Anna is next to walk through the door, her face the colour of well-nourished grass, her eyes pickled. Anna currently holds the trophy for the most exciting social life. Out on the town almost every night. Drinking and dancing like there’s no tomorrow.

‘Hi, all, don’t talk to me, my head is banging.’

Dropping her bag onto a chair she searches through the front pocket and pulls out a packet of paracetamol. Putting two pills into her mouth, she lifts a plastic bottle half full of water from a shelf, opens the bottle, smells inside then downs its contents.

‘Morning, Anna,’ Marie says, extra loudly, smiling at me in the process. ‘Beautiful day, isn’t it?’

‘Fuck off,’ Anna barks, before walking out of the room.

Ten more minutes pass before the first client arrives in through the door. The young girl has blonde shoulder-length hair. She’s standing at the reception desk talking to Megan whose head is stuck in the computer. After a bit of toing and froing, Megan walks to where I’m standing.

‘Can you take this one?’ she says. ‘It’s just a blow-dry. Your first appointment is not due until half nine.’

‘Sure,’ I say, the interaction just a courteous exchange, it’s not like I have a choice.

‘Great.’

Megan directs the young woman to the wash basins where Louise, our new junior, waits with a head full of attitude and a towel in her hand. It will take a few minutes for Louise to finish, so I check my phone and see a text from Amber.

Shit, what does she want now? Most of my lunch hours are spent going from one shop to another picking up something that Amber just can’t live without. I know I shouldn’t spoil her. But since she inherited the role of chief babysitter, her requests are worded to persuade me she deserves it.

The young girl, Charlie, arrives back from the basin. Hair dripping, she sits on the seat in front of me. Beep, beep. Another text. I want to take the phone out to check the message but there are rules. No phones allowed while with a client.

I could conveniently move it out of my pocket and leave it face up on the counter so I can read the message. I want to make sure Amber is okay.

‘You can get that if you want,’ Charlie says.

‘No phones allowed during work.’ Smiling, I plug the hair dryer into the socket below the counter while glancing up at Megan. She would have no qualms about pulling me up if I did check my phone.

‘Really?’ she says, taking her own Samsung in her hand. ‘I’d die without me phone.’

The noise from the dryer puts an end to the conversation and I wait, wondering what Amber’s beep has in store for me? Will it be Penny’s, H&M or Mac?