It was late when he stepped outside of Allied, the heavy door creaking shut and muting the bar’s loud music, replacing it with the sounds of Brooklyn at night: a car alarm going off on a distant street, conversations happening on the sidewalk. The pavement was dyed crimson in the glow of the bar sign, and everyone standing beneath it— smokers, friends of smokers who didn’t mind polluted air— looked strangely lurid, bathed in blood, like extras in a Stephen King movie. His own friends had dispersed (making excuses to head home long before last call; how boring everyone was, now that they all felt the need to act like adults), and Julius was planning to smoke a cigarette, scroll through his contacts, and play a speedy game of roulette to see where he might end up tonight. Only when his hand slipped into his empty back pocket did he remember: he’d finished the last of his Galouises this morning. Fuck. His brows dove into an unhappy child’s pout. At least in Williamsburg, he’d had that bodega on the corner of 10th and Wythe and the little European grocery store right next to the Bedford subway, reliable vendors of French cigarettes that only Julius seemed to be buying. Here in Crown Heights, the name elicited blank stares from bodega owners. Might as well have been asking if they sold Fabergé eggs. But whatever, he’d make the trip to Williamsburg tomorrow and buy out whatever supply he could find; the more pressing matter was needing a cigarette now, so Julius turned to the person closest to him on the sidewalk, lighting up behind their cupped palm. “Hey, cigarette for a dollar?” There was an etiquette to follow; you could ask for a light and expect it for free, but bumming a smoke meant a fair exchange. Cigarettes were too precious a commodity to give away for free. The open carton was held out, and Julius selected one of the sticks from inside (God, what were these, Camels? Pall Malls? Too dark to really tell; maybe for the best) with a muttered ‘thanks’. He stuck it between his lips, ignoring the lighter that was also extended and fishing for his own. Sparking the cheap plastic Bic, one hand sheltering the flame, he kept it lit till the cigarette caught; then dragged deep, welcoming the restorative burn into his lungs. The wind took the smoke from his mouth in a thin stream. Besides him, the person was still waiting. Julius looked at them edgewise, without fully turning his face, and rebuffed the expectant gaze with a single, arched eyebrow. “Oh, I don’t have a dollar. Sorry. Used all my small bills on tips.”