When I got to school there were people everywhere. I walked past the caretaker’s lodge but Haisam wasn’t there and nor was his father, the caretaker. So I went to join the other kids in the playground, where we were supposed to assemble while we waited for the head teacher.

The playground was crowded and some of the parents, who were behind the railings, stuck their heads through the bars, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. They were holding on to them with both hands, like prisoners desperate for a sniff of freedom. It was a strange view of the world. The head teacher arrived and began to call out our names. One by one we got into line in front of our form teachers. And when everyone in a class had been called, the form teacher led them inside. Whole processions of children disappeared in this way, and little by little the playground emptied. I was wondering where on earth Haisam the Honourable could have got to, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn around to know it was him.

“Honourable Egyptian,” I murmured, “I hope we’re going to be in the same class.”

“It’s sorted.”

So then I turned round, because I was eager to see his face again. He seemed to have got even fatter over the holidays. His great stomach was stuffed into a massively uncool, thick checked shirt and he was wearing corduroy trousers that were much too short, revealing different coloured socks. His small eyes were smiling behind his ever-present horn-rimmed specs. He had the calm, unruffled look of someone who’s seen it all before. I’ve never understood how Haisam could be so impervious to the world of fashion, but hey, that’s his business. I was nudged in the ribs by a sharp Egyptian elbow.

“Victor! Absent? Absent already?” The head teacher was yelling through her megaphone.

This really wasn’t the moment to make her think I’d bunked off: I didn’t want to draw attention to myself right at the beginning of the year. Better to wait a little.

“No! No! I’m here,” I shouted, waving my arms wildly. “I’m coming, look, I’m getting in line!”

A little later Haisam came to join me in the queue. He’d said, “It’s sorted,” and it was. We trudged through the corridors behind our form teacher. I didn’t know anyone else in the class but maybe that was a good thing, if I wanted to keep a low profile.