"What do you think about Gaza?"

'So what do you think about Gaza?'

'Huh?'

'Gaza. Like, what do you think about Gaza?'

Wake up idiot, she's said something. Need to tread carefully. Where is she from? I really should've listened when I asked her. She is pretty dark, maybe she's an Arab. What was her name again? Sara? Could be an Arab name. But the Israelis are pretty dark too aren't they? And there's that hummus named Sara, or is that Sabra? This is really too much. This is high stakes stuff. This is my life here.

'I think its awful.'

Risky move. Maybe she'll give you a clue.

'What's awful?'

Who is this girl? Who asks something like that? Why is she torturing me like this?

'Just all the people dying. All the innocent people.'

'Yeah. But who's innocent?'

Jesus Christ. Who is this girl? She must be a politics student. Did she say she studied politics? Or was it photography? What the fuck am I going to say?

'What do you think?'

Brilliant. You might actually be a genius.

'You first I asked first.'

Fuck. She's getting suspicious. If I get this wrong I'm finished, she'll call me a Zionist pig or a Nazi pig and this dinner will've been for nothing. I need to say something. Fucking anything. Move your mouth.

'Who's innocent? That's an interesting question. Of course the Israelis have done some bad things, but so have the Palestinians. And you know, people talk about civilians and stuff but really even they're not innocent. Nobody's innocent really. We've all got our own demons, our own hatreds and prejudices, and I think it's important to recognise that.'

Is this working? God I wish she'd do something. Give me a sign. Better keep going.

'And you know it can't just be saying things, we have to do things as well to recognise that, you know what I mean? Like, it's no use just saying you hate things and you're not innocent unless you prove it by trying not to hate things. It's all about the trying I think.'

'Wow.'

Oh God here it comes. She's going to shit all over me. She'll probably tell everyone, put it on the university confessions page, my God I'm fucked.

'I can tell you're like super well read.'

Lord in Heaven.

'Do you read a lot about this sort of stuff?'

'Oh. A little bit here and there. What about you?'

'Huh?'

'What side's innocent?'

'Oh! Aha. I don't really know to be honest I was just asking!'

She's a photography student then. My cup runneth over.