Page 43 of The Reboot
Ella rolled her eyes. ‘Of course, the pinnacle of human achievement – getting paid to stand around pouting in your pants.’
‘Hey! She didn’t just stand around in her pants. She walked for Ariana’s Boudoir, I’ll have you know.’
‘I don’t even know what that sentence means.’
‘Yeah, you do.’
‘Okay, yeah, I do. It means she can walk as well as standing still. So versatile!’
‘You’re so judgmental! It’s not very feminist of you, shaming a woman for her career choices.’
Ella sighed. ‘You’re right.’ Why was she being a bitch?
‘Everyone wants the best, don’t they? And when you’re rich and famous, you can get it.’
‘That’s a seriously depressing view of human relations.’ She yawned. Glancing at her watch, she was surprised to see it was almost midnight – way past her bedtime. ‘Well, I think that’s enough life planning for now. I’m going to hit the sack.’
Roly looked up at her as she stood. ‘I’m going to my nan’s for dinner tomorrow with my mum. We have dinner together most Sundays. You’re welcome to come if you want?’
‘Thanks, but I’m going out with my mum and aunt. They’re going away on Wednesday, so it’s sort of a farewell celebration.’
‘Cool.’ He nodded. ‘So we’ll both have one last big blow-out tomorrow and start this new regime on Monday.’
12
Over the nextcouple of weeks, Ella and Roly settled into a routine. They started running together on alternate mornings, and Ella was surprised to discover she enjoyed it. She didn’t put any pressure on herself to keep up with Roly, just going at her own pace and focusing on building up her stamina. She was pleased with the progress she was making. She could feel herself getting stronger and fitter each day. They shared the cooking between them and ate together in the evenings, taking turns to try out new low-carb recipes and experimenting with intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating. Roly had applied for benefits, as promised, and was going through the screening process while spending his days writing songs. He had committed to working on his music for at least four hours each day with the aim of finishing a new song every week.
On non-running days, Roly tended to get up later and exercise after Ella had gone to work. So she was surprised to hear him up and about early one Friday morning as she ate her breakfast, still in her dressing-gown.
‘What are you doing up so early?’ she asked when he shuffled into the kitchen.
‘I’ve got that social welfare inspector coming this morning,’ he said, his voice still thick with sleep.
‘I thought he wasn’t coming until twelve?’
‘He’s not. But I need to get ready.’ He yawned, rubbing his hair, further tousling his bed head. ‘I want to make the right impression. I have to decide what to wear and sort this place out.’
Ella thought it was sweet how anxious Roly was about the welfare inspector’s visit.
‘So I wanted to catch you before you went to work, to get your opinion.’ He stood in front of her, and held his arms out wide. ‘What do you think?’
‘Of?’
‘My outfit.’
‘Oh! Would you call it an outfit? I thought you just got out of bed.’
He looked down at himself, plucking at the grubby grey joggers he was wearing. His feet were bare and his off-white T-shirt looked two sizes too small and had a hole under one arm.
Ella put down her spoon and gave him her full attention. ‘This is what you’re planning to wear when the inspector comes?’
He shrugged. ‘It was the best I could come up with.’
‘Seriously? I mean, what look are we going for here?’
‘Poor, obviously.’
‘If you mean poor as in weak effort, you’ve nailed it.’ She looked him up and down. ‘What shoes are you planning to wear?’
