‘Yeah. Nightmare. So now you know why my parents aren’t here. I told them the other day. Went down like a cup of cold sick.’ She plucks a tissue from the pack and blows her nose. ‘Sorry, can you move back, the smell of your perfume is making me nauseous.’

Yvonne doesn’t move, her concern for her friend’s health suddenly turns to anger, ‘Pregnant? What were you thinking?’

Emma glares at Yvonne for a few seconds as if gathering the strength to fight back. ‘Clearly, I wasn’t.’

How could Emma get herself in this situation again? The last scare, in the second year, had been sorted by a quick trip to the chemist. But it really shook her up, the idea that her life could be thrown so far off track by being too drunk to remember to use a condom.

‘Sometimes the moment just takes you.’ She says it like it justifies everything, like she has some excessive amount of passion that prevents her from being safe.

‘But don’t you ever worry about other stuff? STDs? AIDS?’

‘No. Geoff’s a nice guy, he told me he was clean. And when was the last time you met anyone with AIDS? You worry about everything.’

‘Geoff, the guy in blackface?’ Yvonne pictures a baby in blackface. ‘Have you told him yet?’

‘I’ll tell him when I’m ready. He’s not living in the house at the moment, so I haven’t seen much of him. Also, I’m not even sure how pregnant I am. My periods have always been crazy.’

Yvonne throws her hands up. ‘You must have a rough idea.’

‘A couple of months maybe? Three? Though, possibly four.’

‘Four months?’ Yvonne looks down at her friend’s stomach, hidden under the gown.

‘It’s not even noticeable.’

‘Let’s just say, this outfit is really working for me. I found out last month.’

A few laughing graduates run past them and into the hall. The proceedings must have started, one of the biggest moments of Yvonne’s life, yet here she is, sitting on the floor, feeling guilty that Emma has had to deal with this all alone for weeks now. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I tried. I called you like ten times last week. You’re always too busy.’