Page 56 of The Reboot
‘Pippa’s running a bit late,’ Roly said as he returned with the drinks. ‘She was held up at work, but she should be here soon.’
‘This is such a great venue for concerts,’ Andrew said as Roly sat on the banquette opposite them. ‘It’s a while since I’ve been here.’
‘My mum brought me to the panto here a few times,’ Roly said. ‘But I think I’ve only seen a band here once.’
‘Really? We used to come here a lot, didn’t we?’ Andrew said to Ella.
‘Yeah, we did.’ Her mind flooded with memories of nights spent streaming from bar to student party to midnight gig at the Olympia; spilling out onto the streets in the early hours of the morning and eating cheap burgers from food trucks; the taste of red wine on Andrew’s greasy lips, the warmth of his arms around her as she shivered in the cold air of dawn…
She felt Roly watching them closely, and he gave her a surreptitious wink when Andrew wasn’t looking.
‘Hello, hello, hello!’ Pippa breezed in in a cloud of perfume and flopped onto the banquette beside Roly with a gusty sigh. ‘Sorry I’m late, guys. You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had. Night. Mare!’
She was one of those people, Ella realised, who behaved as if you already knew each other the first time you met.
‘Anyway, hello!’ She addressed this final greeting to Ella and Andrew, and Roly took the opportunity to introduce them.
‘You remember Ella? You’ve met her before.’
‘Only briefly, and it was aeons ago,’ Ella said as they shook hands. She wanted to make it clear she didn’t expect Pippa to remember her.
‘Oh yeah!’ Pippa beamed. ‘Your schoolfriend? Aww, that’s so sweet, you’re still chums. Anyway, I need a drink.’
‘I’ll get it,’ Andrew said, standing. Ella was pleased he was offering. ‘Anyone else want another?’
Ella and Roly both said they were fine.
‘I’ll have the biggest glass of white known to man,’ Pippa said. ‘A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, if they have it. And ask them to make sure it’s really cold. Thanks, Andy.’
Ella waited for Andrew to correct her, but he said nothing.
‘Ella and I actually live together now,’ Roly said as Andrew went to the bar.
‘Oh,really?’
‘Just in a housemates kind of way,’ Ella said.
‘So, is Andy your boyfriend?’
‘Andrew, no. We used to go out. Years ago.’
Andrew returned and placed a large glass of wine in front of Pippa.
‘Thanks, Andy. You’re an angel.’ She picked it up and took several long gulps. ‘God, that’s delicious.’ She set it down again. ‘Okay, scooch up everyone! Selfie time!’ She picked up her phone and shifted along on the banquette. ‘Come on, Andy.’ She patted the empty space beside her with a jangle of bracelets. ‘If it’s not on Insta, it didn’t happen, right?’
Andrew hated selfies, and strongly disapproved of social media and the whole culture of narcissism around it. Ella expected him to flat out refuse, or at least to be a curmudgeon about it, griping and groaning and making sure everyone felt his displeasure. But no, there he was scooching, without so much as a murmur or protest. In fact, he was cosying up to Pippa with almost indecent haste, leaning into the shot with his face against hers.
Ella bowed to the inevitable and perched on the banquette beside Roly while Pippa held her phone aloft and told them to smile. She took several shots in rapid succession, then spent some time tapping on her phone, choosing the best one, applying filters and texting captions and hashtags. ‘I’ve tagged you,’ she said to Roly. ‘Will I tag you guys?’ she asked, looking at Ella and Andrew.
‘I don’t have an Instagram account,’ Andrew told her. Was Ella imagining it, or did she detect a note of regret in his voice? He could probably earn a lot of cool lecturer points if his students saw him at a gig, snuggled up to a glamorous model and influencer.
‘You can tag me,’ Ella said and gave Pippa her handle.
‘There, done!’ Pippa tossed her phone on the table and picked up her drink. ‘Now that’s out of the way, we can relax.’ She took another long slug of wine. ‘So, what do you do, Andy?’
‘I’m a Philosophy lecturer at Trinity.’
‘Wow, get you!’
