‘All right, but I want a full run-down after—’

‘What are you two whispering about?’ Matt sets my drink down in front of me.

‘Oh… um…’ Sasha stumbles. ‘I was just… suggesting to Lex that she share with you the song she wrote.’

‘You’ve written a song?’ Sammy’s ears immediately prick up. ‘Let’s hear it.’

‘Yeah, let’s hear it,’ says Matt.

‘Thanks, Sash.’ I give her a look that says, ‘couldn’t you have come up with another excuse’, then turn to the guys. ‘How about you just read the lyrics yourself?’

I pass them my phone with the notepad app open. They pore over the words in front of them as I sit there cringing and staring daggers at Sasha. She simply shrugs in return.

‘Alex, this is really good,’ Sammy says eventually. ‘It could almost be a charity song, but there’s a deeper, more personal message there. What inspired you to write it?’

‘Oh… I…’ I glance at Sasha, whose face is a picture, having clocked that she’s thrown me into dangerous territory. ‘Just the way the world is right now. So much bad stuff going on, but also people being so self-involved. You know, obsessed with selfies, glued to their phones, living in a bubble. They don’t see the world as it really is. It’s sad because if everyone took a moment, it would make such a difference overall – hence the title.’

‘“Take a Moment”.’ Sammy nods thoughtfully. ‘I get it. Love it. How does it go?’

They’re all looking at me expectantly. My first instinct is to shy away from the attention, then I remember that I’m a lead vocalist now. I need to step up. I take a stomach-expanding breath and tentatively start to sing, in a very light melody.

We grow up unassuming, we grow up unaware

We live in a world where too many people, they don’t care

Take a look around you, tell me what you see

Illness, conflict, suffering, too much poverty…

Sammy joins in and I’m amazed by how quickly his ear tunes in to the song. He lets me take the lead where there’s a change of direction he can’t anticipate, but otherwise it’s like we’re singing a perfectly rehearsed duet.

Then stop, take a moment to reflect, make sure you have it noted

You’ve made a selfless gesture in a world where self-indulgence is promoted…

As we sing out the chorus and come to a finish with an enthusiastic high-five, Sasha and Matt break into rapturous applause.

‘That was awesome, Alex.’ Sammy grins at me broadly.

‘It was,’ I reply. ‘Not really the type of music the band does though.’

‘It’s not totally on point. But it shows you can write lyrics as well. We’ll definitely need to tap into that.’

‘Is there any end to your talents?’ Matt puts his arm round me and squeezes me affectionately.

I make a show of laughing bashfully, but the washing machine in my stomach is back on spin cycle in pure undiluted anticipation of the conversation I need to have with him the next day.