The raised voices came from behind the counter at Hilltop Leisure Centre’s café, where a craft club meeting had just ended. Ife and Bryn, friends since college, were arguing about £60 missing from the group’s materials fund. Ife believed Bryn had forgotten to return money for shared paint; Bryn insisted he had paid weeks earlier. Club members packed away brushes in uncomfortable silence.
Ife said later that the problem was not the money but trust. Bryn admitted he had lost the receipt and felt accused. After a tense ten minutes, the club secretary, Mair, suggested they check the online bank records together. There, marked, was Bryn’s payment: it had gone into the wrong account and been returned.
Bryn apologised for his sharp tone. Ife smiled and offered to buy tea. By half past four, the two were planning the next workshop, and the café’s chatter had returned.