After that, Jim insisted that Omar fetch his guitar and play for them and, sheepishly, Omar agreed. At Jim’s tea party, he was suddenly the star turn, while the students listened and whooped. His reputation as one of Jim’s crowd in college was thus established, and in the following weeks he was surprised to find that so many likeable people seemed to like him. Even more surprising, no one thought that he was particularly unusual or geeky for spending eight hours a day in the Bodleian or college library, when not attending lectures or tutorials, emerging only for social events, meals and evening drinks. He really wasn’t that odd at all, he realized; he was like almost everyone else.

One evening, after Hall, Omar was cramming on the Cold War and detente for a politics tutorial, when there was an urgent knock on his door. ‘Omar, mate, you’ve got to let me in NOW,’ Jim whispered. Omar opened the door.

‘What’s up, Oakley?’ he asked, honoured that Jim had come up to his room. Jim hardly ever had to visit other people’s rooms for company, people came to him.

‘Bloody Boring Benjy saw I was in from the street, and he’s coming round to visit with that appalling girlfriend of his from Christchurch. I had to escape or I’d be stuck with them for hours.’

‘Won’t they think it a bit odd that you’ve suddenly disappeared?’ asked Omar, a bit disappointed that Jim hadn’t come for a chat.

‘Nope, I didn’t let them see that I’d seen them, I had my head over my desk. They’ll just think I nipped out, and hopefully get bored and go away,’ said Jim cheerfully, sitting on Omar’s armchair and reaching for one of his biscuits without waiting to be asked. ‘Cool, I love Hob-Nobs,’ he said, his mouth full.

‘Your table manners are appalling,’ chided Omar. ‘Would you like a tea, or coffee, or hot chocolate?’

‘I know, my mother keeps telling me,’ Jim said, before adding dramatically, ‘Tea, please. I’m positively dying for a cup of tea.’ Looking critically at Omar’s drinks selection, he asked, ‘Why do you have so much hot chocolate? You don’t even drink the stuff, do you?’

‘I keep it for the girls, it’s all they ever ask for,’ admitted Omar.