‘Sustenance,’ she said.
They sat at the kitchen table with a pad of paper, a selection of coloured pens and their laptops fired up and ready to go.
‘Right,’ said Maggie. ‘I’ve done some reading around, and it seems that this is all about the personal statement. You have to show the admissions tutors who you are, that you have the right qualities for university-level study and that you have a passion for the course you’re applying for. It’ll be a piece of cake!’
Romany nodded. It did sound easy when Maggie put it like that.
‘And you can apply for courses at five universities,’ Maggie said. ‘So, biochemistry across the board?’
‘Actually, I only want to go to Durham,’ said Romany.
Maggie eyed her curiously.
‘I’ve looked at all the other courses and the universities and that’s the only one.’
‘Okay,’ replied Maggie slowly. ‘That’s a bold decision. But if you’re certain that that’s what you want then I can’t see any reason why you can’t do that. I’m not sure school will like it, though.’
Romany shrugged. She didn’t really care what school thought.
‘You’re doing the right A levels so that’s no problem. And your predicted grades are . . .’
‘Three As,’ said Romany. ‘Or they were before . . .’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Maggie. ‘The main thing at this stage is that the university considers your application. We can worry about actually getting the grades later.’
They heard the front door opening and Romany saw Maggie start. Her hand went to check her hair and then to wipe any stray mascara from under her eye. Her mum had always said that these two fancied one another. Romany thought it was gross, old people flirting.
‘Hi, Tiger,’ Romany shouted brightly, pre-warning him that they had company.
Tiger sauntered in carrying two heavy-looking shopping bags.
‘Oh, hi Mags,’ he said when he saw her. He looked considerably less flustered than Maggie had done. ‘I got everything on the list except for the capers. No capers to be had for love nor money.’
‘Never mind,’ replied Romany. ‘Maggie and I are just working on my university application.’
Tiger nodded. ‘Mags is the ideal woman for that job,’ he said approvingly. ‘Where are you thinking?’
‘Durham,’ said Romany.
‘Ah,’ he replied, nodding again.
God, he’s useless, thought Romany. I bet he doesn’t even know where Durham is.
‘Beautiful city,’ he said. ‘The castle and cathedral are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, of course, and there are some amazing botanical gardens too. If you get the timing right, you can wander over Elvet Bridge when the sun is going down. The light there is just astounding. Top choice, Romey.’
Romany stared at him, open-mouthed.
‘Well, you’re a fount of knowledge,’ said Maggie. She sounded impressed as well.
‘How do you know all that stuff?’ asked Romany. ‘You sound like a travel guide.’
Tiger looked surprised to have been asked. ‘Well, I’ve been, haven’t I? It’s a gorgeous place. Tiny but jam-packed full of medieval history. It’s great.’
And then he started to unpack the shopping.
Maggie threw a glance at Romany, eyebrows raised, and they swapped an expression of pure incredulity.
‘So,’ Maggie continued, returning them to the matter in hand. ‘Let’s start with who you are . . .’
By the end of the evening, they had produced a personal statement that read pretty well, and Romany was feeling much calmer about the whole process. Maggie’s guidance had been clear and logical, taking her through what she needed to say in a way that made it flow with purpose and ended up at exactly the right place with a nice uplifting finale. She had the word count completely spot on, too. Romany would never have been able to do that on her own, and she had to admit that if Mum had been helping, they would probably have ended up arguing about what should go in and what be left out. Maggie had been the perfect person for the job.
‘Thanks, Auntie Maggie,’ she said as she selected a champagne truffle from the almost-empty box. ‘That was really helpful.’
Maggie smiled. ‘Glad to be of use,’ she said. ‘To be honest, it’s nice to do something that makes me think for a change. I miss using my brain.’
‘Do you not have to do that, then?’ asked Romany. She wasn’t sure that she entirely understood what Maggie meant. Surely, if you were clever like Maggie then you must use your brain all the time – you couldn’t really avoid it.