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‘Coffee?’

‘Thanks, yeah.’ With a last look toward Bella, Jay came over and sat at the kitchen table as Frankie spooned some instant into two mugs and the kettle came to the boil.

‘How’s your course going?’ Jay asked, picking up the copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray that was lying on the table.

‘I’m loving it. I, um, I won a prize.’

Jay’s head darted up from reading the back cover. ‘Seriously?’

‘For an essay I handed in before Christmas.’

‘That’s amazing!’

‘Ach, it’s no big deal, really.’ Although she’d been delighted to receive the accolade when it was announced in her lecture, Frankie hated that she had to walk up to the front of the room and receive the certificate with everyone staring at her.

‘It is a big deal,’ Jay insisted. ‘What do you think you’ll do, after uni?’

‘Don’t know. The head of the department mentioned a scholarship programme for a year’s study abroad.’

‘Wow!’

‘But that’s years away. Mum thinks I should take after her and become an English teacher.’

‘Not fancy it?’ He clearly picked up her lack of enthusiasm.

Frankie shook her head. ‘I love studying English but I don’t know… I can’t imagine teaching. I’m far happier with animals than children.’

‘I guess if you’re winning prizes in your first term, you could do anything.’

‘Hmm. You can borrow that, if you like.’ Frankie nodded at the book, keen to shift the subject from herself. ‘It’s good.’

‘Cool. Thanks.’ Jay slipped the slim novel into the pocket of his jacket. ‘So… what have you been up to? Out partying? Met anyone?’

‘No,’ she scoffed. She wasn’t bothered with the partying side of student life. And, in Frankie’s opinion, all the guys she’d met had been either full of themselves or trying too hard to be cool. She knew the university years were a time to find oneself, but Frankie secretly thought the majority of her fellow students would be better off getting lost and staying lost.

She added the water to the mugs and sploshed in some milk.

‘What about your course?’

Jay shrugged. ‘It’s okay, well, good really, but anyway, there’s not a lot of stuff I can say about maths that would make it interesting to a prize-winning Arts and Humanities student. Or that you’d understand.’ He winked to show he was teasing.

‘Cheeky bugger!’ She brought over the mugs and sat opposite Jay. ‘And… have you got a girlfriend?’ Frankie asked this in a teasing, sing-songy voice and then held her breath, mouth dry, realising she dreaded the answer.

‘Nah! Hey, Dr Jones, no time for love!’ Jay jokingly quoted one of their favourite films; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The pair of them had watched all those Harrison Ford films at least a dozen times throughout a particularly wet week during the last summer holiday and both endlessly quoted lines at each other, which had pissed off Rocco immensely as he hadn’t been part of their little film club.

‘Do you think you and Rocco will do a music night at the Drumkeldy Arms again?’ For the previous couple of years each Christmas holiday the pair, along with their friend, Scuzzy, on drums, had performed a set one mid-week night between Christmas and New Year.’

‘I don’t know, maybe.’ Jay gave a little shrug.

‘Rocco’s keen. Although I don’t think he’s picked up a guitar for months.’ It was well known that Rocco loved the notoriety and adoring female fans, but not the hard work of being in a band. ‘Are you still part of that group with some of the guys in your student halls?’ There had been multiple text messages and quite a few mammoth emails between Frankie and Jay throughout term to keep each other in the loop on what they were up to.

‘Yeah, we’re still playing together.’ Jay smiled.

‘That’s brilliant! I knew you’d find other weird geeky musos just like you.’ She leant over and buddy-punched his arm.

‘We played a gig a couple of weeks ago. It went really well.’ Normally so modest, for Jay to say this Frankie guessed the band had blown their performance out of the park.

‘Have you got a name yet?’