"Hm. People act. They dress up and act. I did that for a while." Victor wondered whether his hair falling out was what made him stop or whether that was just a coincidence. Either way, it had worked for him. "Can't be bothered now."

He had done it more when his parents were still around, on and off. But now? Not much point to that. Not much point to anything, really.

He had slowed down by now, with traffic being denser. They were in the city. "You been to the Foxglove?" He was sixteen and still putting on the act, so Victor assumed he hadn't. He was sure he'd take to it quickly.