A chime erupted in the house, and Ren jumped out of the shower. He grabbed the towel and padded as much skin as possible before dashing out of the toilet and across the room to look through the peephole. Jimmy was standing outside, hands in pockets and looking at the door frame.

‘One minute,’ Ren said and dried off the rest of his body. He looked through his suitcase for pants and slipped them on before throwing a T-shirt over his head and pulling yesterday’s jeans up his waist.

When he opened the door Jimmy smiled. ‘Good morning. Did I wake you?’

Ren let him in, grabbed the towel from the sofa and patted his hair down. If he didn’t dry them, the curls would go full-blown circus clown on him, and he didn’t want to look like an idiot on his first day in the country. Especially not in front of Jimmy, who looked so perfectly divine, even in his scruffiness. His stubble darkened the skin around his face and the bags under his eyes made him look wiser than his years.

‘Sorry, did I interrupt your shower?’ Jimmy said, looking apologetic, staring at the towel rather than Ren.

When his hair felt dry enough, Ren put the linen down and looked at Jimmy. ‘I wouldn’t exactly call it a shower. I’ve got no shampoos or shower gels.’

‘Do you want to go to the supermarket and get some essentials for you?’

Ren shook his head, but before he could say anything Jimmy interrupted. ‘I came over to take you to the phone store, anyway. Get you a Greek number and all. Why not kill two birds with one stone?’

Ren smiled. He let Jimmy drag him out of the house without further complaint. He needed a few bits and pieces, and not having them was already making him feel agitated. After a whole day travelling and eating all the meat he could possibly find, it most likely wasn’t just Ren’s imagination that his BO was foul.

Jimmy led Ren to a supermarket called Masoutis. He grabbed a shampoo and conditioner, a shower gel, some deodorant and a few snacks. Jimmy suggested a couple of household items, like soap, bleach, and glass polish, so Ren followed his advice, and they checked out, paying over thirty euros for what looked to Ren like a piss-take of a shopping spree.

Their next stop was a shop called Cosmote. They sold mobile phones, tablets, computers, and gadgets, but Ren wasn’t interested in any of those. Jimmy dragged him to the counter and spoke to the assistant in his native language.

‘Do you have your passport with you?’ he asked.

Ren shook his head. ‘What is it for?’

‘You need ID to register for a new number.’

‘I only need a prepaid number, Ren said.

Jimmy nodded. ‘I know. Don’t ask. Even we don’t know why it’s necessary,’ he said. He passed his own ID card to the lady at the counter, and she registered Ren’s new number on Jimmy’s name.

‘My friends are at a café. Do you want to go and hang out with them?’ Jimmy asked after they came out of the shop.

Ren had no big plans for the day. In fact, he had no plans for this or any other day, surprise, surprise. With all the troubles and panic of the previous one long gone, his schedule was wide open. So, he accepted the invitation.

They crossed the main street and continued walking on the other side. It was pretty similar to what in England would be described as the High Street. Lots of shops sprinkled left, right, and centre in between a busy road. It was quiet. There weren’t too many people around. The occasional street merchant was sprinkled across the length of the paved street selling necklaces and other jewellery.

‘I know it’s a bit busy, but I swear the cafe we’re going is peaceful.’

Ren stared at Jimmy and he stopped in his tracks. ‘What?’

‘This is busy?’ Ren asked.

‘Well, yeah. It is a Wednesday afternoon. A lot of people are out and about before the shops close at five,’ Jimmy answered.

Ren laughed and Jimmy put his hands on his waist, frowning at him.

‘I’m sorry. It’s not funny. Have you been in London?’ Jimmy shook his head. ‘This is quiet compared to Oxford Street, or Leicester Square. That’s all.’

Jimmy grimaced and continued walking. ‘If you say so.’ Ren caught up with him. ‘London does have eleven million people which is, like, the entire population of Greece, so I do believe you.’

Ren laughed. They reached a large excavated terrace in the middle of the square that housed the ruins of an old palace. Jimmy turned right and took Ren into an apartment building. They walked past the tenant’s lift and walked through the door of an apartment that led to a buzzing café dressed with vintage furniture.

All the rooms of this ground floor flat had been converted into cosy sections with small sofas and coffee tables. The walls displayed some art by different artists, and the lighting came naturally from the windows and artificially from the warm lamps dotted around. There were a few occupied tables, and Jimmy took Ren through a couple of the rooms until they found his friends.

Katerina and Antonis were there, sitting next to each other, both holding cigarettes. Jimmy greeted them in Greek. Two men Ren hadn’t met before stood up to introduce themselves after hugging Jimmy.

‘Markos,’ a thin, tall guy said. His hair was dark and frizzy, and his beard was overgrown, making him look older than his actual age.

‘Nice to meet you,’ Ren replied.

Jimmy gestured towards the other guy and introduced him as Stelios. He was shorter, with blonde hair, green eyes, and a pair of glasses. His English was immaculate. His accent was American but foreign nonetheless. It was nothing like Jimmy’s, Ren thought, whose accent oozed ethnicity.

Ren settled down with them and Jimmy lit a cigarette before turning around to offer one to Ren, which he kindly declined. He hated the vile thing. It stank and tasted disgusting.

‘How can you smoke inside? Isn’t it illegal?’ he asked the group.

Everyone laughed. Ren didn’t know what he’d said, but he did remember reading somewhere that all countries of the European Union had implemented anti-smoking laws.

‘You are in Greece, my friend. The law will suck our dick before anyone stops smoking indoors,’ Markos said. He had a pretentious accent, and Ren wasn’t sure if it was for his benefit or just the way Markos had been taught.

Katerina interjected. ‘No one listens to the anti-smoking law. Police try to push it, but they fail. It’s ridiculous. Not that I complaining.’

Ren coughed as she blew some smoke out over his head.

Jimmy put out his cigarette even though he had just lit it. ‘I’m sorry, does it bother you?’ he said.

Ren waved no with his hands, but Jimmy had already put it out and he was looking at Ren with concern. His eyes burned Ren’s skin. The temperature in the room skyrocketed. He wanted more of it. The attention. He wanted it so much he was almost willing to keep coughing just so that Jimmy looked after him.

The waitress came over, put some water down for the newcomers and took Jimmy’s order. She turned to Ren.

‘What are you drinking?’ he asked Jimmy.

‘Frappé,’ Jimmy answered.

‘What is that?’ Ren asked.

‘Do you like your coffee sweet, medium, or plain?’

Ren was confused. ‘Sweet. White.’

He said something to the waitress and she left before Ren could ask her for a menu. ‘What did you get me?’

Jimmy pointed at everyone’s glass. They were all long glasses with brown foam and different-coloured straws on each of them. ‘It’s what Greeks drink. Cold instant coffee.’

That sounded horrible. Ren didn’t like instant coffee on the best of days. Why would he like it cold? But he wasn’t about to tell them and offend them.

‘Do you all study English Literature?’ he asked the new faces.

Markos took a sip of his coffee and shook his head. ‘No, I study Fine Arts in Athens. I come up here twice a month to meet with the guys, see my parents and all that,’ he said.

Ren looked at Stelios who sat back in his chair. ‘I study Theology.’

Katerina rolled her eyes. Ren laughed. ‘Why? Is that a bad thing?’ he asked her.

‘No,’ she said. ‘But listen to his reason.’

I laughed again and turned my attention back to Stelios.

‘I’m not religious, which Katerina and Dimitris, as a matter of fact, find insulting.’

Ren glanced at Jimmy. ‘Insulting in what way?’

Jimmy sighed. ‘He’s an atheist. He says the only reason he’s studying Theology is to learn all the reasons why he is one.’

Ren couldn’t understand the fallacy in that and he told Jimmy. He looked to the heavens as if asking for divine help.

‘That is a perfectly good reason to study something. Although I can’t imagine wasting three years of my life doing that,’ Ren reasoned with him.

‘You don’t believe in God, too?’ Katerina gasped.

Ren wasn’t sure what to reply. He felt cornered. ‘I believe in something. Not sure what. Is that a bad thing?’

‘No. Of course not.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ll just have to stone you.’

He froze.

Katerina laughed and Ren relaxed. She was growing on him. She had a sense of humour that transcended language barriers, and that was an accomplishment in and of itself.

The waitress came back and put two identical-looking drinks in front of Jimmy and Ren.

He mimicked Jimmy and took a sip from the straw. A bold sweetness hit him and rolled down his throat pleasantly. It was okay. It was coffee. Ren wasn’t exactly sure why they would prefer that to a nice espresso or Americano.

‘What do you think?’ Antonis asked.

‘It’s all right,’ Ren said.

Katerina stretched her hands and said in the thickest of accents. ‘He said all right? He said all right?’ she looked panicked and in shock.

Again, Ren was afraid he had offended her. Then she relaxed and shrugged again.

‘It’s okay. Your blood will be spilt tonight.’

Ren laughed before she did and everyone else was staring at them.

‘Excuse the drama queen here. She’s usually worse than that,’ Jimmy explained. ‘Do you want to get something else? If you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink it.’

In response, Ren took another sip. ‘It’s fine. It’s okay. I like it.’

Ren doubted Jimmy believed him, as his gaze stayed on Ren for a while longer, but Ren turned to Antonis and ignored Jimmy’s hot glare, which he could feel lingering on him.

‘What do you do, Antonis?’

Stelios lit another cigarette as he answered and he was engulfed in smoke. He looked as if he’d jumped straight out of a film noir. The ambience, his look, the tone of his voice. He exhaled and returned to normal. ‘I do Journalism.’

‘Oh, cool!’ Ren replied, feeling small for not knowing enough about journalism to warrant a conversation.

‘What about you? Why Thessaloniki?’ Stelios asked and after a moment’s pause, continued. ‘Where did you even find us? All everyone in the UK knows of Greece is Athens, Crete, Mykonos, and Corfu.’

Ren didn’t know the answer to the question. Or more to the point, it wasn’t a sophisticated answer. ‘I was going through all the Erasmus eligible universities and found the Aristotle University. It wasn’t my first choice, but it was one of my top picks. And I was accepted. So, there’s that. Not much of a story, if I’m honest. I knew I wanted to go somewhere hot and nice.’

‘And you’re from London?’ Stelios asked.

Ren nodded.

‘Nice!’

Markos turned to Ren. ‘What do you want to do when you finish?’

As if he knew. He knew what his parents wanted him to do. He knew what they expected of him. But what did he want? He did not know. But he did know he didn’t want to follow in their footsteps, study to his late thirties for a PhD he did not want, and teach young academics until he died, reading Chaucer and Kafka for entertainment. That was not his idea of a good life.

‘I’ll get back to you on that one,’ he answered. ‘What do you want to do?’

Markos chuckled. Antonis and Katerina did as well.

‘Work for DC and become their number one illustrator, of course, of course.’ Markos’s chest puffed up when he answered, which caused more hysterics from the couple.

‘Of course,’ Katerina and Antonis sang together.

Jimmy and Stelios were laughing too.

‘Am I missing the joke?’ Ren asked around the table.

Markos sighed. ‘No, they’re assholes and they don’t believe I can do it.’

Ren grimaced. ‘Why not?’ It sounded more grounded than the life that awaited Ren if he was to please his parents. ‘It’s not like he said he wants to be a superhero, himself,’ he said.

‘I told you. They are assholes,’ Markos repeated. Ren had to agree. They were funny and kind assholes. They were the kind of assholes he wouldn’t mind hanging out with while in this strange city.