Peggy opened the menu. ‘Are you having lunch?’ she asked, not looking up from the big glossy sheet.

‘We’re only up to breakfast,’ Donna laughed.

‘They’ll do lunch though,’ Mira said.

‘Cool.’ Greta was looking at the menu now. ‘I’m starving.’

‘Are you?’ Peggy said. ‘I’m not very hungry at all.’

‘Well,’ Greta said. ‘You had that huge breakfast and I only had coffee.’ It was better to differentiate themselves when they were in company. Peggy and Greta knew the thought of them sitting side by side at the computer eating the exact same breakfast and taking turns scrolling down the page was creepy.

‘I didn’t think you’d ever stop eating,’ Greta said.

Mira and Donna laughed, and Peggy said, ‘I’m a growing girl.’ And everyone laughed again. Donna and Mira liked hanging out with Peggy and Greta. Peggy and Greta were funny and easy. They were thoughtful. They were a good ear when Donna and Mira needed one and they always said the right things. Donna had gone to them when Mira was talking about going overseas for a job. Mira sometimes called them to ask about technical problems at work, saying they were so underutilised at the call centre.

‘What did you do when you got home?’ Donna took a sip of coffee. Greta and Peggy could smell it, strong and bitter.

‘Not much.’ Greta looked at the menu, then pointed her thumb at Peggy. ‘She was up playing RollerCoaster Tycoon.’ In reality, they’d brushed their teeth in unison, put on white T-shirts, and lain next to each other looking at the ceiling with the same arm bent up and over their heads.

Peggy nodded, and they laughed again. ‘I fucking love those rollercoasters,’ she said, and they laughed some more.

‘So dumb,’ Greta said.

Mira and Donna played first-person shooters and Morrowind. It was a strange mix of real life and complete fantasy.

‘Doesn’t it do your head in?’ Peggy said. ‘The switch.’

Mira and Donna shook their heads.

‘It’s all fantasy, really,’ Donna said.

‘But.’ Greta looked from one to the other, like they were holding out.

‘What?’ Mira said.

‘One has a lot more tits and swords,’ said Greta and they all laughed again.

‘There are no tits in RollerCoaster Tycoon,’ Peggy said.

‘There aren’t that many in Morrowind,’ Donna said. ‘It’s not Conan.’

‘Less in RollerCoaster Tycoon though,’ Peggy said.

‘Less in RollerCoaster Tycoon,’ Donna conceded.

The waitress came over and Greta ordered a vegan open sandwich and a juice. Peggy asked for a cup of coffee – black.

‘When do you go away?’ Greta asked.

‘Four months,’ Donna said.

‘And counting,’ Mira said.

‘Do you fly straight there?’ Peggy asked. The waitress brought her coffee and she said thanks.

‘No,’ Donna said. ‘You can’t really. Like, you could but we’re not going to.’

‘You couldn’t,’ Greta said. ‘Surely? That’s, like, twenty thousand kilometres.’