'It makes it hard for me to study.'
'Did you ask him to turn it down?'
He didn't reply, but stood looking at us, obviously wanting us to go. 'Sorry for disturbing you.' Tom followed me out onto the landing.
The room opposite was smaller, perhaps only half as big. We could see Andrew sitting on the bed talking to the boy. The ceiling sloped down so much that he would have banged his head if he had sat up in bed suddenly in the night. The bed and a small bedside cabinet took up about half the floor space, and against the opposite wall was an ugly old fashioned wardrobe. In between was a little corridor of carpet. A chair, a wash basin and a small table with an electric kettle and a cooking ring occupied the space under the window. The boy had covered the walls of the room with posters, mostly of rock stars, but there were a few of American blues singers, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker and Bessie Smith. The indicator lights on his compact stereo system flickered to music that we could no longer hear. Andrew was interviewing him.
'I think I know where you mean, a hamburger bar on the corner near the Underground station isn't it? How long have you been there?'
'Since I came to London; about four months.'
'And before the hamburger place, where were you?'
'I was at a school.'
'Did you finish your exams?'
'No, I left.'
'Ah - and where was this?'
Tom and I glanced at each other, and then at the estate agent who raised his eyebrows. We all three stared in concert at Andrew trying to make him look round. He ignored us for several minutes before raising a hand in our direction, palm open, as though trying to deflect our collective gaze.
'And how have you found the big city?'
'It's great. I could make some tea or coffee if you like. I've only got paper cups though.'
'From work? Paper cups are fine by me,' Andrew said.
The estate agent looked at his watch. 'Sorry, Andrew, I have to go back to the office. Darren, what's that I can see moving about over there?' He nodded towards a small aquarium that stood on the bedside cabinet.
'They're my terrapins.'
'You're not allowed pets. You've been told.'
'They don't disturb anyone. Nobody knows they're there.'
'They're against the rules. They'll grow too big for that tank. Then what's going to happen? You'll have to-'
Andrew interrupted him. 'Oh, if need be I expect I could find a place for them at the garden centre.' He turned to the boy. 'You could come in to feed them. Surely there's no harm in them staying where they are for the moment. You're right, we ought to get moving. Thanks for letting us see your room. Can't say I eat a lot of burgers, but I hope we'll see each other again sometime.'