Free Trophy Life by Elli Lewis Page B

popped her head round the door of the office of Redbrick , the university newspaper, the rest of her following in thereafter. With her skintight jeans and low cut top, it was hard not to admire Georgie’s slim frame and ample breasts, an asset she had on more than one occasion declared to be 'my breast assets', to many a groan from her friends.
    'Almost,' Amy replied absent-mindedly as she noticed and corrected a split infinitive in the second paragraph, something their current editor, Laura, described as her ‘pet peeve’.
    'You hardly ever leave this place,' Georgie mused as Amy packed up. 'Though I’m sure it will pay off. I heard Nathan say that you’re a shoo-in for editor next year.'
    'Oh, I’m sure that’s not right,' Amy dismissed, grabbing her bag. 'There are loads of people who would be better than me.'
    'Don’t do that,' her friend replied almost sharply. 'You’re always putting yourself down and you shouldn’t. You’re a brilliant writer, a great features editor and you work harder than almost anyone else on this rag. Except me of course.' Amy threw Georgie a sideways smile at this, an acknowledgement of her joke. Laura was always telling off Georgie for her lackadaisical approach to the paper.
    Secretly, almost so secretly that she probably didn’t even know it herself, Amy did hope, did have a small part of her that thought she might just stand a chance. It was so small it was barely noticeable, but it was there. A little ember of optimism.
    'You know, there is more to student life than Redbrick ,' Georgie continued. 'There’s drinking and going out and having fun even if you can’t remember it the next day,' she listed, bumping Amy’s shoulder with hers and almost knocking her over in the movement. 'Actually especially if you can’t remember it the next day.'
    'I just haven’t been in the mood for clubbing lately, that’s all.' 
    'Look,' Georgie began more gently. 'I know it’s been tough. You know, since Will and everything. But all the more reason to come out with us tonight and drown those sorrows.'
    Amy thought about this. She had been sad when she and Will had broken up. It had felt like saying goodbye to a friend. A best friend even. She had struggled as she always did with the concept of change and goodbyes. But in truth it had also felt right. They had spent so little time together, had been so absent from each other’s lives, that they had lost the intimacy, the unspoken knowledge that they had always shared. He was busy with his studies and she with the paper and her new life at uni. As much as she hated to admit it, it was true what they said about long-distance relationships not working. 
    And then there was Freddie. She had tried to deny it, tried to ignore the spark between them, but she couldn’t any more. Freddie was part of her everyday life and group of friends, a constant and fun presence in her world. They had never gotten out of the habit of meeting up for films and TV shows in the common room, turning it into their own personal routine, complete with rituals like not starting to eat any food until the first word was said in a film and remaining sitting until the last credit rolled. Now that she and Will weren’t together any more, she hoped that they might explore being something more. She was actually quite excited to tell him.
    'Can’t we just go for dinner or something?' Amy asked hesitantly. 'There’s a new pizza place in Harborne.'
    'No we cannot go for dinner, grandma. It is vital and urgent that we get you drunk. I’m not taking no for an answer, consider yourself out tonight. I’m calling Lucy. The boys can do what they like; it’s a girl’s night.'
    And with that she was on the phone, chattering animatedly and apparently debating between the main student Wednesday haunt, Bobby Brown’s, and Miss Moneypenny, a more alternative club a bit further out.
    The final choice had been Bobby’s, where they found themselves queuing in the freezing cold later