Friday night, after dinner, Lockie went straight to Johnny’s office to call his dad. When his father picked up, Lockie could hardly hear him over the background noise.
‘Dad?’ said Lockie. ‘Dad?’
‘Hello? Hello… who’s this?’
Lockie scowled at the phone. ‘Dad? It’s Lockie. Where are you?’
‘I’m out!’ said his Dad. ‘In a bar!’
Lockie could hear a booming male voice in the background, and a great blast of a laugh. ‘Sorry, son—’
‘Having a good night? Out with the lads?’ Lockie was gripping the edge of the desk, his knuckles white. For a moment, the only sound at the other end of the phone was happy drinkers, clinking glasses and faint music.
‘How’s college?’ said his dad. ‘Are you getting on all right?’
‘I’m having a brilliant time,’ said Lockie. ‘A brilliant day.’
‘Listen, you know…’ His dad trailed off. There was another explosion of laughter from the bar. ‘By the way,’ said his dad, raising his voice over it, ‘did you make a charge on my credit card last night?’
‘How did you even see that already?’ said Lockie.
‘Ha!’ said his dad. ‘I get notified now. Were you hoping to get away with it? What did I get for my ninety euros? I thought you weren’t meant to be near the internet. The whole point—’
‘You got ninety euros of someone trying to fix my head,’ said Lockie.
There was a silence. ‘What?’ his dad said. ‘I can’t hear you—’
‘Did you not remember the name?’ said Lockie. ‘It’s my old counsellor. We had a Zoom session.’
‘Right, right… Listen… don’t worry about the money…’
‘I won’t.’
‘And I was going to say to you, just… I know this is a hard day for you. For both of us.’
Lockie shook his head. ‘Unbelievable,’ he mouthed. ‘Yeah, Dad. It is.’
‘Is this the first year we weren’t together?’
‘Yup.’
‘Well, look… don’t put yourself under too much pressure down there. I wouldn’t have offered you a grand for every H in the Leaving if I thought I was going to have to hand it over.’ He laughed.
Lockie didn’t.
‘Come on – you’re about as academic as your old man and I’m not doing too badly, am I?’
‘Dad?’ said Lockie, lowering the phone. ‘Dad? I can’t hear you. Dad…’
Réiltín sat at the front desk, fingertips paused over her keyboard, eyes down, body braced. The office door was yanked open and Lockie strode through. He paused and spoke in Irish: ‘I’m sorry. For the noise.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ she replied, also in Irish. She paused. ‘I hope you’re OK.’
Lockie stopped abruptly in front of her and continued in broken Irish. ‘How are you so good at everything?’
Réiltín’s eyes widened. ‘We can speak in English if you like. As long as you don’t tell Johnny.’
Lockie smiled.
‘And I’m not good at everything,’ said Réiltín.
‘But… your Irish is amazing. How do you remember everything?’
‘I… I like learning,’ said Réiltín, making a Yikes! face. ‘But also, I have tricks.’
Lockie nodded. ‘Tricks?’
‘Yes,’ said Réiltín. ‘Different types, depending. And I use the memory palace thing.’
‘I’ve heard of it,’ said Lockie, ‘but I haven’t a clue.’
‘Basically, you match objects in a room to things you want to remember. It has to be a room you’re really familiar with. And also you attach a visual to it too that’s really crazy because then it’s easier to remember. So…’ she looked around. ‘That yellow vase is right inside the front door, so it’s object number one. And if I wanted to remember your name, I’d picture something crazy, like you holding that yellow vase over your head then smashing it onto the ground like the Hulk, and you’re wearing a lock around your neck so I remember Lockie.’
Lockie nodded. ‘I like that.’
‘It really works. Memory champions use it.’
The double doors swung open as Kelly pushed through from the hallway with both hands. Her stride faltered when she saw Lockie leaning on the front desk and Réiltín smiling up at him.
Kelly raised an imaginary phone to her ear.
Réiltín gestured towards the office. Kelly walked around her into the office, making a face at Lockie as she passed. He ignored her.
‘We speak in mime,’ said Réiltín.
‘I might try that myself,’ said Lockie, looking away.
Réiltín’s eyes widened.
Rupert was next to bounce through the door, just as Kelly appeared from behind the office door, pointedly ignoring Réiltín and Lockie. To Rupert, she made a phone call gesture with her hand, followed by a thumbs down.
‘Ooh,’ said Rupert, looking at Réiltín and speaking in Irish. ‘Can I have the minutes she didn’t use?’
‘What do you mean, minutes?’ said Kelly. ‘It’s a normal phone.’
‘I know, but we’re still timed,’ said Rupert. ‘It costs money.’
‘Who are you calling?’ said Kelly, eyes narrowed.
‘My dad!’ said Rupert. ‘Who else?’
‘You’re such a weirdo,’ said Kelly. ‘What would you talk to your dad about for half an hour?’
‘Oh my God!’ said Rupert, throwing his arms up. ‘Where do I even start?’
‘I’d say the longest I’ve ever been on the phone to my mom is six minutes.’
‘I love my dad!’ said Rupert. ‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘Not a thing,’ said Lockie, pushing himself up off the desk. He put a hand on Rupert’s shoulder, and squeezed. ‘Not a thing.’
He started to walk away, then paused. ‘It’s my mom’s anniversary today. And I’m down here. And my dad’s out getting drunk with his mates.’