How To Lose Weight And Survive The Apocalypse

Chapter 10

"So, do you like him or not?" asked Nev with complete tactlessness the next day.

"Nev!" I hissed. "Keep your voice down!"

"Why?" She glanced around. "There's no one here."

She had a point. We'd been on the road for a few hours – a road that blessedly sloped down the entire way – but the rest of the group had powered ahead. Nev had hung back with me, although I wasn't sure why. I was slow because I was fearfully conserving energy, but she was fit enough to outpace us all.

"I... I don't know," I said, reluctant to say too much. I'd known Nev for two years, had hired her straight out of high school as a social media prodigy and encouraged her to start her to start her certificate in digital media studies, but she'd never been my confidant. Bailey fielded my secrets, but Nev and I weren't friends in the same way.

I'd tried not to think about why. Part of it was our age difference, but that didn't seem to matter between me and Simon. Part of it was that Nev could be childish and vague. But in my raw moments, I could admit to myself that it was probably a fundamental difference of ilk: she was beautiful, I was not.

I didn't want to be the petty person affected by that kind of stuff, but realistically, I'd always connected with people about the same level of attractiveness as me – about a five or a six out of ten, maybe a seven if they were really lovely. Nev was a nine, a different species.

We didn't even speak the same language. Nev was Pilates and cross-fit and paleo and leggings and Sephora and Zara and skinny-pops. I was Harry Potter marathons and toffee ice cream and camembert and budgets and couch time and pyjamas and novels. A good weekend for Nev consisted of wearing shiny tight things and dancing with strangers. A good weekend for me was finishing a book at 3am on a Saturday night, safe in the knowledge I could sleep in on Sunday. Zero commonality.

Not to say I didn't like Nev, because I did. She was fiercely intelligent about her passions (Insta, her dog, tanning lotion) and she was an optimist and a hard worker. I decided to trust her with a piece of my heart, saying, "I'm not sure how I feel about Rueben. I barely know the guy."

"So?"

"So," I said exasperated, "I've only known him a few days and I'm not sure if now is the best time to start something."

"Why not?"

Sometimes, Nev's incessant curiosity was valuable. Today, it was annoying. "Because! What if I say something, and he doesn't feel that way, and I make this entire trip so awkward, he doesn't even want to take us to Tassie anymore? Besides, I kind of tried to start something the other night and he shot me down."

"The other night when you were drunk?" Nev examined a nail as she cruised along beside me. "Girl, I would have turned you down too. You were a hot mess."

"Thanks." I paused. "There's also someone else, a guy waiting for me in Tasmania. My ex."

"Oo, mysterious exes are my favourite! So, why not have Rueben on the road, and eat your cake too when we get to the farm?"

"I'm not that person, Nev."

"Things change."

"Not that much."

"Yes, that much! Look, all I'm saying is that everything is changing – we don't have to be who we were before this. We can be whoever we want, try new things. Look at me!"

She threw her arms out wide like eagle wings. Her loose hair streamed behind her like a banner, her toned legs brown and long. "This is the longest I've ever been without makeup since I was twelve," she confessed, giggling and grabbing the handlebars again, "and I couldn't be happier. Although I'd love a shower."