"So, how long do you think you'll be staying for Sam?"
I heave an over exasperated sigh, knowing it won't be audible due to the surrounding racket of the marketplace. The continuous drone of chattering strangers, coupled with the bolshy voices of market traders trying to press their wares on the crowd, is loud enough to wake the dead. Above, the sound of a plane heading in to land at Heathrow, or possibly Gatwick or wherever - I mean, take your pick, London certainly isn't short on airports- added to the noise, and somewhere in the not-so-distant distance, a train could be heard rumbling.
"Not long." I reply simply, and wholeheartedly mean it. I have no intention of hanging around where I'm not particularly wanted.
"Ah, okay." Jane, my stepmother responds rather pointlessly. And maybe I
