Before I could answer, another voice came floating up from the fire escape.
‘She broke my robot.’
‘Cal!’ I cried, peering over at him. ‘You’re here!’
‘Yeah, well, the award ceremony finished and I told you I didn’t want to miss the fireworks.’
He climbed up from the last rung, looking very smart in his tux. A warm feeling crept into my stomach as he grinned at me.
‘How did you know we were up here?’ Olly asked, as Grace and Sky started the tricky process of sitting down elegantly on the roof in their ballgowns.
‘When I couldn’t see Flick downstairs, I had a hunch.’ He held out his coat to me, which had been hanging over his arm. ‘I also figured you wouldn’t think to bring a jacket, even though it’s December.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, as he helped me to drape it over my shoulders.
‘Where have you been?’ Grace asked.
‘He’s been collecting a big journalism award,’ I informed them.
‘I didn’t win,’ Cal interjected quickly, his cheeks turning as pink as his nose. ‘I came second.’
‘Whatever.’ I smiled. ‘Your article was great.’
‘I can’t take all the credit. You were the one who gave me the idea.’
‘I did?’
‘You don’t remember? When you pooh-poohed my Prince Gustav interview, you suggested I write a feature about getting in everyone’s way at a hotel . . .’
‘The whole thing was Flick’s idea? That’s cool,’ Sky declared, before pouting for a selfie with Grace.
‘Wait.’ I held up my hands. ‘Can we all just focus on the fact that Cal just used the phrase “pooh-pooh” like it was an actual thing?’
‘It is an actual thing,’ Cal argued.
‘Yeah,’ I snorted. ‘Back in the Dark Ages.’
‘I think he can pull off “pooh-pooh”,’ Olly declared, as Cal nodded appreciatively.
‘Out of interest, would pooh-pooh be spelled with an “h” or no “h”?’ Grace asked thoughtfully.
‘Can people please stop saying “pooh-pooh”?’ Sky asked, laughing. ‘The fireworks are about to start and all this pooh-poohing is kind of ruining the moment.’
Olly held out his hand to help me sit down in my impractical-for-roof-climbing dress, before offering his jacket to Sky and Grace to share.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ Cal began as he sat on the other side of me, ‘youshouldstart vlogging.’
‘Veeeeeery funny.’
‘I mean it.’ He laughed. ‘Seriously. People are really interested in what goes on behind the scenes of a hotel like this one. Now that you’ve swotted up on it a bit, I reckon you’d be the best person to show it off. Not giving away its secrets, obviously,’ he added.
‘Cal, are you saying that people might actually be interested in my life?’
‘Those weren’t my exact words.’ He grinned. ‘I think it would be fun.’
‘That’s a really cool idea, Flick,’ Sky piped up. ‘I’d watch it. Maybe I’d be lucky enough to have a guest spot on it when I’m next in town.’
‘It’s a great idea,’ Olly agreed. ‘I think you should go for it.’
