Your friends

Let me show you my phone. Here's Aylin, my best friend. We grew up together, in the same street, and we still tell the same silly jokes.

This is Joe, my flatmate. He eats my cheese. This is Dan, my mate from work. And this is Nur, my classmate. She always has a pen.

I have so many friends in my phone. Today I need one with chocolate.

My family is full of love this month. My brother Kaan has a new girlfriend, Rosa. I've known her for ten years, so I'm not surprised.

My cousin has a boyfriend called Max. He makes me laugh all the time, so I like him.

And my aunt has a partner now. She says "boyfriend" sounds silly at fifty. I say, "Partner" sounds like a business.

Our group chat is called "Legends". Every morning, it has two hundred new messages. I wake up, and I don't understand anything.

We get on well, so we chat every day. We hang out at the weekend, usually at Ravi's flat, and we eat his mum's samosas.

Next week we meet up at the park. Some friends live in Spain now. We keep in touch with photos and voice notes.

Hi Aylin. It's me. I know, I know, it's a long voice note.

I miss you. The flat is quiet, and nobody steals my cheese. I'm really glad we're close, even from far away. You can trust me, you know. Your secret about the singing lessons is safe.

If you need anything, you can count on me. Friends forever! Now ring me back, please.

This is Zeynep, my old friend. We sometimes fall out, usually about a sandwich. It's always a very good sandwich.

Now we've got a new flatmate, Ruby. We want to get to know her, so we cook dinner and ask a hundred questions. Ruby says, "Are you the police?"

We always have a laugh, though. Ruby laughs now too. I think she'll stay.

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