‘I can’t believe Charlize is gone!’ Bea said, getting a Twix from the common room vending machine. ‘Never coming back. I really liked her.’

‘I know, so sad. She really should finish her exams, don’t you think?’ I said.

‘I mean, she was in the year-book as “most likely to get pregnant and settle down”, remember? But I think that was supposed to be ironic …’ Bea said.

‘I don’t see why she has to totally drop out. It’s still good to have some qualifications up your sleeve, isn’t it?’

‘Totally. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Her boyfriend is rich as fuck but you’ve also gotta protect yourself. I personally intend to always have a back-up plan.’

‘Same,’ I said.

‘I really, really can’t imagine having a baby,’ Bea said laughing, pushing her stomach out.

‘God, me neither,’ I said. ‘Let’s just run away when we’re older, Bea, go off and travel. No boys, no babies. Can we just make sure we stick together, whatever happens?’

‘One hundred per cent,’ Bea said, linking arms with me and pulling me tightly towards her.

When I got home, I called Bea from our home landline. This is what happened most days: we spent all day together at school, and then called each other every night. For hours. My mum was often totally baffled that we never seemed to run out of things to say. I liked to sit inside my wardrobe, nestled amongst my clothes, and chat to her in there. It had been my cosy phone spot for years.

‘Did your parents get a letter about the Charlize sitch?’ I said.

‘Yeah, they seemed quite laid back about it! Said it’s lovely news. Bit of a weird reaction, really. What about your mum?’ Bea said whilst chewing a piece of gum.

‘She went mental.’ I laughed nervously. ‘Said I shouldn’t be hanging out with boys. Started quizzing me about what I get up to. She full-on panicked.’

‘No way.’

‘Yeah. She started drilling into me how much pregnancy and kids will screw everything up. Explained to me all the different ways Charlize’s life is ruined. Which was … nice,’ I said.

My mum’s reaction had shaken me, how angry she was. But I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t washed over me, too. What was happening to Charlize was so alien, unfathomable. But it wasn’t just the topic of common room gossip – it was affecting someone else’s actual life.

Part Two

‘I’ve grown apart from friends who have had kids, although I do have one friend that has a kid who I’m still close with.’

Kelly, 40

12

2019

I am working in the sky today, travelling on a flight back from LA, using the free onboard WiFi. I often have to fly there for work, but the trips are never long enough – which can actually be a good thing because I never fully adjust to the time zone and can’t get too jet-lagged. I had to oversee a cover shoot for the first edition of the new ungraded print version of .dot, which just meant checking everyone knew what they were doing and then going back to my hotel room to order room service on the company card.