[Rob Stuart]

‘The Worst Thing in the World?’ Winston took a deep breath. ‘Well, for me it was rats. In a cage on my head.’
‘How awful,’ said Julia.
‘And what happened to you, exactly? You weren’t in Room 101, because that’s where I was.’
‘No. I was down the corridor in Room 78.’
‘And what does that contain?’
Julia shuddered. ‘Something You Find Quite Irritating.’
‘Oh.’
She nodded. ‘For me it was those woolly hats that look like pandas.’
He blinked at her.
‘They even had a bloke wearing one, Winston. I had to betray you then. Anyway, it all turned out for the best. We were cured of our insanity.’
Winston nodded. That was true enough. ‘Right then,’ he said, signalling to the waiter, ‘we had two teas at two dollars each, so that’ll be... four dollars.’
‘Five,’ Julia corrected.
‘Oh yes, that’s right,’ said Winston. ‘Five.’