Phil, Nadia & Jenn

"Have you asked him yet?" Nadia whispers to Jenn.

"Not yet," Jenn replies, picking apart her bread roll with navy-painted nails. She breaks it into tiny pieces, spilling crumbs onto her tray. Some she eats; others she flicks at a couple of noisy Year 10 students who are excitedly shouting about the Olympics further down the table.

"Well, ask him."

"No, you ask him."

"Ask me what?" Phil raises his head from his well-thumbed copy of Batman: The Long Halloween, giving Nadia and Jenn a bemused smile as he catches their guilty, conspiratorial glances. The three Year 11 students sit across from one another in the large, wood-panelled dining hall.

"Jenn was wondering..."

"No, Nadia was wondering," Jenn quickly interjects.

"Fine. We were wondering if you wanted to go out with us this Friday. There's an exhibition at the museum—a celebration of 60 years of Doctor Who, with a foreword by Russell T. Davies. It looks really good. And... yeah."

"Sure, I'd love to. Was that it?" Phil asks, noticing Nadia's nervous drumming on the table.

"There's more." Nadia looks to Jenn for support, but Jenn just shrugs. Nadia huffs, muttering something under her breath about Jenn being "no help," though loud enough for Jenn to hear. In retaliation, Jenn sprays a few more crumbs that end up lodged in Nadia's dark hair.

"Okay?" Phil reaches over and confiscates what's left of the bread before Nadia can respond. He eats it quickly, hoping this will encourage a truce. To his knowledge, neither of them has any more ammunition on hand.

"We were wondering if you would go as our date."

"Our date?" he repeats, looking puzzled.

"Yeah," Nadia replies.

"Whose date, exactly? Yours or Jenn's?"

"Mine," they say simultaneously.

"That is to say, the three of us." Nadia points to herself, then to Jenn, and finally to him, hoping the visual diagram will clarify any lingering confusion.

"Oh." Phil closes his book, completely taken aback. He runs his fingers through his tight black curls, looking from one girl to the other. He half expects them to shout "Just kidding!" and dissolve into laughter, but when neither does, he blushes, his face turning bright pink.

"It doesn't matter. Forget I asked," Nadia begins, her voice smaller now.

"No, sorry—you both just caught me off guard, that's all. I would... that is, I'm open to the idea."

"Yeah?" Nadia's voice perks up.

"Yeah," he says, sounding more confident now that he knows he's not the target of some elaborate prank. "By 'date,' are we talking friends hanging out, or like a date—flowers and chocolates and romantic intentions?"

"Well, I was hoping for the latter, but it's fine if you're not interested in that."

"I would like that. A lot, actually."

"Brilliant! So we'll pick you up around three?"

"Sounds perfect."

"You can go back to your comic now."

"Nah, I'm good. So... did either of you catch the newest episode?"