“Hello?”

Seb couldn’t get over just how fantastic her voice was. In fact everything about her was just incredible. It’d taken him an hour to pluck up the courage to give her a call, and hearing her voice seemed more than reward enough.

“Hey,” he said, smiling. “It’s Seb.”

“Hey,” she said. She seemed distracted, but Seb decided he was imagining it. He’d decided before he even picked up the phone that he was going to feign confidence. He’d once been told that if he pretended for long enough it would eventually come naturally, but he hadn’t felt sure enough of himself to try it out.

“So,” said Seb, “You you didn’t really answer my question.”

“Sorry?”

“When I came into the funeral parlour.”

“I’m with a friend at the moment. We’re playing Rayman 2. Could you call another time?”

Seb had been punched in the gut before, but never quite like this.

“Erm, okay. Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Great. Speak to you later!”

Seb looked at his phone in confusion for a few minutes. Being confident, he’d decided, was overrated.