Vivian sighed, frowned and fiddled with the huge turquoise bangle on her wrist. Today she was dressed in a bright red tunic top and a necklace in the shape of bats joined together at the wing, even though Hallowe’en was weeks away. Thea wished she’d worn better-fitting jeans, and that maybe she hadn’t decided to cut her own fringe this month. But both jeans and hair were clean, and on some bleak mornings, after only an hour’s sleep, that was all she could manage.

‘I don’t like it,’ Vivian finally proclaimed. ‘But I raised you to know your own mind. So do it if you want to. But you call me the minute anything feels off and I will come and get you wherever you are. And, darling … remember the keys.’

Ah yes, the old key trick: Vivian’s idea of teaching Thea self-defence when she turned thirteen. ‘When out late at night, teapot, hold your keys in your hand like this … yes, that’s it, with the points sticking out between your fingers, like a knuckleduster. Okay, then if any man makes a grab at you, just swipe … yes, like that … mind the cat, teapot … swipe up and nearly blind the bugger.’ She hadn’t yet had a chance to try it out.

‘Okay, Mum.’

Vivian unwound her scarf, shaking it out so anyone left in the café who hadn’t yet seen its print got an eyeful. ‘I suppose you could make some new friends at least, and anyway – you might not even get accepted for this interview, hmm?’

That was the thing, Thea thought as she avoided her mother’s eye. She already had been.

Chapter 4

The male voice was deep, rich and warm:

‘It suddenly seems like everyone is talking about sleep.

‘You already know how vital it is, otherwise you wouldn’t be listening to this. Experts are still not sure exactly what the sleeping brain does. They know it orders and organizes itself ready for the next day, much like a parent picking up after their children. The brain dreams and tries to make sense of the world.

‘You know the scare stories. People who consistently don’t get enough sleep have a higher risk of health issues from cancer to heart disease; they are more likely to suffer from dementia when they get older. They get angry more quickly, feel more stupid, react more slowly.

‘Modern society is caffeine-fuelled and overstimulated. You’ve probably tried all the sleep aids. Your bedroom is a lavender-scented, cool, dark, silk-sheeted, mood-music oasis, right?

‘And yet you still don’t sleep.

‘This is why you have reached out to us.

‘We are different. Brainchild of revered internet guru Moses Ing, this technology has been decades in research and development, combining the best of recent sleep theory to help you fall into a peaceful, restorative, long slumber.