4. Georgia


“Jill’s drunk.”
         “Well keep her away from Neil, you know how she loves trying to pick up what I chuck out.” Lucy laughed.
         “Speaking of which, actually, Luce,” began Georgia.
         “Oh for goodness’ sake! Who let Sue near James again?” Lucy cried, exasperated. She grabbed Joe as he walked past, “Save James from Sue for me, babe.” Joe looked to where she was pointing and laughed.
         “Whatever you do, don’t let Jill see that, she’d be devastated!”
         “Well obviously,” agreed Georgia, “because she’s still in love with James. And Steve. And pretty much every other guy she’s ever met.” The three of them laughed and Joe moved off to try and get a very drunk Sue away from a frightened James. The girls sat and watched, stifling laughter as Sue’s face turned from lustful to confused to angry and she attempted to lash out at Joe while James escaped to the toilets. Lucy chuckled.
         “Oh gosh, that girl needs to learn when to stop drinking.”
         “Remember when we were younger and she couldn’t stand the thought of drinking or being around boys? Even at 16 she was such a killjoy and now look at her! Always the first one to get drunk and throw herself at someone totally inappropriate.” Georgia laughed at the memory of what seemed like a lifetime ago.
         “Everyone’s changed so much since we were that age,” agreed Lucy.
         “Well, not everyone,” said Georgia, nodding her head at Jill who, drink in hand, was attempting to corner Steve, “Should we save him?” Lucy thought about it for a moment.
         “Nah, he’s a big boy and he’s had plenty of practise hiding from Jill. He can go join James in the loos!” the two girls began to laugh hysterically. Georgia’s mind was racing, trying to come up with a way to broach the subject of Neil with Lucy again. Sue’s attack of James had interrupted the perfect moment. She decided to plunge straight in this time, no distractions.
         “Lucy, I need to talk to you. Seriously.” Lucy stopped laughing and adopted an expression which was a mixture of confusion and concern.
         “What’s up, babe?” she asked.
         “It’s about Neil.”
         Georgia hesitated, trying to piece together what she wanted to say in her mind. She hadn’t thought this far ahead.
         “Well, for a while now…” she began before faltering. “I mean, for about 3 months … I mean, basically, the thing is that-“
         “Gee,” Lucy cut her off.
         “Yes?”
         “I’m so happy for you!” Lucy cried, flinging her arms around Georgia and squealing with delight. Georgia pulled back, confused.
         “You knew?”
         “I’ve known for, like, 4 months.”
         “But we’ve only been together for 3,” said Georgia, confused.
         “Please,” Lucy scoffed, “The two of you aren’t exactly subtle and I know you both better than anyone. I knew you fancied each other before you did!” Georgia breathed a sigh of relief, “I was so terrified of telling you,” she explained, “Neil didn’t even want to, he thought it would be like sixth form all over again with everyone getting angry at each other over swapping boyfriends.” Lucy smiled and hugged Georgia again.
         “No way will that ever happen again,” she said, “Dark times. We’re all older and wiser now so it’s fine. Seriously, you’re such a better match with Neil than anyone else, especially me!”
         “But you two were such a great couple. Like, couple of the year,” said Georgia, to which Lucy scoffed again and waved her hand dismissively, “Honestly, I’m scared I won’t be as good a girlfriend as you,” confided Georgia.
         “Gee whizz, Gee,” said Lucy, “It’s not like you’ve got a lot to live up to. Neil’s and my fights are legendary, we were always bickering.”
         “We’ve never fought.”
         “Exactly,” said Lucy, “Ooh! I can give you so much dirt on him!” The two girls laughed. Georgia felt like a great weight had finally been lifted.

4. Claire


“Where’s my toothbrush?” Claire shouted, throwing clothes from her wardrobe into one of her giant overnight bags. Margaret walked into her room, toothbrush in hand.
         “In the bathroom, where you put it every time you brush your teeth,” she said. “How do you always manage to be this rushed?”
         “Because she’s Claire, she’s always late for everything!” came Jill’s voice from the living room, where she was lying upside down on the sofa reading a book.
         “You could be a bit helpful instead of just lying there pointing out the obvious and getting a headache!” Claire yelled from her room. Jill swung herself upright and put her book down.
         “Alright, don’t get all stressy. What do you need me to do?”
         “If you’re all packed and ready, can you help me find my dress? I had it yesterday when I brought it home but I’ve lost it now.”
         “Oh I borrowed it for my party last night, it’s in my room. I’ll go get it for you!” she added, sounding like she felt put out by the effort of the gesture. Margaret put her hand on Claire’s arm to try and stop her from getting angry. Jill walked back in, “You guys should have come last night, it was so hilarious and, like, awesome!”
         “We weren’t invited,” Margaret reminded her, “It was all the people from your drama course and you said we’d be out of place if we went.” Claire made a noise that sounded like a growl and tried to pass it off as a cough. Jill continued, oblivious to her angry audience, “Oh of course, but still it was so funny ‘cause you know Luke? He got so drunk and started doing one of the exercises from class and then Stephen and Mikey just didn’t stop staring at my chest!”
         “Maybe that was because you were wearing my dress and it was too small for you.” Claire offered through semi-gritted teeth.
         “No, you bum, it fitted me! We’re the same size, remember?” Jill laughed. Claire, who had always been slim (more so now from living off a student income) smiled wryly at Jill, who had been spending her student income on cheap junk food and alcohol and had, as Claire liked to put it, ‘blossomed’ over the past two years. Despite this, she had always insisted that she was the same size as all of her friends when there was quite a difference between her and everyone else. She strolled into Claire’s room with the dress swinging from her fingertips. Claire resisted the urge to snatch it angrily from her and laid it down on the bed to inspect it. Margaret recoiled as it was unfolded and sniffed the air. She turned to Jill and demanded, “Did you smoke in that dress last night?” Claire, who had now smelt the odour for herself, turned to Jill with her hands on her hips. Jill was shifting uncomfortably on her feet.
         “I only had one, I told you I was trying to quit and I am.” Claire grimaced and strained to keep the anger inside herself.
         “That’s not the point, Jill,” she said, “I couldn’t care less if you smoke or not, you're the one who wants to die young.”
         “So what’s the problem?” asked Jill, sounding genuinely confused.
         “You borrowed my new dress without asking and then made it reek of smoke before I’d even worn it once and I can see that you’ve stretched it at the seams!” Claire burst out, losing her composure for a moment. Jill looked shocked, as did Margaret. Neither had seen her really lose her cool for some time.
         “Whoa, Hun, are you ok? Are you, you know, like, on your period?” Jill ventured. Claire looked at her, trying to control her expression into less of a death stare than she thought Jill deserved.
         “No.” she said simply. Margaret, attempting to ease the huge tension levels, suggested that Jill go and read again while she and Claire finished packing Claire’s bag ready to leave.
       “You know what they say,” she added, glancing nervously at a seething Claire, “Too many cooks and all that.” Jill left, not because she had taken the hint or noticed that she was herself the cause of Claire’s extreme mood swing, but because she was always eager not to help where possible.

4. Lucy


Lucy felt like screaming. She usually only felt like this when she was forced to write essays on hideously boring people. It was a feeling of being trapped under a huge pile of triviality that she just didn’t care about but that she knew was going to mean huge trouble for her if she didn’t do anything about it soon. One more minor irritation could push her over the edge, she knew it.
         The doorbell rang.
         “Joe! Get the door!” Lucy yelled.
         “I’m going, Hun, don’t worry.” He opened the door to find Carter standing there with a concerned expression on his face.
         “Hey, Joe, what’s going on?” he asked
         “Oh babe, thank goodness you came!”
         “You said it was an emergency with Lucy, I was worried. Of course I came.”
         “Aw you’re so sweet, darling.”
         “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
         “She’s nearing a nervous breakdown,” Joe explained, “Unreliable people really get to her.” Carter nodded. Joe showed him through to the living room and they waited outside the door, listening to Lucy on the phone.
         “How can you say that? It’s on a Saturday night and it’s here!” there was quiet as whoever was on the other end attempted to make excuses. Then Lucy replied, audibly getting angrier, “Claire and Jill are coming from Leeds. James is coming from Exeter. What excuse could you possibly have not to come from Warwick? … You what? Do you realise who you’re saying that to? Don’t even try and talk to me about workloads. Sue’s coming from Oxford, giving up her weekend even though she has an exam on Monday. … I know she is, but you’re taking photography and she’s taking Economics so that comparison doesn’t really count, does it? … You already said you would come … Yes I’m angry! … Fine, do whatever you want but this is one of the only opportunities we have to see everyone until summer and everyone always goes away in summer anyway. I’ll just tell Georgia you have too many pictures to colour in to come and celebrate her 21st with all the rest of our friends. Sorry, what? I can’t hear you over her disappointment. You're breaking up now, bye!” Lucy hung up the phone and took a big breath, getting ready to let out a stress-releasing scream. Joe saw an opportunity, pre-scream, and ran in, dragging Carter after him.
         “Look who came to visit you, babe!”
         Lucy saw them and converted her scream to as excited a cry as she could.
         “Carter! I thought you weren’t coming until later?”
         “Joe sent me a distress message.”
         “Joseph, you utter babe,” Lucy cried as she flung her arms around Joe. Then she turned to Carter, “I missed you.” she told him as he engulfed her in a hug.
         “I missed you more.” he replied.
         “I look like shit, I’m so stressed out I haven’t had a shower yet today!” Lucy realised, panic levels rising.
         “You look gorgeous, don’t worry.”
         “Although maybe changing out of your pyjamas would be a good idea,” added Joe, “And a shower probably wouldn’t hurt.” Lucy looked at him sarcastically as they all sat down on the sofas. She buried her face in Carter’s chest and told them about her stresses so far that day.
         “ … so now I have to find cups and a way to tell Georgia that Billie isn’t coming to her birthday. And that’s just today’s problems, this has been going on all week!” Carter stroked her arm to comfort her.
         “So how many people are coming in total?” he asked.
         “About 72, I think.”
         “You’re joking,” said Joe, “that’s tons! What are you worrying about?”
         “I invited 134.”
         “Oh, right.”
         “Doesn’t Tillie’s have a 100-person limit?” asked Carter.
         “On paper, but it always has loads more than that in there. It’s going to look so empty and everyone’s going to laugh at me!”
         “Everyone’s only going to laugh at you if you look like that.” Joe gestured to her pyjamas, her messy bun and smudged makeup that she couldn’t be bothered to take off the night before. “Go have a shower and get dressed and I’ll keep Carter company down here.”
         “Good plan. I’ll try to be quick,” she said as she gave Carter a kiss.
         “Yuck, get a room,” said Joe. Lucy stood up and pointed sternly at him.
         “You. No trying to convert my boyfriend to your bus again. 3 in a row is enough, got it?” Joe smirked and nodded resignedly. Lucy walked away.
         “Mate, what was she on about?” Carter asked.
         “I may have accidentally-on-purpose converted her last three boyfriends to being gay. All I did was encourage them to try something new but she thinks it’s like this big deal or something.” Carter looked surprised.
         “Wait, are you gay?”
         “You are kidding, right? Lucy always says I’m the gayest gay who ever gayed, she calls me her sister!”
         “I thought that was just a joke! I knew she had a gay friend but I thought it was Michael!” Carter cried. Joe burst out laughing, “How could you not have known? Michael’s straight, trust me.”
         “Trust you? Sounds like you're pretty sure. You didn’t…?” Carter asked. Joe coughed loudly and pointedly.
       “You know what? I think there’s a really good documentary on the T.V. Or a re-run, or something. Anything.”

3. Georgia


“So I mentioned to Lucy about your birthday coming up and she’s decided you have to have it here. She’s even started planning.”
         “You’re like an evil genius.”
         “You think I’m evil?”
         “No, you’re the evil genius without the evil part.”
         “So I’m a genius then?”
         “Actually I just meant you were sneaky, I don’t think I’d get that carried away and call you a genius,” Georgia laughed, “It would only give you a big ego.”
         “But I thought you loved my big ego?” whined the voice on the other end of the phone line, mockingly.
         “That’s not why I love you, silly. That’s what I put up with because of it.” replied Georgia. She was met with a silence which she knew was intended to make her uneasy. “You know I hate it when you do that.” she said.
         “That’s why I do it.”
         “Neil.”
         “I love you, Georgia.”
         “Much better. Now tell me about my party.”
         “I can’t, I promised Lucy that I’d keep it a secret if I spoke to you. Not that she knows I talk to you this much, but that’s only because she doesn’t know about us being together. Well, because nobody does, I suppose. We’ve actually kept it quite a good secret, it’s going really well, don’t you think?”
         “She needs to know, Neil. I’ve decided to tell her and I’m not changing my mind this time no matter what you say.” Georgia sat up straight and puffed her chest out, trying to sound as assertive as possible and knowing that good posture would make her sound as defiant as she was aiming to be. Another silence reached her ears and she could imagine to herself what Neil was thinking. Neil wanted their relationship to stay a secret for as long as possible. He had been told too many stories about fights between the girls in high school when they had all gone through a phase of essentially swapping boyfriends every few months. Even now, after having had it all explained to him so many times, he couldn’t remember who had dated whom and who had kissed or swapped or the order in which any of it had happened. He was eager to avoid being the cause of any repeat of any of those falling outs.
         “Gee, I get that you don’t want this to be a secret anymore but maybe now isn’t the best time.”
         “You never think it’s the best time. Actually, my birthday would be the perfect time. She’ll be happy because it’s a party with all her friends and her new boyfriend.”
         “She’ll be stressed out because she’s organising the party and Steve and Claire will both be there, and so will Jill and several other difficult people,” countered Neil, “Not the best time.”
         “So Joe can be in charge of peacemaking and Carter can be in charge of distracting her from the organising stress.” Georgia reasoned. Neil sighed.
         “You’re really set on telling her aren’t you, babe?”
         “Nothing you can say will change my mind. I’ve thought about it.” There was a silence from Neil on the other side. “Come on,” Georgia prodded, “you know and I know that she needs to know. It’s not like she’ll make a big fuss over it, it’s Lucy for goodness’ sake.”
         “If there’s really no way to change your mind then fine, but if this all goes tits-up then you can’t stop me from saying ‘I told you so’.” Neil warned. Georgia breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that this would have been a lot more difficult. Neil was used to getting his own way and could be the most stubborn person if he thought he wasn’t going to get it. For some reason, though, Georgia seemed to be the only person who was able to get away with whatever she wanted. In the three months that they’d been secretly dating, they hadn’t seen each other all that often, but every couple of weeks Neil would stop in Nottingham to see her when he was on his way to or from his parents’ houses in Yorkshire. His parents put him in a bad mood and Georgia was the best and the only way he could cheer himself up, or so he told her. She pretended to believe him.
       The truth was, Georgia was afraid that Lucy had always done a better job of cheering him up. In fact, Georgia was afraid that Lucy had done a better job of everything when she was with Neil, and she was just as hesitant as Neil to come clean about their relationship. What if Lucy’s reaction was angrier than Georgia expected? What if it wasn’t even anger, but smugness because Lucy was the longest relationship that Neil had ever had. Everyone had thought that Lucy and Neil had the perfect relationship. Georgia rarely had relationships, she always fell for the wrong people. Guys who already had girlfriends or had no interest in her or a relationship in general. Danger and rule-breaking were what attracted Georgia. Neil wasn’t even her type; he was clean-cut, well groomed and had a rower’s body and discipline, he was nice and polite and he loved her. He wasn’t afraid of commitment and he always shared his feelings when she asked. But every so often, he would say or do something that made Georgia afraid that he was comparing her to Lucy and in her mind, she never won.

3. Claire


“Seriously,” Michael was saying, “I am not even joking. All the way in, except for one foot just sticking out the door!” on the other end of the phone, Claire, Clive, Jill and Margaret were in hysterics.
         “So I came into the room and I was like ‘Susan Brown, what are you doing?’ and she was so wasted that she had no idea who I even was!” the foursome broke out into raucous laughter once more.
         “How does she deal with that much drinking? Isn’t it a miracle she’s still alive?” Clive asked.
         “I don’t know how she made it past year ten. And she always says that she isn’t going to drink a lot, every time we go out! She’s-”
         “Oh I know!” Jill interjected, “When I used to see her at parties and stuff she was always, like, instantly drunk!”
         “How would you know? You’re always more drunk than everyone else anyway!” laughed Margaret. Jill looked at her menacingly and snarled, “Well if we’re talking about drunk people here, what about you? You were the one who nearly fell out of that tree the other night after two cocktails!” The others ignored her tone and continued laughing.
         “Ooh what about that one time that Michael nearly went home with the bartender? The male bartender!” Claire squealed. Michael’s voice came through the speakerphone.
         “He said his name was Alex and he had a ponytail! He was very skinny!”
         “He wasn’t even as skinny as you, Mike. And he had stubble!”
         “It was dark, I couldn’t see the stubble from where I was. Besides, the eyeliner threw me off and he was very flirty!” At this, the group exploded in laughter once more. Suddenly, there was a piercing, electronic-sounding wail. Everybody turned to Clive, who shamefully reached for his pocket and pulled out his phone.
         “I’ll change the tone later, I promise.”
         “That’s what you say every time it goes off,” pointed out Margaret, “and it doesn’t make it any less maddening.”
         “Maddening?” snickered Jill.
         “I have a word-of-the-day calendar, that was on it last week.” Explained Margaret proudly. Claire could see Jill’s grin was turning bitchy and she didn’t want her to make fun of Margaret’s new vocabulary, when Margaret herself was so proud of it. She decided to cut in before anything was said.
         “Clive, don’t you have to go, then?” Clive looked upset, he was always waiting for anything he could turn into a catfight.
         “It’s fine, I have my car.”
         “Ooh, aren’t you fancy?” said Michael’s voice.
         “Just admit you’re jealous.” retorted Clive.
         “Clive, you’re such a lazy fatso! You can walk to your class from here!” said Margaret. Jill saw an opportunity and seized it.
         “Is ‘lazy fatso’ on your word calendar, Marge?” she said mockingly. Claire sighed inwardly. Jill was forever trying to attack Margaret. Instead of getting upset as usual, though, Margaret just looked at Jill and said, “Yes, actually.” In the time it took for Jill to figure out whether or not this was a lie, the rest of the group had burst out laughing again, this time at her. Not wanting to appear like she wasn’t a part of the group, Jill laughed along, pretending she knew what was happening. Clive’s phone went off again, prompting the rest of the group to practically force him out of the door to his class. After he had left, Margaret announced that she had to leave as well, since she needed to get ready for a date she was going on later with someone she had met at Jill’s last show. When it was just Jill and Claire left with Michael on the phone, talk turned to the next birthday: Georgia’s.
         “Last year her party was so, like, depressing,” said Jill, “It would have been ok but, like, everyone was away so it was just a few of us.”
         “Yeah I know what you mean,” agreed Michael, “Plus there was that massive fight that a certain couple had. Cough.”
         “We said we were sorry about that!” protested Claire, “And besides, we aren’t the only couple who have ever had a fight at a birthday party. Jill.”
         “What are you talking about?” asked Jill, confused.
         “I’m talking about you and Bob, or Rob, or whatever his name was.”
         “Oh him,” Jill said, “His name was John, though.”
         “Oh I remember John!” put in Michael, “He had weird hair, right?”
         “Yeah that was him.” said Claire.
         “We weren’t a couple though,” Jill said, “he was just my date. I didn’t realise what a dick he was when I asked him to come with me.”
         “But that doesn’t make you ruining Joe’s birthday party any better.” pointed out Claire. Michael agreed.
         “I thought we were talking about Georgia’s party?” asked Jill, trying to move the subject away from her actions that night with Bob/Rob/John.
         “Yeah okay. Well Lucy said we could rent out Tillie’s if we wanted, she can get an extra discount if she picks up a few more shifts for like a week.” said Claire. Jill was unenthusiastic, and questioned whether Georgia would want to go all the way to Cambridge from Nottingham for her own birthday party.
       “Actually, I think she’s going to Cambridge then anyway,” explained Claire with a knowing grin, “something about seeing someone important.”

3. Lucy


At 1:30 the next day, Lucy’s phone rang. As “Pocket Full of Sunshine” filled the room, three groans emanated from the bed, the floor and – unusually – the wardrobe. Lucy resisted the urge to kick the large pile of blankets on the floor that was concealing Steve as she made her way out of the room. Fully dressed, having already been awake for a while, and without the colossal hangover that she knew her friends were suffering from, Lucy answered the phone and went downstairs to seek out a quiet spot.
         “Hello?”
         “Lucy?”
         “That depends on who this is.”
         “It’s Carter. Remember, from yesterday?”
         “Carter! Hi there, how was your Friday night?”
         “Good thanks, how was yours? Did your friend get drunk?”
         “Which one?” Lucy laughed, “They all got absolutely smashed! I was the one serving them, so I know exactly how much they all drank!”
         “You’re a bartender? Where?” Carter sounded impressed.
         “Tipsy Tillie’s, down on the bridge on Mill Lane.” Carter now sounded even more impressed, which Lucy didn’t begrudge him. Tillie’s was a feat of engineering, built by extending the bridge across the river so wide that it could fit the road, a pathway and a bar. Strategically placed, near the university sports and social club and the Mill pub. The second pathway was on the other side meaning that there were two queues for entry. Parts of the floor were glass, so that you could see the water below. It was one of the most popular bars in town, especially since it was near more colleges than any other. What some bars struggled to make in a month, Tillie’s made in a weekend.
         “Wow, that place is incredible! My friends and I tried to get in there last week but the queue went all the way up Mill Lane and it would have been shut by the time we got to the front.”
         “I work alternate Fridays and Saturdays there. I’m not working tonight, so Neil will probably drag us to Revolution on Downing Street. What it is about chilli-flavoured vodka that excites him, I will never know.” Lucy poured herself a glass of milk and sat down on the sofa, taking advantage of the sitting room while all  her housemates and friends were in drunken stupors.
         “Well if you don’t want to go to Revolution, you could do something else.” Carter ventured, and Lucy hoped she knew what he was hinting at.
         “What else could I do that is worth my time and attention?” she probed.
         “Me, perhaps?”
         Lucy spluttered and nearly spat out her milk in surprise.
         “I mean, not literally, just as in you could come out with me instead. If you wanted to, I mean. It’s up to you. You probably don’t want to now. That came out completely wrong, I’m so sorry!” Carter was rambling. Lucy collected herself and laughed, “Carter, calm down! I know what you meant.” Carter breathed a sigh of relief and began to apologise again.
         “Sorry, usually I’m a lot more aware than that,” he explained.
         “Don’t worry about it,” Lucy chuckled.
         “I realise you probably don’t want to go out with me now. I’ll hang up and leave you alone forever. Sorry again.”
         “Carter, wait! If I hadn’t wanted you to ask me out, why would I have given you my number yesterday?”
         “Were you looking for a pen-pal, maybe?” Carter suggested.
         “Well as much as I’m sure you’d be an excellent pen-pal, I’d rather go on a date with you,” Lucy giggled, “I think that sounds like more fun, don’t you?”
         “Definitely.” Carter responded immediately, “I’ll pick you up at 6, then?”
         “Sounds brilliant,” Lucy said.
         “I’ll see you then, um, then! Bye!” and with that, he rang off.
Just then, Lucy heard movement and turned to see Steve making a beeline – albeit a rather slow, pained beeline – for the kettle. Lucy sprang up and headed over to him. Having been put in a good mood by Carter’s call, and being slightly stir-crazy (She’d been up since 11:30, amusing herself on Facebook while her friends remained comatose), she decided to speak rather more loudly to Steve than she needed to. She was still slightly angry at him for his antics at the bar last night, anyway.
         “How’s the hangover?” she inquired.
         “Sh,” Steve grunted, “coffee first.”
         “I was thinking about making a fry-up to celebrate my sobriety,” Lucy informed him, “feel like some lovely, greasy, fried bacon and gooey eggs? Think of the lovely smell.” Steve groaned and looked at her in what she assumed was his version of a malevolent glare. Funnily enough, it looked nothing like his sober glare. Her phone rang again and Steve moaned more loudly than possibly he needed to at the ringtone.
         “Hello?”
         “I don’t have your address.” Carter’s voice explained apologetically, “I was in such a rush to hang up because I thought you might change your mind after my accidental outburst.” Lucy giggled, Steve looked up from where he was staring at the kettle, willing it to boil faster and silently cursing whoever had last gone shopping for buying rubbish instant coffee.
         “Why on earth would I have changed my mind? I’m sure you’ll find a way to make up for your slip-up later,” she flirted. The kettle boiled, Steve poured himself a mug and gulped the first sip of the drink that had saved his life (and his 2-1 average) more times than he could count while listening to Lucy flirt and give her address to the caller.
         “See you later, then?” Lucy was saying by Steve’s second gulp. The other person replied and Lucy hung up. Steve grumbled his way to the sofa, feeling slightly better but acting slightly worse. Lucy sat beside him and looked at him expectantly. He said nothing and reached for the remote.
         “Don’t you want to know who that was?” she asked after a while.
         “Probably not.” Steve replied, “Was it your pimp?”
         “Yes, actually. He was asking where your mum had got to; she’s been skipping clients again,” Lucy countered. Steve looked at her sarcastically.
         “Go on then, tell me who it really was.”
         “It was Carter. He rang up and we’re going out tonight” Lucy burst out, clearly excited. Steve sipped his coffee, cringing at the poor quality.
         “Who?” he asked.
         “Carter!” Lucy repeated. Steve stared at her blankly. She sighed. “The rower from yesterday. The one who knew Neil. He’s picking me up at 6.”
       “Oh, him. Good for you, then.” Steve was unenthused. Lucy sighed again. Steve was hopeless when she wanted a reaction. Especially when he was hung-over. She would have to wait for Joe to wake up. Ironic, really, that he was still sleeping in her wardrobe.