Rona scrolled through the numbers on her 'phone until she got to Sacha's, and pressed the "call" button.

"Hello?"

"It's Rona."

"Oh, hello."

Rona had by now become accustomed to Sacha's curtness and got straight to the matter at hand: "How's the job search going?"

"It's not" replied Sacha bluntly. After a moment she added: "But thanks for asking."

"That's okay!" chirped Rona, pleasantly surprised at the tone of gratitude that she'd never heard in Sacha's voice. "Well anyway" she continued, "I've got some good news for you."

"What do you mean?" asked Sacha. She sounded suspicious. "A job?"

"Sort of."

"Really?" Another tone that Rona had never heard Sacha speak in: curiosity and enthusiasm. "Tell me."

"Well" said Rona, "you know the magazine I write for?"

"In a way. You've never actually told me what it's called."

"Ugh" said Rona, "it's called the 'Word on the Street'. Don't talk to me about it. I hate that name, but the editor has this stupid thing for puns and shit, and it's his mag, so -"

"Rona!" interrupted Sacha.

"Oh, right, yeah sorry. So anyway, Si - that's the editor, though god knows I do most of the work - Si wants somebody to write a new column. A kind of opinion piece. So I thought: you're kinda bitchy -"

"Hey!"

"It's a compliment, mate, it's a compliment. So anyway, what do you reckon?"

Sacha thought about it for a moment. "Isn't the magazine run by volunteers?"

"Yeah."

"So - I wouldn't actually be paid anything."

"Not as such. Well, I mean - no."

Sacha sighed. "Rona, it's not a job I need, so much as money. You know, so I can buy food, and pay electricity bills and rent, all that kind of stuff that you need to do in order to live."

"What you need" said Rona, echoing Brent's opinion from earlier in the day: "is to get out of your flat, and get doing something."

Sacha didn't feel like arguing. With the mood Rona was she knew she'd end up losing. Besides, though she hated to admit it she also knew that Rona was right. "Okay" she said. "So what's this column then?"

"I'll let Si explain it to you. I'll give him your number and he'll give you a call next week, probably." And then, to Sacha's astonisment, Rona suddenly exclaimed: "Yippee!"