(P = Pete; K = Kate)
P: Come in!
K: Hi, Pete! I just wondered if you fancied coming out for a coffee.
P: Oh, I was just writing a letter.
K: Writing a letter! Is your phone out of order?
P: No - well, not exactly a letter. Ben's applied for a job at a children’s summer camp, and they've asked me for a character reference. He must have put me down as one of his referees..
K: Oh dear - you're not going to tell them the truth, are you?
P: What do you mean?
K: Well, that' he is a big-headed show-off who goes out every night and never does a day’s work.
P: Oh, come on, he's not that bad - I mean kids love him. He’s always entertaining his little brother's friends with his magic tricks and silly jokes.
K: Oh yes, he's great with children - but he's a big kid himself, isn't he?
P: Yes, I suppose he is a bit immature.
K: And I hope they don't expect him to work before four o'clock in the afternoon. You know what he's like - he needs a bomb under him to get him up in the morning. .
P: Mm.
K: Also, he hates taking orders from anybody. Do you remember that job he had last summer in a restaurant? He ended up throwing a bucket of water over the chef when she asked him to wash the kitchen floor.
P: Oh no, don't remind me. He won't do anything he doesn't enjoy, will he? Mind you, he did manage that restaurant single-handed when the chef and two of the waiters were off sick with food poisoning.
K: That’s true. He's good in a crisis. But having said that, he's good at causing a crisis as well - I mean, you know the food poisoning was his fault, don't you?
P: Oh, yes - oh dear, this isn't helping.
K: Hey, do you think he's still got blue hair?
P: Come on. Let's go and get that coffee.
