‘It’s OK,’ I say, jumping up, ‘because this is molten lava.’ I hold out my mug of hot chocolate. ‘And if you step closer, I’ll shower you with it!’

There’s a moment of silence where I worry they’re all going to tease me for being stupid, the way Abir has done before. But Gini picks her popcorn up and says, ‘Not if I use my super magical orb-like orbs against you!’

She throws popcorn in my direction to illustrate her point. I try to catch it in my mouth and, after about ten attempts, get one.

Everyone cheers.

‘Orb-like orbs?’ Izzy says afterwards, snorting. ‘And what exactly do they do?’

Gini grins. ‘Repel molten lava, of course.’

When we’re done with our play-fight Charlotte and Gini explain why they were acting so suspicious in the first place.

‘So,’ Charlotte says, clearing her throat, ‘Gini . . . could you?’

‘Oh! Yes!’ Gini jumps up, grabs a remote control, and projects a website on the wall for us all to look at.

Charlotte nods. ‘Thanks. So, the creators of Fairy Hunters are running this competition where you have to make your own game.’ She shows us the entry page and some of the details using a toy wand as a pointer. ‘We found out about it a while back, but didn’t have anyone we thought might want to enter with us.’

‘Until now!’ Gini interjects, spreading her arms wide, grinning.

Charlotte clears her throat and whispers so loudly we can all hear. ‘Not yet!’

She goes on to explain that you need to enter in teams of four with a unique concept developed from scratch. You have to fill in a bunch of forms where you outline all your skills, your game concept, and examples of your work.

If your team makes it to the final, you get partnered with someone at the Fairy Hunters headquarters. They help you design your game, which you then present at the biggest video gaming convention of the year – this summer! The same convention I couldn’t get tickets for. You’re invited as a special guest, and stay in a hotel with your parents.

I imagine taking Mum, and showing her a game I made with my friends. And deep down I know she would be as proud as she was when she saw me act on stage.

‘We only have a week until the deadline, but it’s OK because I made a spreadsheet of the most popular games and wrote out all the things they had in common. That should make it easier for us to come up with something. If you want to join, of course.’ Charlotte stops talking rather abruptly, and glances sideways at Gini. She nudges her in the arm.

‘Oh!’ Gini exclaims. ‘Now?’

Charlotte nods vigorously.

Gini explains that she is learning to code, so she can do all the technical stuff. Charlotte can organize everything and pull the project together.