George has been in Copenhagen for months and has failed to make any real friends. His dreamy images of Europe shattered and all desire to discover his true-self gone, the only way he sees to make a name for himself is as an eccentric outsider.

Distracted from drilling in the frozen fish pond in preparation for a New Year party, he takes himself off to the Chimpanzee Bar where he meets a beautiful young student.

What follows is a wonderful afternoon, the consequences of which will puzzle the partygoers for years to come.

Written by the author of the critically-acclaimed debut collection DIRTY OLD TOWN and winner of 2010's Watery Grave International Contest, Nigel Bird presents a rather unexpected slice of his work in the form of this existential romance.

A short story from The Lab, our experimental and abstract line.