Nell's door is open and the room smells of cigarettes and wet plaster, and she is sitting on the floor against the radiator.

NellRent's late. I know. I've got eleven pounds and a bike.

She says it flatly, like a fact she has already argued with.

You ask if she is all right and she looks at you like you asked her to solve a maths problem.

NellYou want to be useful or you want to be nice? They're different.