Isaac flips off the metal lids and hands us each a bottle in turn. “I’m sorry I haven’t spent as much time with you guys as I would have liked. Obviously, Leanne’s come to a lot of my seminars” – he smiles warmly at her – “but Al and Emma … I feel like I need to get to know you guys a bit better.” He gives Al a lingering look, as though he hasn’t quite figured her out yet.

“So, Emma.” He sits forward in his chair, puts his own bottle between his knees and reaches into his back pocket for his tobacco tin. “Tell me a bit about yourself.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

He opens the lid of the tin and pulls out a packet of Rizlas. “Humour me.”

“Um … I’m twenty-five. I’m from Leicester. I’ve got two brothers and a sister. My parents are both doctors and—”

“Boring.” He licks two Rizlas and presses them together then sprinkles tobacco along the length of paper. “Tell us what matters to you. Tell us what you care about.”

“Family. Friendship.” I shrug. “Loyalty, trust.”

“Okay.” He sprinkles some weed on top of the tobacco and rolls the joint back and forth in his fingers. “What else?”

“I’ve always loved animals. I wanted to be a vet until I did badly my A-levels.”

“Did you also want to be a Miss World contestant? Come on, Emma, you can do better than that.”

I shift in my seat, aware of Al and Leanne silently watching. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I want you to tell me something you care about that’s going to make me sit up, something raw and honest.”

“Fine. I care about people being straight with each other. I care about honesty.”

“Better.” He lights the joint and inhales deeply. “What fucks you off?”

“Injustice, racism, homophobia.”

“You’ve gone back to being Miss World.”

“Okay.” I take a swig of my beer. “I get pissed off when people don’t give up their seats for old people on the train, or when they believe everything they read in the papers. I can’t stand spineless and weak people. And as for Jeremy Kyle—”

“Stop!” He hands me the joint. “Now I want you to tell me how many of the things that fuck you off, you actually do.”

“None of them.”

“Really?”

“Well, I don’t watch Jeremy Kyle, if that’s what you mean.” I laugh but no one else joins in. Leanne has her eyes closed.

“I imagine you give up your seat for old people, too,” Isaac says. “But what about the rest?”

I know what he’s getting at. He wants me to admit to some weaknesses.

“I’m a people pleaser,” I say. “I do and say what other people expect so they like me. I hate that about myself.”

“Cool.” Isaac nods. “Good.”