‘He’s on crack again tonight, isn’t he?’ Darren scowls as he jerks his head in Moe’s direction. ‘Papers, Daz, papers, papers, papers. They cost fuck-all, don’t they? So who fucking cares if they’re selling out?’

I push past him into the shop. I don’t want to miss Jemima. Moe’s already heading back down the aisle towards me to get the rest.

‘You can read one if you must,’ he says, pausing as I walk past him. ‘But on your break, OK? And only if there are enough left.’

I flush with thanks, hurrying up to the front of the shop, dumping my papers so I can rush back to the drinks. I’ll find her there.

‘Are these for me?’ Jemima says, smiling at me as I round the corner of the aisle to find her next to my trolley, still stacked with the cans I’d left.

‘Hi,’ I say, catching up to her. ‘Another busy night?’ 220

‘Always,’ she says. ‘What about you?’

I look at the floor. I hate that I’m still blushing.

‘So are these for me?’ She rattles the trolley.

‘You can take those ones if you want.’ I look up to find her frowning at her phone.

‘Like I can just click my fingers and parachute a news crew into Tora Bora,’ she mutters, stabbing at the tiny keyboard. ‘It may as well have been on the moon before all this.’

‘Where’s Tora Bora?’ I ask, before I can stop myself. Damn. My face must be purple now.

‘Huh?’ She doesn’t look up.

‘Nothing,’ I say, fiddling with some cans on the shelf, as if they need tidying when in fact they’re lined up like soldiers.

‘Afghanistan,’ she mumbles as she shoves her phone back into her pocket. ‘It’s in Afghanistan. On the border with Pakistan. There are loads of caves dug into the mountains. Like ratholes, except bigger. It’s where the Americans think Bin Laden is.’

I blink at her, forgetting about my blush.

‘Quite the news junkie, aren’t you?’ She smiles again. I literally have no idea what she is talking about.

‘I just…’ I look down again as she laughs, grabbing hold of the trolley.

‘Well if you want to get into journalism, now’s most definitely the time. There is enough work for an apprentice army. We just need warm bodies at the moment. If they come with a half-functioning brain too, that’s a plus. Everyone is doing at least four jobs at once.’

‘Do you want to take those drinks too?’ I say, forcing my gaze up. ‘It’s fine if you do. I couldn’t fit them in up there anyway…’