Two brothers, eight and ten, board the tram together. As the doors shut and the electric hum carries them off, the elder of the pair stands guard over the red backpack while the other sits. Both have a single stud earring. Both have dirt caked under their nails. The elder's black trackie is cleaner than the younger's grey one.
One stop later the elder adjusts the younger's backpack on his shoulders.
'Don't worry about it,' he says, the door opening.
'If anyone starts in you, call me,' he says as his younger brother bounces off the tram. The elder watches him for as long as the tram's trajectory allows.
Paddy Dobson
17th February 2023