A group of young lads out and about looking for a good time
The Boys Night Out
By Paul McCann
Every Friday after work a few of the boys from Ardoyne would meet up at the front of Fusco’s before going down town to Frames and then on a crawl around the other water holes . There was no plan it was just a boys night out .
One Friday evening they headed into Ceaser’s Palace and chanced their arm on the one arm bandits in the hope of making a few extra shillings before going out on the tear . It was Friday night and the boys were back in town looking for a good time . Nothing had ever changed the boys were as tight as ever and knew what made each other tick . They all had a similar background , went to Butler Street and then St Gabriels to Felton House where they learnt their trades. Most of them were plasterers , painters and decorators and they always stuck together . Friday night was when they all had a few pints and talked about talked about their week and the things they had to go through to get the job done . They all wanted to share their own experiences and have a good laugh at the same time .
They left Caesars Place a little lighter in the pocket but still enough left for a crawl around the pubs . Half way through the night there was a doorman who stood in their way at a place near University Avenue who had a good look at their swagger as they half staggered in . He never bothered him much and allowed them free entrance . Once inside they boys ordered a round of drinks and noticed a lot of security guards on the floor but nobody ever gave any grief to the boys from Ardoyne . It was kind of understood that they were not there for trouble and so everyone respected that . The boys were just out for a good time . A lot of activities were going on that night with a big snooker competition happening .
Stevie sat down in his usual spot in the corner under the TV set and Jake ,Skull , Skete and Ronnie took a chair and sat in front of the TV .
There was a dart game and a small crowd standing around watching and cheering every throw . The players two players were intensely focused on the game , almost as if their life depended on it because the loser had to buy a round of drinks for the winning team and there must have been ten in each of the two teams .
The night was beginning to warm up as jokes were starting to come fast and furious with every one of the Ardoyne boys . Every now and then they would stand and would shape up but it was all harmless fun . Johnny came in late as he had just finished his shift . Everyone of the boys were happy to see Johnny as it was thought he couldn’t make it to the boys night out . Johnny made the suggestion that after another drink they would all head back to Ardoyne . After a brief debate everyone agreed and so they all emptied their glasses and jumped into a black taxi back to Ardoyne where they were left outside The League . After they ordered their drinks they were able to get involved with a games of sticks on the snooker table where the winner stayed on the table and at the end of the night the overall winner on the table was the competition winner of the nights competition and got the pool of cash on the side . One by one each of the players lined up to have a go at taking over the table but they realised their was some fierce to tackle .
Skete was first up and broke but made a mess of it and the his opponent began to sink a few balls into the corner and centre pockets without thinking and now was on a good break .
Skete tried the odd cough now and then to put his opponent off his shot but it never worked and Skete was hammered without sinking a single ball .
Shull was next up and began well sinking a jammy red into the middle pocket from the break then he confidently slammed down a salmon , another red and the blue before pulling the white ball back to far and it went down into the bottom corner pocket , Now all the balls on the table were perfectly placed and the game was all over in a flash . Johnny was next up on the table and was playing a steady defensive game with the owner of the table . The first open chance presented to Johnnys opponent who hammed home a red and was now on the black ball . It looked a long way off but sinkable . Then as he was about to take the shot he needed to go to the toilet so left his cue standing up against the wall .
Johnny was always one for a laugh so when his opponent left to go to the toilet Johnny unscrewed the black knob off the handle on the one armed bandit machine that stood in the corner and replaced it for the black on the table and quickly put the black ball into his pocket . When your man came back from the toilet he grabbed his cue and went to take his shot on the black which was the knob from the one armed bandit and as the knob had a flat edge that rested there upon the green felt when the shot was taken the white ball was hit strongly towards the black knob and when it hit collided with the flat base of the black know it became air born from the table and landed fair and square in Stevie’s half full pint glass . .The whole place burst out in a fit of laughter and quicky Johnny went over and fetched the knob in Stevie’s glass and very craftily switched it for the black ball that was in his pocket and set it back on the table and proceeded to take his shot . Everyone tried hard to keep a straight face as Johnny took his cue and sunk a red before sinking the black . One by one Johnny was able to clear the table and took over the ownership His opponent was in a state of shock but had no idea what had just happened .When he wasn’t looking Johnny went over to the one armed bandit and screwed back the black plastic knob on to the handle .
“Now that there was a great shot Johnny , you deserved to win the table ”
Sketer said . Everyone there saw the funny side to it and said nothing .
As it turned out , at the end of the night , Johnny won the competition and with his winnings he repaid everyone the money they had spent on their boys night out .
“Ok lets all go back to Ceaser’s Palace and try our luck on the blackjack table “
Ronnie said .
“That’s a great idea .”
They all said almost together in one voice and they got a taxi back into town .
And the boys night out was just warming up
This is the trade paperback edition of the mythopoeic paranormal novel recounting the attempts of one Danny Blue and his friends to come to terms with a series of unusual events in his life. A Kindle eBook edition is also available.
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