Doctor AI informed him that ‘despite the common joke a poop deck has nothing to do with human excretion’. How prim-sounding that was coming from the supposed culmination (so far) in the evolution of human intelligence.

Having been asked by Vikram to ‘join the family for a week’s sailing’, Jimmy thought he had better look up a few things. You never knew with the very rich and the thought of doing something that disgusting out in the open was too much. He celebrated his relief with another Hobnob, then realised the corny word play. He could hear his dad say he was going to do that with his posh new friends.

He had met Vik on the first day. They had rooms on the same ‘staircase’ in Pembroke, which meant sharing the same ‘gyp’ (tiny kitchen) – so many new words, but Vik had been relaxed and funny, despite going to Winchester.

He and Vik slept together for the first time at the end of freshers’ week and gradually became a couple, though not a particularly open and demonstrative one. Not entirely exclusive either. Especially on Vik’s part. Jimmy was ok with that, though he was less inclined to take advantage of that aspect of the arrangement.

In a way he had been surprised at Vik’s invitation. They had both agreed to spend quite a bit of time back with their families during the ‘long vac’. More holidays than term-time his dad had rather predictably remarked. Jimmy found a job at the kiosk at the bottom of Primrose Hill and was resigned to quite a dull summer when the text came. ‘You would just need to get to Skiathos and we can pick you up at the port’, as if that was the simplest thing in the world.

But he was determined to do it. Why shouldn’t he? He could just scrape the airfare together. He told his mum first and she was quite encouraging, glad that he had made friends good enough to go on holiday with. He probably picked the wrong moment with his dad, who was knackered after a week working in some flats that were being done up on the Holloway Road. Ready for more bloody students apparently.

He hadn’t really come out to his parents, but he kind of thought that his mum knew. He wasn’t sure about his dad. The night before he was due to fly out seemed the right moment. He could talk about Vik and his family more freely, not to mention the sleeping arrangements on the boat.

It was an anti-climax really. As he suspected his mum already knew, probably his dad too though he didn’t say. No anger from him though, just a bit sullen. He seemed more concerned to make snide jokes about privilege and swanning about on boats.

As he went upstairs though he heard his dad on one of his whispered rants. He could only catch the odd words and was pretty sure one of them was ‘disgusting’.

Jimmy was nervous setting off very early the next morning. He would be travelling on his own, Meeting Vik’s family. Watching what he said. He needed to get away though. Time to move on.

‘Bye mum’ he whispered as he shut the front door.