“Hey Alex,” I sigh, immediately my voice is lighter and less stressed. It’s funny with Alex and me. He’s so... formal, I suppose. Everyone else calls him Alexander; he prefers to be called Alexander, but I give people nicknames or pet names. It’s just what I do. So I call him Alex. At first, he hated it, but once he realized there was no way I’d call him ‘Alexander’ he gave up trying to change me. So, I call him Alex and he calls me Sydney. Ok, yes part of me is slightly annoyed that he doesn’t call me ‘Syd’ but it’s like our thing, I suppose. Alex isn’t into pet names either. He doesn’t call me baby or honey or sweetie or anything else like that. He calls me Sydney.