Page 46 of The Reboot
‘Well, you were no help!’
‘I have to watch my figure.’ Jake ran his hands down his sides, squeezed into the slinky catsuit. ‘I’m cosplaying Deadpool this weekend.’
‘You also get this.’ Dylan produced a tiny gold cup from the shoulder bag slung across his body and presented it to her. The base was engraved ‘Employee of the Month’. ‘You only get to keep it for the month, though – unless you win it again next month.’
‘Something to aim for,’ Jake said with a wink. ‘Well, enjoy your cake.’
‘Thanks, I will.’
‘Proper drinks tonight,’ Dylan said pointing to her. ‘You’re coming to the pub, right?’
‘Oh, well…’ So far she’d avoided Friday night drinks with her colleagues. She didn’t want to push her luck and over-stretch herself, so she’d been taking it easy at weekends.
‘As Employee of the Month, you’re the guest of honour.’
‘It’s just, I was supposed to be spending the evening with my, um … the guy I live with.’
Dylan brightened. ‘Well, bring him! We’d love to meet him.’
‘Okay, I’ll ask him. But I’m not sure…’ She chewed her lip. ‘If he came, could you ask everyone not to post anything about it on social media?’
Dylan frowned, confused. ‘Sure.’
‘I know that sounds wanky. It’s just he’s kind of—’
‘Shy?’ Jake said.
‘Famous … sort of. I mean, he used to be.’
‘Really?’ Dylan’s eyes widened excitedly. ‘Who is he?’
‘Um…’ Oh god, cringe. They were going to be seriously unimpressed and this would seal her uncool rep completely. ‘He used to be in Oh Boy! Roly—’
‘Roly Punch!’ Dylan gasped, his face lighting up. ‘Oh my god, your boyfriend is Roly Punch?’
‘Oh, no! He’s not my boyfriend. We just live together. We’re housemates … friends.’
‘This is amazing!’ Jake seemed just as excited about it as Dylan. These two would never cease to surprise her.
‘Definitely bring him,’ Dylan said. ‘It’d be so cool to meet him.’
‘Really?’
‘Of course. I loved Oh Boy!’
He and Jake then went into a spontaneous rendition of ‘Cool Like You’, with surprisingly impressive harmonies.
Ella laughed. ‘Okay, I’ll bring him. If he wants to come.’ She wasn’t sure how Roly would feel about it. He seemed to have a very ambivalent attitude to his fame, on the one hand not wanting to be recognised, while at the same time getting pissed off when he wasn’t.
‘Brilliant! No photos, we promise,’ Jake said. ‘We’ll be cool.’
‘Right, I’m off to start my diet,’ Dylan said, ‘or I’ll never fit into my favourite Cher suit again.’
Ella felt quite emotional as she drank her coffee and ate her cupcake. Dylan and Jake might act like eejits, but there was a lot more to them than met the eye, and she was getting really fond of them. Citizens of the Wild was shaping up to be a great place to work.
‘Congratulations on Employee of the Month!’ Kerry said to her later as she passed through the reception area.
‘Oh yeah. Thanks!’ Ella laughed to show she wasn’t taking it seriously and knew it didn’t mean anything.
