Intermezzo

by Sally Rooney

Are you thinking about a future career? Yeah. Thinking of becoming an eco-terrorist.

Just to walk the streets saying things, anything, just the act itself, walking together at the same speed, and talking, purely to amuse and please one another, to make each other stupidly laugh, for no further accomplishment, no higher purpose, to let their words rise and disperse forever in the damp brackish air.