Page 87 of The Reboot
‘Are you still seeing Pippa?’ He’d told her about his girlfriend on the phone the last time they spoke, but she’d have known anyway. She’d seen the photos of them together online and on the covers of magazines. Pippa was a ‘face’ and appeared in celebrity reality shows, but Ella wasn’t sure what had originally made her famous.
‘Yeah, we’re moving in together.’
‘Where?’
‘London. She’s got this great house in Notting Hill.’
‘Well, I’ve met someone,’ she said, since he clearly wasn’t going to ask.
‘Oh? Who’s that, then?’
‘His name’s Andrew.’
‘And you’re shagging him? Little Ella has lost her cherry?’
‘Oh, fuck off, Roly.’
‘No, it sounds romantic – shagging in the dorm, trying not to get caught by … whoever polices those places. Or are you allowed shag in college now?’
‘We don’t live in college, as it happens.’
‘So you’ve moved in together already? That was quick work.’
‘Was it?’ He had no idea whether it was or not since he hadn’t bothered to ask when they’d met or how long they’d been going out. ‘Anyway, we were living together before we started going out – that’s how we met. We’re in the same house share. And he was in my philosophy tutorial…’
‘Philosophy!’ Roly gave a hoot of laughter. ‘You’re studying Philosophy? Seriously?’
‘I was in first year – Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Sociology.’ She’d already told him this. ‘But on the degree we’re doing, you gradually specialise in one or two of those. I’m not continuing with Philosophy.’
‘Good call,’ Roly said. ‘I don’t imagine there’s a big demand for philosophers these days. What about Andrew? Is that what he wants to be when he grows up – a philosopher?’
‘He’s going for a single honours degree in Philosophy, yes.’
‘Well, that sounds useful. I mean, how do you get a job out of that? Is there a philosophy circuit you can go on? Appearing in your flowing robes before a packed audience to tell them the meaning of life?’
‘There are whole careers where you never have to go on stage at all, you know. And there are lots of things you can do with a Philosophy degree.’ Unfortunately, right now, Ella could only think of one.
‘For instance?’
‘You can become an academic – lecture and write books. That’s what Andrew plans to do.’
‘You mean teach Philosophy to the next generation of students? So it’s like one of those vicious circles.’
‘A virtuous circle hopefully.’
‘God!’ Roly closed his eyes and threw his head back, pretending to snore. ‘He sounds fascinating.’
In truth, Ella did sometimes find the world of pure academia that Andrew dreamed of stultifying. It was why she’d dropped philosophy to focus on modules that had more obvious practical applications, and was going for a joint honours degree in Economics and Sociology. She still planned to pursue an academic career, but she wanted to keep her options open. She wished she could talk about it with Roly, even have a sneaky little laugh at Andrew’s expense without feeling she was betraying him. Much as she loved him, he could be pompous and hard work at times, and she wished he could lighten up a bit more. It would be cathartic to take the piss a little bit. But Roly was being so dismissive and obnoxious, it gave her no choice but to be on the defensive.
‘Well, you know what they say. Those who can do, those who can’t … But I guess no one actuallydoesphilosophy, do they? Unless you’re like … Jesus or someone. Or was he more of a priest?’
‘Preacher? Prophet?’
‘Motivational speaker? There’s big money in that. Maybe Andrew isn’t so daft after all. Or he could be the leader of a cult. They always have loads of money, don’t they – and sex. Until they blow up all their followers, of course.’
‘Not such a great career path, then.’
‘Not long term, no.’ He signalled to a waitress to bring them another round of cocktails.
