Just as Ryan’s next set of exams roll around, so does Alex—in the form of a birthday card and a fiver tucked into the envelope, and messy handwriting proclaiming him to be a “smartarse”, and predicting the rise of Spurs to defeat the crap Manchester City. (Ryan has no idea whether that prediction is remotely likely or completely feasible; in any case, he doesn’t care. But it makes him laugh all the same.)
In the bottom corner of the card is scribbled a mobile phone number, and Ryan experimentally texts “Spurs suck” to it. He receives a brisk “STFU” and silence, and leaves it alone.
Mara’s enthusiasm picks up again during the exams—Ryan wonders if it’s a coping mechanism for stress—and she begins to pester him for a final decision on a university. She wants, he thinks, a somewhat compatib
