Page 72 of Hot to Go

‘This is the thing, Sir,’ a girl interrupts. ‘They only talk on Snapchat. They’ve never actually spoken in real life.’

Suzie and I look at each other, smiling. ‘So what do you do when you bump into each other at school?’

‘I say nothing. He says nothing,’ she replies.

‘They’re too nervous, Miss,’ someone interrupts.

‘I’m not nervous. It’s just that it works nice on Snapchat, that’s all.’

‘And when we say chatting,’ I enquire. ‘It’s all PG, yeah…above board?’ I ask, putting my safeguarding hat on.

‘Oh yeah,’ Lola replies. ‘My parents would kill me otherwise, we talk about school and what we might do at college, gossip and swap memes. He’s well funny.’

A boy in the group scrunches up his face in disgust but Suzie and I smile at the sweetness of it all, we know what teen relationships can look like and how they can be rushed. God, we know rushed, but here’s something where two people are taking their time and getting to know each other and these are the foundations every relationship should really be built on.

‘So why don’t you talk to him? You could call him now?’ Suzie suggests.

‘NO!’ Lola says. ‘Not with you spoons standing around.’

‘Or maybe go on a date?’ I tell her. ‘Go for coffee? Maybe go for a walk?’

The young people look at me strangely. You guys still date, no? Or do you just snap and do interpretative TikTok dances for each other?

‘That sounds like a perfect date…’ Suzie interrupts.

‘Or…’ Lola says. ‘You can all leave us alone. It will happen. I just…I’m scared.’

‘Of….?’

‘That he won’t like me when he gets to know the real me. What if I’m better on text? What if he thinks I’m an idiot? I’d have to be close to him, actually touch his hand. I don’t know how to do that.’

Suzie and I look at each other, smiling knowingly. ‘Then maybe you just take a chance. Be brave, go for it, right?’ Suzie looks her in the eye, holding her drink aloft so Lola can clink it against hers.

‘Maybe,’ she says. ‘Miss…you never told us if you were married?’ Lola asks.

She hesitates then searches for my face, still learning against that ledge, the city landscape still behind me and the warmth of the evening sun on my back.

Before she can answer, the conversation is suddenly interrupted by someone putting a Bluetooth speaker on. This feels like one of the songs Brooke blasts out in the kitchen when she’s making a mess. It might be Charli XCX but I won’t say that aloud in case the kids crucify me. Yet I’m grateful it has some sort of beat.

‘Everyone,’ Lee shouts out. ‘Other people are also staying in this hostel. Please can we make good choices. Do not repeat some of these lyrics.’

‘But they’re in English, Sir, no one will know what they mean!’

It would be useful if Mark and Jackie also listened to this advice as they get up and start swaying. I marvel at how they’re not even drunk unless they’ve been knocking it back already in their room. A few of the kids get up and start to dance, shouting out the lyrics, hanging drinks in the air and swaying.

‘Come on Miss, Sir…’ Lola shouts, live streaming it all to someone, somewhere, on her phone.

Suzie comes up and stands next to me on that ledge, leaning back. She holds her face up to count some of the stars peeking through then looks at me. I think we’re supposed to be stopping this from getting out of control but it’s hard to resist the memory they’re creating on this rooftop drenched in sunshine that will stay with them forever. We normally don’t see our teenagers so joyful.

‘Do you want to dance?’ I ask her.

She laughs. ‘The children would talk.’

‘I’m not talking slow dancing, tango style…’

‘Oh, you’re going to do a flamenco for us, are you?’ she jokes.

‘We wouldn’t even have to touch…’

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