@hughharris94 It is most effective to communicate with your audience using their preferred speech patterns (I learnt that at university). When one is writing about the Great Barrier Reef (located in Australia, let me remind you) it makes the most sense to use Australian English. Therefore, ‘learnt’ would have been the correct way for you to write your response. I was just pointing that out.

@millieandipaxton Touché.

@hughharris94 Hmmm . . . you really don’t know your audience.

@millieandipaxton ?

@hughharris94 Aussies aren’t a huge fan of the French. But, of course, someone from Ohio wouldn’t know that.

@millieandipaxton Real original, coming for Ohio like that. Actually, now that I think about it, I would trade Ohio seasons for an endless cycle of natural disasters. *Fire emoji*

@hughharris94 I would say that’s a low blow, but I don’t expect anything better from an American.

@millieandipaxton Like Australia is that much better.

@hughharris94 We have better healthcare, living standards and lower crime rates.

@millieandipaxton Yet you’re still ranked below us for climate action policies . . .

I hear Matteo’s footsteps before I see him. I rush to press ‘send’ before dropping my phone back into my bag, a smile blooming across my face just as Matteo thuds to a stop beside my cubicle. He walks like a lumberjack, even though at five foot nine he’s only a few inches taller than me. He fills up the entire space next to my desk.

‘What’s got you grinning?’ he asks, smiling himself.

‘Nothing.’ I squirm, trying to ignore the insinuation that I haven’t been as cheery at work lately.

As if he can read my mind, Matteo’s expression softens, and I remember why I liked him so much during my first interview with Sunshine Foods (a giant conglomerate that produces a lot of cereal). I interviewed for an operations job, one that involved a lot of crunching numbers in a cubicle and putting them into a slide to help executives make decisions on how many boxes of cereal to ship to each supermarket. Sunshine Foods was a good opportunity for someone just out of college. I had no idea I would end up sticking around this long.

‘I just wanted to tell you good work on this deck,’ he says, hoisting a sheaf of papers in the air and waggling them around.

‘Thank you.’

‘I’ve been meaning to ask you – are you taking any time off around the holidays? I haven’t seen any requests come in.’

I hesitate. I know I should be taking time off, but I have nothing to do with it. Taking time off to sit at home sounds . . . depressing.