‘Not according to your parents.’

Her jaw sets, but she doesn’t argue. I look down at my notes.

‘I understand you’re studying Macbeth and Wuthering Heights.’

‘If you say so.’

When teaching, I often think of the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ I swear Charles Dickens must have had teenagers in mind when he wrote that. They can be wonderful, but oh God, they can equally be awful.

‘So how are you liking those?’ I persevere.

‘They’re OK,’ she replies, dismissing two of the most important works in literature with a mere shrug of her shoulders.

‘I just moved here from London, so it’s exciting to be in actual Brontë country.’ I try to galvanize her with my own enthusiasm. ‘We could visit the parsonage where Emily lived and wrote, see her inspiration at first hand.’ I smile brightly. ‘Is that something you’d be interesting in doing?’

‘Not really.’

The trick with teenagers is not to take it personally.

‘So what are you interested in?’

She averts her eyes, choosing instead to stare at the sugar packets. She picks one up and begins tearing at the corners.

‘Stuff that matters.’

‘And this doesn’t?’

She looks up at me then, her dark eyes flashing.

‘What have books and plays, written hundreds of years ago, got to do with what’s happening today?’

‘Well, from where I’m sitting, I’d say the universal themes of love and death, and joy and tragedy, are still pretty relevant.’

She seems caught off-balance by my reply. ‘But what about climate change?’ she argues, quickly finding her voice. ‘What about the threat to our wildlife, and women’s rights and how black lives matter?’

‘Well, Shakespeare is all about human nature and the world at large. You might not realize it, but his stories and ideas shape and influence who we are, even today.’

As I look across at Maya I’m reminded of that confused teenager inside me once, struggling to make sense of anything and finding salvation within the pages of books loaned from my local library.

‘Look at all the popular phrases we use. Do you know that you’re quoting Shakespeare when you say, “cruel to be kind”, “a brave new world” or “the lady doth protest too much”,’ I add, smiling.

But just as quickly as I have her attention, I lose it again. With a bored expression, she pulls her phone out of her pocket and begins scrolling.

‘OK, well, I can see this isn’t going to work.’ I shut my notebook. ‘You’re right: it’s a waste of both of our times, and your parents’ money.’

‘Told you,’ she mumbles, kicking the table leg with her trainers.

‘And if you don’t mind, I’d rather you didn’t do that. My dog won’t like it.’

As if on cue, Harry gives a nervous little bark from underneath the table.

‘Dog?’

Abruptly her expression changes and she quickly scrapes her chair back, ducking her body underneath the table to take a look.