I head to Naddie’s after school after promising her a helping hand for an upcoming Biology test. Jess tags along, saying she will keep quiet and also revise, a promise none of us believe and is said only as an empty polite gesture. Max is tied down by a family action, Richie usually goes home straight after school to walk Snowball, and today, Zach went with him.

Jess manages to work in silence for a full half hour, which is longer than Naddie and I anticipated. We almost forget she’s there, until she lies down with a dramatic sigh and throws the exercise book over her head. When we pay her no attention, she sighs again.

‘Everything okay there, Jess?’ Naddie asks at the third sigh.

‘I’m absorbing the book’s knowledge through osmosis.’

‘Good luck with that.’

Jess removes the book from her face and raises her legs for a random spurt of exercise. I’ve seen it a million times, but the casual ease of her mini-workouts still astounds me. But perhaps that’s because for me, one push-up is enough movement for a month.

‘Have you two figured out what you’re doing after you graduate?’ she asks, her legs cycling on an invisible bike. ‘They’re starting to annoy us with post-school hopes and dreams in class.’

‘I’m hoping at least one university will accept my application,’ Naddie says, taking her glasses off to wipe them on the hem of her shirt.

‘Why wouldn’t they? You’re smart, sometimes.’

‘Thanks,’ Naddie grimaces. ‘I hope they accept me, but you never know. Anyway, if they don’t, I already got the gap year planned, so worst case, I can reapply.’

‘Hmm. What about you, Corey?’

‘Get a job and write in my free time, I guess,’ I shrug, smoothing out pages in my exercise book. The future is a topic I wish to avoid at all costs.

‘Neither of you are very inspiring,’ Jess says and sits up, then stretches into a full-on split. ‘I was thinking about it the other day and realised I have absolutely no idea what I want to do.’

‘I thought you wanted to dance,’ Naddie says, surprised. Dancing has been Jess’ answer to any question about the future for as long as I can remember.

Jess scrunches up her nose. ‘It’s not very realistic though, is it? Thinking about it practically, it’s a childish answer. There’s so much competition in dance, and unless you’re the top of the top, you’re not going to earn anything worth your trouble, or get anywhere worthwhile.’

She hits the nail on the head of my anxieties. Writing is a naive dream that’s highly impractical too. I can’t give it up though. I can’t.

‘Anyway, I was thinking nursing,’ Jess continues, easing out of the split. ‘Turns out, I enjoy the volunteer stuff at the retirement home. I’m good at it and it makes me happy, too. So I figure that could fit me.’

‘You’ll have to study a lot harder for it,’ Naddie says, pointedly looking at the tossed-away study book.

Jess sighs and picks it up. ‘I know, but it’s so hard.’ She runs her hand through her hair. ‘Actually, it’s why I joined you today. I need your help with studying, to focus and get better at it,’ she says, looking shy.

It’s very rare that Jess asks for help. When she was a kid, she’d rather do ten mistakes than listen to advice. Naddie’s face shines with excitement over this rarity.

‘I could help you, if you say the magic word,’ Naddie teases.

‘Pretty, pretty please,’ Jess flashes her smile and flutters her eyes. One of her false lashes falls off with the excessive winking. She swears as we burst out laughing.

‘Fine, I’ll help you, but only if you promise to work harder than that eyelash.’