Izzy: Six. How’s your mum? And having fun at your sleepover?

I avoid answering her second question. Instead I give her a quick update on Mum and tell her about the film we’re watching.

Izzy: Sounds . . . interesting.

She streams it too and we send each other funny messages about how awful it is, just like I used to do with Elle.

Later on I suggest a game as Elle and I wait to fall asleep.

‘Would you rather eat poo-flavoured chocolate or chocolate-flavoured poo?’ I ask her.

‘What?’ Elle says.

I explain the rules. You have to give two different options that are equally as bad, and see which one the other person picks.

Elle laughs. ‘That sounds silly,’ she says dismissively, reminding me of Abir.

‘I would have chocolate-flavoured poo,’ I say, ignoring her judgement. But my cheeks are burning and I feel stupid now.

‘Fair enough.’ Elle yawns, signalling the end of the game.

It’s after a few moments of silence that I finally feel brave enough to say something about Matty.

‘Elle?’ I turn to my side, facing her.

She’s laid flat, looking up at the ceiling. ‘Yeah?’

I sigh.

‘What is it?’ she hisses, and I can’t tell whether she’s irritated at me, or worried about what I have to say. For the first time in forever I’m not sure she’s enjoying our sleepover at all, and it makes my stomach squirm.

‘I . . .’ Don’t chicken out, Saff. Don’t chicken out. ‘I was in ICT. I was sitting next to Matty and David and I saw something on Matty’s phone.’

I can feel Elle bristle next to me.

‘What?’ Her voice is sharp, like a knife, but for some reason I feel like it’s pointed at me.

I tell her about the photo and how they were laughing at it. And I tell her what Matty said to me, and about Jonnie’s joke at the bike shed.

‘Oh my gosh, Saff,’ Elle says, and I expect her to reassure me that it was horrible, and that she’s going to talk to Matty about it. The old Elle would. But she doesn’t. ‘I got worried you were going to say something bad, like he was texting some other girl!’ She takes a relieved breath, and then carries on. ‘Don’t worry. Matty and Jonnie are like it with everyone,’ Elle assures me. ‘The other day they were making fun of me for being ginger and pale . . . It’s just what they’re like.’

She looks at me expectantly, so I say the first thing that’s on my mind. ‘But that’s not . . . very nice, is it?’