AF: A first conversation

I'm going to be bad again and put up a conversation I wrote rather than some plot points but hopefully it will give you some ideas. Just to be clear Mark is the protagonist having suffered from ME type illnesses all his life finds himself more or less better but somewhat unsocialised. He's moved in with his cousin Lois and her boyfriend Toby who have just bought a place in a suburban bit of London they'd never have thought of visiting before they started thinking mortgages and the like.

In this scene Mark has already asked for help in learning to have fun and Lois has enthusiastically agreed. Toby is less certain but is going along with it. They've agreed to go to a party they were going to bump on Saturday and Mark is nervous as this will be the first real party he's been to. He talks to Toby about it a day or so before it happens.

Mark: The caveat I'm about to give applies to pretty much everything I'm going to say over the next month or so, so I'm going to give it you once and we'll just take it as an unspoken prologue to every question I ask. Ok?: I know this sounds ridiculous but... what exactly do people do at parties?

Toby: Drink mostly.

Mark: I figured that would be a big feature. But I presume they don't just stand in silence constantly drinking.

Toby: Well they do more or less for the first couple of hours while they warm up.

Mark: And then what?

Toby: See if there's anyone fit they could cop off with and when that fails drink even more. Then you'll soon be drunk enough to start singing along to Madonna, then hug some people you know vaguely and say how much you love them and how we never get a chance to hang out. Then finally fall asleep in the corner while people take comedy photos of you.

Mark: But if you don't want to cop off with someone?

Toby: Look on with amusement while your mate tries it on. Then join in with the Madonna rendition and get your camera ready for the snoozer.

Mark: So there's singing?

Toby: Well it's a generous term but yeah often some people stretch the old vocal chords.

Mark: And there's dancing.

Toby: Yeah

Mark: But not at the beginning?

Toby: Nope. Drink first then dancing.

Mark: So what do you do when you're not drinking.

Toby: How do you mean?

Mark: I mean, do you play games or anything?

Toby laughs: Well, pass the parcel is a bit out of fashion these days.

Mark: Adult games.

Toby: That requires the copping off.

Mark smiles at the joke but Toby realises that he does actually want an answer.

Toby: People often do drinking games.

Mark: Ok, could you teach me the rules.

Toby: Well, to be honest half the fun is if you don't really get them. But I'd be really surprised if we played them on Saturday. We haven't done that kind of thing in years.

Mark: So what do you do?

Toby: Well, we just kind of talk.

Mark: Until you start singing and dancing?

Toby: Generally, yes.

Mark: How long does it take?

Toby: I don't know, at least until midnight.

Mark: So there's normally about four or five hours of just drinking and talking?

Toby: Yeah.

Mark considers this.

Mark: I think I'd better practice my conversation.

Toby: It might help.