Peter gulped and shook his head. “Not make-up.” he said. “Not yet anyway.” he added before confessing to ‘occasionally’ wearing a slide or a couple of clips in his hair. “I’d rather not but we’re encouraged to try to look nice and Mum & Kate are both quite encouraging.” he said before hesitantly informing her that since it’s an EP school, they’re expected to wear make-up in Year 10.

“Really?” she asked, clearly surprised.

“Yeah.” he groaned. “I’m not looking forward to that but that’s why I’ve got a dressing table.”

“Have you got any?”

“Make-up?” he clarified. She nodded. “No… we’re not allowed it in Year 9.”

“It’s the same at my school… no make-up in years seven to nine, minimal in ten and eleven.”

“Not for the boys though… and it’ll be optional at your school?”

“Yeah but… my school isn’t an EP school.”

“I wish mine wasn’t.” Peter groaned. “Can we talk about something else?” he requested.

“I’m interested.” she replied. “I’ve been reading up on EP lately, it’s fascinating.” she said. “Did you know that truancy is virtually nil in all EP schools?”

“Yeah.” Peter replied. “It’s not surprising though…” he added. “…the only place the uniform feels anywhere near normal is in the classroom.”

“You looked comfortable enough in it the other night.” she said, recalling their brief video chat. “It’s kinda like a Korean uniform.” she suggested, citing the satin bow tie in particular.

“That tie’s the single worst part of it.” Peter claimed. “Especially when you forget you’re wearing it and a mate sends a video chat request.”

They shared a smile. “Good job it was me and not someone else.” she grinned.

“There is that.” Peter said as he glumly leant forwards and put his elbows on his knees, propping his chin on his hands. “My biggest worry was all my mates finding out and now they have.”