In the future, I'll be braver, she told herself. In the future, I will always speak my mind, eloquently, passionately.
David NichollsBut at the best of times she feels like a character in a Muriel Spark novel — independent, bookish, sharp-minded, secretly romantic.
David NichollsHe's a better person when she's around, and isn't that what friends are for, to raise you up and keep you at your best?
David NichollsMy 20s was a sea of worry. I worried about benefit forms, about being thrown out of my flat. I never went on holiday because I thought: 'What if an audition comes up?' I was a nervous wreck.
David NichollsHe's laughing me into a stupor, she thought. I could heckle, I suppose, I could throw a bread roll at him, but he's eaten them all. She glanced at the other diners, all of them going into their act, and thought is this what it all boils down to? Romantic love, is this all it is, a talent show? Eat a meal, go to bed, fall in love with me and I promise you years and years of top notch material like this?
David Nicholls