Nice - 4am

I knew I didn't like him the minute I saw him. He had a cocky swagger that I detested immediately, although I knew it was just that - swagger, no substance.

'We play for drinks,' he said to Jense, my Norweigan friend who had politely asserted our desire to play. Jense nodded and shrugged at the same time. 'Whatever'.

Jense lost. The victor came immediately over to where we were standing and demanded his prize. 'Double vodka Red Bull,' he said, with a wry smile directed at his friends across the room. Jense shrugged again and went off to the bar, returning a few minutes later looking deflated. 'Twenty euros that cost me,' he complained, 'I bet he knew that too.' Expensive, even for a Norweigan.

'I'm playing the winner,' I announced, stepping up to the table and racking the balls before anyone could argue. 'We still play for drinks,' my now even cockier opponent said. 'Of course,' I replied.

By the time I was lining up the black, with most of his balls still on the table, I had a gallery of Nordic support behind me. 'Go on Percy!' they urged, keen to see me win but keener to see our new friend's face when I did. I slotted the black in easily to rapturous applause from the Norweigans. My opponent turned immediately and headed for the bustle of the club. 'Oi!' I called after him, demonstrating my finely honed European language skills, 'You owe me a drink.' He mumbled something about his drink having been knocked over, which cancelled it out. I wouldn't normally be too bothered about such things. I have actually, in the past, turned pints down when offered them after giving some lads a thorough beating. Victory was my prize and I was happy with that. This was different though. 'That was nothing to do with me,' I said (it was in fact Jense), 'You owe me a drink,' I repeated. 'Ok,' he conceded, 'What do you want?' 'Double vodka Red Bull,' I replied, seeing Jense smirking behind him.

I gave most of it to Jense who said, as we chinked glasses, 'Thank you Percy, that was cool. I thought he was trying to make a fool out of me, asking for a twenty euro drink. I don't like people like that. He's a...' he struggled to think of the English translation for what he was thinking. I finished his sentence for him. 'Wanker.'