about it.

‘Or maybe you don’t want us to know your initials,’ said Jolyon, to which Tallest replied with a respectful nod.

‘Since the topic has been raised,’ said Tallest, ‘please allow me to suggest that none of you try surreptitiously to find out anything about us, about Game Soc. We’ve already laid down the rules, so maybe it’s too late to insist, but perhaps you could consider this friendly advice. Let’s just say it’s a matter of etiquette. You’re all intelligent and inquisitive people. But curiosity and cats and so on.’ Tallest shrugged as if to say that none of this really needed saying. ‘Anyway, let’s move swiftly on to the important stuff, the real reason we’re here,’ he continued, patting his briefcase. ‘Money.’

‘But first we want some assurances,’ said Chad. ‘How do we know this isn’t some kind of scam? What if you disappear with our cash?’

‘I can give no such assurances,’ said Tallest. ‘It’s a matter of take it or leave it, I’m afraid. All I can offer you is this . . .’ He opened the briefcase, lifted it head high and then flipped it quickly upside down. Down onto the floorboards there fell ten bundles of money tied up with red ribbon. ‘I opted for five-pound notes,’ said Tallest. ‘I thought it might drive home the point rather better.’

No one said anything, they only stared at the money.

‘Your turn now,’ said Tallest, holding out his hand.

Jack started to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. ‘You hold him down, Chad, and I’ll do him in with the ashtray.’

‘Yes, but then you’d all have to share,’ said Tallest. ‘And that wouldn’t be half as much fun.’ He bent down and threw one of the bundles to each of them in turn. ‘Just so you can ascertain whether it’s real or not,’ he said.

They each held the money for a moment as if it were something fragile. Jack riffled his bundle and whistled. And then quickly, but Jolyon first of all, they dropped the money limply into their laps as if it held no particular interest to them.

Jolyon lit a cigarette, everyone seemed to be waiting for him. And then he tossed the money nonchalantly back, reached into his pocket and removed an envelope. Crossing the room, he handed it to Tallest who, without opening or inspecting it, dropped the envelope into his briefcase. ‘Good. One down, five to go,’ he said.

One by one they approached him, each returning Tallest’s money and then handing him their own thousand pounds. Jack had folded his money tightly into an empty cigarette pack. ‘Careful, this stuff will kill you,’ he said.

‘Most amusing,’ said Tallest. ‘You know, all of my favourite tragedies feature the character of a good fool.’ He removed the roll of twenties and sniffed at it disapprovingly before dropping it into his briefcase.

Dee’s stack of notes was tied with black ribbon. ‘Oh dear, we had the same idea,’ she said to Tallest, pretending to be mortified.

‘But your choice of colour was so much more apt, Cassandra,’ he replied.

When he had received everyone’s deposit and gathered up the money from the floor, Tallest snapped shut the briefcase and held it to his chest. He made the sign of the cross against the leather but paused as he finished. ‘Please do excuse my dark sense of humour,’ he said, his mouth squeezing out a sarcastic pout. ‘Tragedies, ominous ribbons, blessings? Really, I’m just trying to have some fun with you all, no need to look so serious. Don’t worry, I promise you, it’ll be fun.’ Tallest turned and started to leave, lightly swinging his briefcase as he went. ‘See you next term then,’ he said, pulling the door closed behind him.

And then Chad imagined Tallest lingering outside the door for a moment to listen in on what he had left behind. And had he done so, what he would have heard would have pleased Tallest very much. Nothing but silence. Ten seconds, twenty.

Chad pictured him turning and bounding down the stairs two at a time.