From my novel The Group: Two old frenimies take part in a market research experiment using electroencephalography, whereby their brain functions are monitored on computer screen, and return to familiar hostilities.

Blaaaat, went the buzzer, as though in their heads, and the light throb began.

‘Pavlov’s dog,’ Hil muttered.

‘You can be anything you really want!’

A pink lurex-pinstripe-suited doll took off her large dark rimmed glasses and shook out her long blonde hair. ‘Glamour is my goal! I work in the city! I make huge bonuses and I love numbers! You can learn how to do it – I’ll show you everything you need to know!’ An interactive numbers game was featured. Little pink broker fairies materialized with a shower of glitter and tinkle-sound. ‘Choose Oil!’ ‘Choose Steel!’ ‘Choose Gas!’ ‘Choose Real Estate!’ Their tiny wings fluttered sprinkles of glitter dust as they flew.

‘Or you can hedge your bets!’ Broker Babe countered. ‘Pick up a card! What does it say?’ ‘Short Sell?’ ‘Hooray! Work your commodity!’

Glittery dollar signs danced around the screen alongside minikin fairy traders as lights flashed and conga lines of numbers replicated themselves whilst in the background sparkly pink ribbons multigraphed ever upwards towards an iridescent heaven.

‘Wow!’

‘Yes? You liked it, Hilary?’

‘Well yes, surprisingly, yes, very much. This is the kind of positive – well, it’s something I’d like my daughters to know about, definitely. They do courses at our community college. I’ve already enrolled my eldest on Advanced Derivatives and Securitization – I mean, for Tanya, algorithms are Godly, but the youngest.. .’

‘You view this doll as kind of a ‘positive role model’?’

‘Absolutely. Much better than a glorified waitress. This woman is making her own way as an equal to men. She’s a success.’

‘She’s nothing but a common prostitute,’ Janie spat.

A warning beep went off from the console which drew the two techies’ fretful attention.

‘I would never allow my daughter to have something this…evil. This doll represents greed, avarice, selling your soul to the highest bidder. My daughter, daughters, would have nothing to do with anything so…’

‘Hypocrite,’ Hilary murmured under her breath.

‘Hah!’ Janie laughed; her eyes glittered behind the Perspex visor. ‘Do I detect a note of envy perhaps?’

Hilary smiled. ‘From what I’m told your daughter is just a chip off the old block.’

‘You watch your mouth.’ Janie swiped off her visor.

‘Ladies please!’ Techie One admonished them tetchily as though they were disturbing the hardware.

‘Envy, that’s all this is. Because Chandra has always been so much better in every way than your…’

‘My what, my what? Go on, say it.’

‘I won’t. I don’t have to because you know exactly what I mean.’

‘We’ll have to stop here,’ Techie Two stood back from playing with the laptops.

‘Seems to be the motherboard.’ Techie One confirmed with a fatalistic sigh. ‘Do you two know each other?’

‘Of course we don’t.’ Janie snapped.

‘Let me tell you something, you jumped up, sanctimonious lunatic. You have no idea about your own child. You don’t know anything about her – who she is or what she’s up to.’

‘Okay, that’s it. We’re done. Ladies, you have to leave now.’ Techie One started to unhook the monitors.

‘Envy, that’s all it is, Stephan says that as well.’

‘She’s doing drugs, Janie. Tanya told me. Class A drugs, she and her friend.’

‘That’s a lie.’

‘Leave the room now please. That’s it. Let’s go.’

‘No it’s not. She’s stoned practically all the time.’

‘You’re mad.’

‘If you two don’t vacate these premises I’m calling the police.’

‘Not till we get our money,’ Hilary said.

‘Yeh,’ said Janie.

-Excerpt from The Group