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suggested getting money involved, and a bit of extra travelling coinage could always come in handy. She tried not to feel guilty about the large amount of money she had tucked away in her savings account – she preferred to keep those funds untouched for a rainy day if possible.
    The other good thing about the game was that it was taking her mind off Hannah. At dinner that night India had been acutely aware of the fact that pretty much everything that had come out of that girl’s mouth had been complete and utter bullshit. India had actually quite enjoyed hammering the poor girl with questions and watching her attempt to come up with realistic responses. She was quite certain that Hannah was hiding something fairly significant and while she knew she should have been wary of her (because she supposed it was possible that the girl was a serial killer on the run) she got the feeling that she was harmless, and more importantly, that she needed help. Besides, India understood what it was like to be hiding something and have it scrabbling at your insides, desperate to be let out.
    The only thing that India was confident Hannah had told the truth about was her name. It wasn’t easy to leave something as significant as your name behind. Even when you’re running away from something, you have to really mean it to let go of your name.
    ‘Farrrrrrkkkkk!!!’ said one of the guys to her right suddenly. ‘She’s done it again, hasn’t she?’ He shook his head somewhat admiringly as he pushed the pile of coins and notes across the table to India. ‘That’s it, I’m out – going to bed,’ he announced. He turned around to a pretty dark haired girl who was lounging on the couch, watching the game. ‘Care to join me?’ he asked, winking suggestively at her.
    The girl looked up in surprise and India half-expected her to flirtatiously respond, ‘Who, me?’ But instead she said quietly, ‘Umm, maybe’ and then dropped her eyes to her lap. The guy shrugged. ‘Down the hall, first door on the right,’ he said casually before sauntering off towards his shared room.
    ‘Think I’m done too,’ said India, smiling at the remaining players around the table. ‘Taken enough of your cash for one night,’ she added. India pushed back her chair so that it scraped noisily on the floorboards and wandered over to the couch, sitting down next to the young girl.
    ‘How’s it going?’ she asked her gently.
    Once again the girl looked startled at having been addressed. ‘Oh, I’m okay,’ she replied. She had a sweet southern accent and her fingers picked at a hole in the knee of her jeans as she spoke.
    India glanced at her watch; it was after 3 am. She couldn’t be bothered making small talk this far past midnight. ‘You going to have sex with that guy?’ she asked. The girl stared back at India in shock. ‘I don’t know,’ she replied quickly.
    ‘Okay, talk me through it. What’s your thought process here? I’ll help you make up your mind.’
    ‘Really? Umm, isn’t this sort of . . . weird? I don’t actually know who you are.’
    ‘So? My name’s India. Feel better? I can tell you’re stuck. Talk to me.’
    The girl relented. ‘All right, fine – I am confused. That guy’s part of my tour group. We’ve been flirting over the past couple of weeks. But, I kind of thought we’d, you know, have some kind of romantic moment, maybe kiss by the Eiffel Tower when we get to Paris or something – not just hook up in the middle of the night like this.’
    ‘You’re disappointed.’
    ‘I guess.’
    ‘And do you want to sleep with him?’
    ‘Ye-e-s,’ she replied slowly. ‘But you know, eventually, after a couple of proper “dates”. But I’m worried if I turn him down he’ll move on to someone else.’
    ‘Ahh, well then, the answer is simple. You don’t do something just because you’re trying to keep someone else happy. You do things for yourself. You do what YOU want to do. Me? If I feel like sleeping