Page 2 of On Circus Lane

“Alright, losers?” she says, throwing herself into the seat Ivy saved for her.

I grin at her. I don’t know Sal well, but I like her. She’s good people.

“Have you just finished work?” I ask.

“Yep,” she says, sighing. “I think Scrooge would be a better employer than mine at the moment. Last week, I had a prang in my car, and he told me to take the lunchtime off.Andthe stingy wanker hasn’t bought me a Christmas present.” She accepts the drink Ivy hands her with a smile and takes a healthy swig. “Never mind that, though. Are you all ready for the holiday?”

Ivy rubs her hands together. “Four days in Edinburgh. I can’t wait.”

I frown. “Who exactly is going again?”

“Iknewyou weren’t listening,” Ivy says. She turns to Sal. “Did you tell him facts while he was doodling? That was your first mistake. Heneverpays any attention.”

“I wasn’t doodling. They were valuable equations,” I protest, grabbing my next drink from the assortment that Ivy andI ordered earlier. Ivy and Sal roll their eyes, looking like disapproving meerkats.

“You’ll meet a few of the people going with us in a minute,” Sal says. “Everyone apart from Theo and Georgina are meeting us for a drink so we can get to know each other.”

“Lovely,” I say faintly.

Sal drains her drink, and I blink. I’ve only managed a sip of mine.

“I’ll go and get us another round,” she says, standing. “What do you want?”

We give her the order and watch her make her way to the bar. She grins wickedly at a group of blokes who are waiting to be served, throws her hair back, and they part like the Red Sea around Moses. In fact, Moses should have taken Sal along with him. She’d have found someone to carry the Ten Commandments in no time at all.

“Tell me again how you roped me into this Edinburgh idea,” I say to Ivy.

She digs her finger into my ribs until I squirm. “Because I want to go. I’ve never been to Scotland before, and Edinburgh is supposed to be beautiful at Christmas.”

“And where do I come in? I do have a lot of work on my plate at the moment, you know.”

She blows a raspberry. “Bee, you could take that DPhil with your hands tied behind your back.”

“I’m not sure that’s quite how it works. Well, not unless the examining board have become intriguingly BDSM themed since I took my last degree.”

“Which degree? You’ve got so many, I’ve lost count.” She leans closer. “You’re going because I don’t know any of the others, and you’re my best friend, so it’s the law that you have to come too.”

“You know Sal.”

“She’s my friend fromwork.” She says this as though it explains everything.

“And?” I prompt.

“Well, it’s not the same as being with someone I’ve known since I was five.” She smiles coaxingly. “We’ll have a great time, and it’ll be good for you to get away from your desk. You’ve been workingsohard this term. You look tired and worn.”

“Was any of that meant to sound sympathetic?”

She cocks her head. “I was going for that, yes. Did I go too far?”

“Just a bit.”

Sal comes over in a flash of scarlet dress and long legs. “Nice blokes over there.” She plops down the drinks and gives the group at the bar a flirty wave. Then she settles down in her seat. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, the rest of the party. It’s going to be us three, plus my brother, Tom.”

“I’ve never met him,” Ivy tells me. She’s spacing her words out very precisely, as she always does when drunk.

“Lucky you. He’s lovely, but a complete wanknugget sometimes,” Sal says with the affectionate scorn of a sister. She starts to count off on her fingers. “Freddy’s coming. He’s one of Tom’s best friends, and you’ll love him. He’s awesome. There’s also Theo and Georgina. She’s my flatmate, and he’s her boyfriend.”

Ivy noisily sucks the last bit of her drink through her straw and then immediately picks up her next drink. If she doesn't slow down, I foresee an evening of holding her hair back while she hovers over the toilet.

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