I wake up the next morning with an aching jaw and a headache, something that only happens when I’ve been grinding my teeth all night.

I don’t even make it all the way to my cubicle before texting Millie, asking if we can respond to Hugh – Learnt? Who does he think he is? But she never responds. The day passes slowly, and I alternate tweaking a slide deck that I need to send to my boss and drafting snarky messages I wish I could send to Hugh.- Becca nags me until I reluctantly agree to sneak out of the office with her to get bubble tea. Accompanying Becca on her relentless pursuit of drinks and snacks is the foundation of our friendship. I offer to buy her tea as a thank you for being the only reason I see sunshine most workdays, but she refuses, insisting that I’ve repaid my debt by listening to her litany of complaints about online dating.

When Becca heard what happened with Zach, she was shocked. She couldn’t believe I turned down the chance at a stable, pre-planned future with a nice guy. My explanation that ‘I felt trapped,’ didn’t cut it. ‘Trapped by a man is all I want to be!’ she exclaimed. I almost offered to give her Zach’s number.

When one of my afternoon meetings gets cancelled, I decide to take matters into my own hands and, in an uncharacteristically bold move, I DM Hugh.

Well, technically @millieandipaxton DMs Hugh. Millie and I had started a joint Instagram account when we went to India together, chronicling our trip to the ‘Golden Triangle’ – New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. Mostly for our parents, the feed was filled with pink palaces, golden vistas, colourful saris, and giant, lumbering elephants. It was one of my favourite trips I’ve ever taken – nothing compares to the vibrancy of a New Delhi evening – and looking back at the photos I remember why I used to love travelling so much. I’m so overwhelmed at how long it’s been since I’ve taken a trip – two years, to be exact, the entirety of my last relationship – that I almost forget why I’ve logged on to Instagram in the first place.

Hugh’s Instagram is private, but his bio reads ‘marine biologist USYD’. His profile picture is so small that even screenshotting it and zooming in does me no good, all I see is a pixelated outline of a face.

@millieandipaxton I just wanted to let you know that I don’t plan on taking logic cues from someone who spells ‘learned’ ‘learnt’.