When they went to the Workbridge interview, they thought maybe they could stop volunteering at the shop and just do a course. But when they talked to Diane she said, first, how did they know they were even going to get on a course – were they counting their chickens before they hatched? Second, did they owe the shop? Had it given them a chance when no one else had? Maybe they could tell Workbridge they already had jobs and could the course be around the shop? She didn’t tell them these things. She just asked questions. They all knew in the end it was up to Greta and Peggy. Diane was just asking questions.

People seemed to get better if they had jobs. But surely not jobs like this, Peggy said. Diane laughed. Peggy and Greta didn’t like it at all when Diane laughed at them. Maybe she was laughing with them but they didn’t like it at all. Peggy and Greta had a point, they were sure they did. Some people had amazing jobs. Some people saved animals and ran big businesses. But they were being nice to rich kids and not being paid. This was a thought they kept to themselves. They didn’t tell Diane because Diane laughed.

Greta and Peggy walked most places. The outdoors was for getting from one indoors to the next. They didn’t think they liked it. The picnic had been distracting – getting to the picnic by bus, carrying the quiche, the people at the picnic. Neither of them had noticed the outdoors that day. They had been standing right beside a tall pine which may have been quite old, but they were trying to disappear, so they weren’t paying any attention to the tree, or the way the sand shifted so gradually to lawn and soil.

But one day Peggy and Greta were walking home through the Gardens and the light shifted and they looked up and for the first time noticed the way the sky pulled above them. They looked from one horizon to the other. They could almost see the hills. Then, as they looked down from the sky, everything snapped into a very distinct three dimensions. The trees had separate leaves. Blades of grass stood out from each other. The light played through the branches and drew them into negative space. There were kinds of bright things in some of the trees. Of course they were flowers but they hadn’t noticed them before now. Not since they’d looked at them in picture books as kids. It would be impossible to explain. Even years later, they would try but it was impossible to explain – even to each other.

‘Can you see that?’ Peggy asked.

Greta nodded. ‘I think so.’

And then they said nothing and both sat down where they were on the grass and looked around at everything.

‘Do you think it’s drugs?’ Greta asked.

‘Huh?’