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“You aren’t telling me that you’re…”
“Bling? Yes, Asia, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“No way. There’s no fucking way…” I mutter, shaking my head. He can’t be the artist I’ve admired from afar all this time. He just can’t be.
“My girls… all precious stones, all nicknames. Ever wondered why?”
“Bling… a slang word for flashy jewellery…”
“That’s right, Asia, my girls are now the bling that adorn me like the beautiful jewels they are. Or, at least that’s what I’d thought. Some of them are no more than poor imitations.” He gives me a look and I can’t help but think of Diamond and Emerald, the two bitches who tried to shove my head down the toilet. Actually, what am I thinking? I can’t even believe I’m entertaining this.
“I don’t believe you’re Bling. No fucking way,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.
“That’s what I’d thought you say,” he responds with a smirk.
He picks up two cans, tucking them inside the pockets of his zipped-up hoody then trudges across the pebbles. Once he reaches the stone wall of the cliff face, he reaches up and grabs hold of a jutting piece of stone and pulls himself upwards, finding a spot to grip with his foot. I watch in shock as he scales the rock face with his bare hands until he finds a slim ledge about twenty feet up. He settles himself precariously against the stone, feet turned outwards as he pulls out a can and begins to paint. Is he like Spiderman in disguise? This is nuts.
“Camden, are you insane?” I shout, getting to my feet.
“Nah, I’mBling,” he shouts back, humour in his voice. It’s light and carefree and doesn’t sound like the person I’ve come to know in the slightest.
Fuck sake, hecan’tbe.
Over the next hour he shows me that he is. There’s no denying it.
CamdenisBling. Someone I’ve admired from afar for the last two years. Someone who produces extraordinary graffiti art.
Someone who’s my enemy, my nemesis, my fuckingidol.
By the time he’s finished, his tag brightens the black rock with six foot white and blue lettering, diamonds and gems falling over the piece like raindrops falling from the sky expertly spray painted across the uneven surface. I can only sit and stare.
He'sBling.Holy shit.
I watch as he climbs back down the wall as easily as he walks towards me. He chucks the now empty cans on the pebbles and sits down lighting up a pre-rolled joint that he pulls from his pocket. After he takes a deep toke and blows out the blue-grey smoke, he regards me. “I’ve seen your work around Hackney. I’ve admired it for a long, long time, Asia. That was the reason I didn’t allow my crew to rip you to shreds the night of the party. I knew who you were, even if you had no idea who I was. Out of respect for your talent, for you as an artist, I protected you despite how that made me look.”
“And now, do you protect me for the same reason?” I ask, swallowing heavily.
“Partly…”
“And the other part?”
Camden, or should I say Bling, looks out to sea drawing on his spliff once again. “Because I owe you for Eastern…”
When he offers me the joint I take it, needing the combination of nicotine and marijuana to edge out the mixed-up feelings in my gut. I draw on it heavily, loving the almost immediate feeling of relaxation that filters into my bloodstream. I shuffle on my arse, turning to look out to sea mesmerised by the gentle caress of the waves against the shore. Camden shifts beside me, reaching over as I pass him back the joint.
“This changes nothing you know. I still hate you,” I mutter, hugging my knees to my chest. There’s no conviction behind my statement even though Camden believes there is.
“I thought you might.”
“So why bring me here? Why bother?”
“Because I needed you to know that I’m not just the arsehole who rules Hackney’s Hackers. I’m not just the guy who can’t cut out the cancer in my crew.”
“Can’t?”
“Yes,can’t…” He sighs again, and I want to ask him why but instead he continues.
“IamBling. I’m the guy who scales impossible walls to share his art for every kid who ever dreamed of something more. I’m the guy who once believed that there was more to the world than just the postcode I rule over now…”
