‘Okay, so some thoughts,’ Evie said as Ben hung over her shoulder. ‘You don’t need a straw, do you?’ Evie passed a Sprite over to a customer and quickly turned to the next one before they could disagree. ‘The chemistry between the buskers is undeniable. So, kudos to you. But the description of how they met needs a bit of tightening. Just the slightest bit. It’s the meet cute. Celebrate it!’

Ben nodded along. ‘Yeah, I was thinking I needed something more there, too. I was considering adding a flashback to how Bruno and Bobby first laid eyes on each other, at the very start. It’s a cool story, actually. They were randomly both playing Dear Jude at the exact same time, out the front of the station, and started to jam.’

‘Yes! That’s perfect. Add that in. And maybe rerecord them doing that, and use that original soundtrack for the rolling credits?’

‘Love it.’

‘Knew you would. Can you pass that lid?’ Evie asked.

Ben reached for the lid and accidently slapped a popcorn bucket out of Josie’s hands. It exploded in a shower of yellow kernels.

‘Goddamn it, Ben, get!’ Josie grumbled, then grinned wildly at the customers, before shoving Ben out and grabbing a broom.

When Evie arrived at Hugo’s later that evening, she thrummed with possibility. After her shift, she and Ben went to the pub across the road to pop in the last of their changes and update the formatting. Then, on the count of three, they submitted their work simultaneously. They high-fived and ordered a round of tequila shots, and then another two rounds after that. Evie immediately regretted the third shot, remembering how, back in the day, her night generally went sideways once tequila was involved. But there was much to celebrate, which made it all worthwhile.

Evie knocked on Hugo’s door, then leaned her head against it, taking deep, desperate mouthfuls of air. Despite the impending hangover (which would still be better than anything she’d experienced post turning thirty), while she waited, she thought back to what her life had been like the first time around. She would have been in the process of deferring university with the promise of returning once she was more confident in her writing, and still working at the cinema, not realising that she would be doing so for the next decade. In this updated version of her life, everything felt different. And she felt decidedly good about the legacy which she would leave behind as she prepared for her next chapter.

The door opened suddenly and Evie stumbled forward, surprised to be caught by a very unimpressed Liam.

‘What are you doing here, mister?’ Evie slurred, sashaying back out of his arms.

‘You smell like a distillery. You couldn’t pay me enough to redo my twenties,’ Liam said disdainfully.