I narrow my eyes at him. “Nice try.”
He grins, taking a sip of his coffee. Trinity College is a spectacular campus, the kind that makes you stop in your tracks and wonder what it must be like to study here. We stroll around, admiring the buildings, and I use my phone to read out interesting facts about the history of the place.
“Would you like a photo underneath the chamomile?” Jamie offers, gesturing to the famous, magnificent bell tower.
“Thewhat?”
“The… chamomile,” he repeats, less confidently this time. “You just called it that when you read out that thing about students being superstitious of walking underneath it.”
I burst out laughing. “The Campanile!”
“That’s what I said.”
“You said chamomile,” I inform him through giggles. “Like the tea.”
“No, I didn’t. I said camperpile, or whatever it is that you said.”
“Campanile!” I shriek, wiping a tear from my eye.
“Camperfile.”
“Cam-pan-ile.”
“Campanile.”
“Bloody hell, you got there in the end,” I wheeze, still chuckling.
“That is one tricky word.” He laughs, watching me as I collect myself. “You want a photo under it or what?”
“Sure.” I hand him my phone and stroll back a few paces. “I guess it would be nice to send one to my dad. How should I pose?”
“What do you mean?” he asks, getting the phone ready.
“Should I do like a happy pose or an excited pose? Should I fling my arms out or point upward at the bell tower?”
“What the… I don’t know.” He looks flabbergasted. “Just stand there.”
“I can’t just stand here. It will look stupid.”
“No, it won’t. It’s a photo of you standing underneath the campertile… camperfile. Whatever it is,” he grumbles, making me laugh again. “Are you ready?”
“Wait, I need to work out my pose.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“All right, I’ll just stand here and you take the photo and you’ll see how stupid it looks.”
“Fine,” he agrees. “Ready? And…” He presses the button and then shades the screen with his hand to examine the snap. “Oh, wait. Yeah, you’re right. That does look stupid. Why is that?”
“See?”
“Your arms are hanging there by your sides, all tense and straight. You look very awkward.”
“Yes, thank you, it was to prove a point. You don’t need to analyze it any further. I’ll change my pose, let’s take it again.”
“Wait, give me a minute.” He’s using two fingers on the screen now.
“Are you zooming in?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips.
