‘Honestly, you lot and your romantic notions,’ tutted her mother. She picked up the pile of DVDs they’d lined up and started shaking her head as she looked through the titles. ‘Fairy tales and mermaids and prostitutes made good; I tell you, all these films are filling your heads with rot. You’re only going to be disappointed when you see what’s out there in the real world.’

‘Not a romantic then, Mrs C?’ said Leila. ‘Come on, why don’t you watch The Princess Bride with us? You might like it.’

‘I’d rather gnaw off my own feet, Leila.’ Minnie’s mother started clearing up around the girls as she talked, plumping cushions and picking up empty popcorn packets. ‘I tell you, what matters is a man who’ll work hard and who’ll stick around, a man who’ll never lay a hand on you in anger, and a man who won’t drink away his wages.’ She leant over and pulled the bottle of wine from the folds of the couch. ‘Buy your own bleeding wine, Minnie! Right, I’m going to find your father before he starts buying rounds for the whole pub again.’

She paused, hovering over Minnie. Her face softened. She reached out to touch Minnie’s hair, pushing it back behind Minnie’s ears in an uncharacteristic tactile gesture.

‘I guess you’ll be a grown-up when I see you next.’

‘Have fun, Mum,’ said Minnie, reaching up to squeeze her mother’s hands.

She moved Minnie’s hand back to the sofa and made a noncommittal ‘hmmm’ sound, before heading for the door.

Leila snuggled up next to Minnie on the couch.

‘Your mum’s funny,’ Leila said through a yawn, dropping her head onto Minnie’s shoulder. ‘You think she really feels like that about love and stuff?’

‘I dunno,’ said Minnie, ‘she’s married to my dad, he’s hardly your typical romantic hero, is he?’

They both giggled.

As they were weighing up what to watch next, Minnie’s phone began to ring. It was an unknown number.

‘Hello?’ she said cautiously.

‘Is that Minnie?’

‘Yes.’

‘It’s Tony. From school.’

Tony Grinton, she recognised his voice. He was one of the popular boys in their year.

‘Tony Grinton’, she mouthed to Leila.

Why would Tony Grinton be calling her? Minnie sat behind him in maths. She’d come to know his neck better than she knew her own. He had this beautiful chestnut hair that fell just below his ears, the lowest part of his neck was shaved and there was this line where the stubble turned to thicker hair. She had spent a lot of maths classes wondering what it would feel like to run her hand across that stubble, up into his hair. Once, she’d picked up his phone for him when he’d dropped it on the floor. He’d said ‘thanks’.