‘Have you seen this?’ The words spit from Darcy’s mouth before Ed’s even fully opened the door.

Ed sees her holding her phone screen towards him and nods. ‘I wondered how long it’d take for you to turn up.’

‘You’d think they’ve never had a young female producer before.’ She could have called Drew to bitch about Zoe Eggins, her university arch nemesis, but Ed was also subjected to Zoe on a daily basis at university and knows the extent of Darcy’s feelings.

‘Well, she is pretty young to be the producer on Australia’s longest running serial.’ Ed shrugs, quoting one of the many tag lines.

Darcy moves to the kitchen and pulls open the fridge to inspect if there’s any wine.

‘Not the answer you wanted?’ He grins, already pulling two wine glasses from the cupboard.

Darcy passes him the wine. ‘Sometimes I forget you’re a man who doesn’t understand the female need to bitch.’

‘Not all females feel the need to bitch,’ he counters.

When she doesn’t say anything, Ed looks up and sees her face. He seems to realise she needs him to say something horrible about Zoe. ‘Do you remember on the first day of class when Zoe got up there, dressed in her power suit, and said she was only going to direct and produce as though all other roles were beneath her? I mean, what a cow.’

Darcy can’t help but laugh. ‘I remember it more clearly than I’d like.’ She takes one of the glasses of wine. ‘She’s been annoying me since that first day. I finally thought when we’d finished university that I’d be rid of her, but here she is, all through my newsfeed with my dream job!’

‘I thought your dream job was to produce a new TV show?’ he says a little pointedly.

He’s right, but … ‘I’d certainly settle to be producer on Smith Street.’

Ed sends a sympathetic look but isn’t about to let her dwell on Zoe’s achievements. ‘Remember all those getting-to-know-you games they had us playing on the first day of university?’

Before he can even go on she begins to feel better; she knows what he’s going to say.

‘Everyone was a bit unsure because it all seemed pretty daggy but when you were singled out, you just went with it. You didn’t care that you looked like an idiot.’

‘Hey!’ Darcy protests as she perches on the stool at the kitchen counter. ‘You’re calling me an idiot?’

‘I was going to say that from that first day everyone liked you. They knew you were down to earth and fun.’

Unlike Zoe.