Page 30 - SAMPLE Talking the the Moon

boy. I imagine I’ve never seen them before and think how lucky it is there’s not an older girl trailing behind them (me in a parallel life). Then I put my arm through Mimi’s and we walk towards the remains of the West Pier.
The West Pier
There are two piers in Brighton. The Palace Pier is still open and has slot machines and rides and fish and chips. The West Pier’s the one that burned down. There’s an observation tower on the beach next to where the West Pier used to be. It’s a massive stick poking into the sky with a huge glass pod like a ring doughnut that moves slowly up and down. People pay for rides in the pod so they can look at the view. As we walk towards it the pod’s going up. An old couple gaze out at the sea. A family press their faces to the glass and a girl in a pushchair looks down at us and sticks out her tongue. Mimi sticks her tongue out back and the girl smiles.
All that’s left of the West Pier is twisting brown metal rising out of the water like a skeleton. All the wood and glass and buildings and rides have gone. Seagulls fly in circles overhead or perch on the metal. A small boat bobs on the horizon.
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