Page 77 of Killing Mind

‘All my friends had one before…’

‘Ah, so because they had phones you wanted one too?’

‘I suppose so,’ Tiff answered, not minding the conversation one bit.

Britney’s tone was not judgemental or combative just amused.

‘Interesting. Okay, what else do you do with it?’

‘I message people, use the maps to give me directions, order stuff from Amazon, research for college projects,’ she added for good measure. ‘Pretty much everything.’

‘But what is it?’ Britney asked, tipping her head.

‘What do you mean, it’s a phone.’

‘And yet not once have you said you use it to make calls.’

Tiff opened her mouth to argue and then closed it again. She actually couldn’t remember the last time she’d used it to make a call even though it was close by 24 hours a day.

‘But, I have another question,’ Britney continued. ‘I asked you almost three hours ago to turn off and leave your phone in my room. You did and how much thought have you given it?’

Jeez, had it really been three hours? Surprisingly, she hadn’t thought about it once. Normally she was checking it every ten to fifteen minutes.

‘I want to ask you a question, but I don’t want you to think about the answer. Just say the first word that comes into your head, okay?’

Tiff nodded.

‘How have you felt for the last few hours?’

‘Relaxed,’ she said, without thinking. And it was true. Without her phone, she had known that no one, absolutely no one, could reach her. She was alone and independent. She was not checking what her friends were up to or responding to tagged comments and posts. She was sure her notifications were building up but she didn’t care. She’d check later when she was good and ready.

‘You see how you’ve become a slave to it?’

Tiff nodded. It was true. If she was away from her phone for longer than half an hour she began to panic: why?

She had no answer.

‘Just take a breath,’ Britney advised. ‘See and enjoy what’s right in front of you.’

Tiffany let out a long breath and looked around. The twinkling of the fairy lights was hypnotic and compelling.

‘It really is beautiful,’ Tiff said, watching the lights dance above Britney’s head.

‘It’s my favourite spot,’ Britney agreed. A smile spread on her face as a slight built girl in her twenties approached holding a chunky green cardigan. She smiled in Tiff’s direction before holding the garment towards Britney.

‘Thanks, Brit. Kept me warmer in the shop today.’

Britney made no effort to take it. ‘You selling veg again tomorrow, Maisie?’

The girl nodded.

‘Keep it for now, okay?’

Maisie leaned down and pecked the red-haired girl on the cheek. ‘Cheers, Brit. You’re the best.’

Britney coloured at the compliment and rolled her eyes as Maisie headed away.

‘So, how did you find this place?’ Tiff asked, feeling comfortable enough to ask her the question.