The girls came to her room early in the morning. The place was still in a mess, because Tony had only just left, to go back to his room and shower before his first lecture; the thin single mattress was still on the floor, where it was easier for it to accommodate two bodies; and the room probably had the stale odour of the air they had been re-breathing all night. She knew from the glance they exchanged, while surveying the bedding-strewn floor, that they were bringing bad news, a rejection; they would have found these slightly sordid details of her private life far more acceptable if they had been on her side.

They imparted the news quite briefly, and of course offered a professionally friendly ear, to help her deal with the pain; and then they left. She had spent the entire weekend in their company, and they had been nice to her in a group-hug sort of way; but now it was just the two of them (and the rest of the group). They did not want Laura. Read the rest of this entry »