‘You couldn’t be further from my type,’ she says. ‘I mean that as a compliment.’
Seb doesn’t respond to this. ‘Did you make your black-and-white film?’ he says. ‘Was he the star?’
‘No,’ she says. ‘I gave up on that.’ She makes a dismissive gesture. ‘No one wants to watch a black-and-white—’
‘Do you do that a lot?’
The interruption seems to startle her. ‘What?’ she says.
‘Abandon things?’
She turns away, tenses up a little. ‘You don’t know me.’
‘No,’ he replies. ‘I wanted to.’
More silence. They linger for a while on Theobalds Road, and the conversation remains stuck between them. The commuter’s eyes stray to the window, to the gridlock outside. Their voices punctuate the noise of the traffic.
‘You got a new job,’ Seb says, eventually. He sounds tired of bickering.
‘Yes,’ she replies, quietly. ‘Production. Films.’
‘Your dream.’
She looks up at him. She seems surprised that he remembers. ‘I saw one of your campaigns,’ she says.
Seb looks back at her. ‘You did?’
‘You were on a fuckingbillboard,’ she says. ‘A small one, yeah, but still a billboard. I stood there for ages, staring up at you. People must have thought I was a creep, ogling these blokes with their tops off in their DKNY jeans.’
She stops herself, looks down. Seb stays looking at her.
‘Would you ever have called?’ he says. ‘If I hadn’t walked into that room today?’
‘I don’t know,’ she says. ‘I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me.’
‘So you followed me on to my bus.’
She laughs. She can’t help herself. The bus is moving again. They reach another stop.
Rosebery Avenue
Someone gets off. No one gets on.
‘What did you think?’ Seb says.
‘About the billboard?’ she replies. ‘Too much buttock.’
‘About the audition.’
She tilts her head. She makes a non-committal sound.
Seb turns his entire body towards her. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You nailed the scene,’ she says. ‘You’re a natural when you have someone to act against.’ A hesitant nod. ‘You’re definitely getting a callback.’
He looks pleased. Then, suspicious. ‘But?’
She speaks quietly. ‘The monologue was wooden.’
