Chapter 1

This is how it starts. The man grows in the back of your mind in a cage. He’s dressed differently to you, in sports clothing, like all of the other chavs. His hair is different to you, short and shaved, like all of the other chavs.

Once he’s born, he demands. He needs a name, and he gets himself one. He grows every day off you. He grows even more as he pushes those little things you never notice into your mind. The cage is starting to rot.

Before you notice it, he’s taking you to the gym every night of the week. The outer edges of the cage are starting to drop apart. Before you notice it, he’s talking for you all of the time. The bars of the cage have weathered away, almost meaningless. Before you know it, you stop remembering what happens when he decides he wants to take over. The cage doesn’t exist anymore.

Before you know it, you’re no longer there. He’s the one in charge now. The cage you created because you were scared of him is gone, instead he’s put you into his cage. His cage where you are forced to see what he does with his body. You no longer have a say anymore. You’re just a passenger, permanently.