It’s lunchtime. Connor has survived half a day but his stomach is still tight with nerves. The I Know What You Did Last Summer poster on his locker has set him on edge. He had sat at his desk trying to quell his mounting panic by pinching and twisting the skin on his forearm viciously between his fingers until his pain was all-consuming. He can’t wait for the end of the day. He can’t stick out the rest of the year in this dump. He doesn’t belong here anymore. He watches as the other kids muck about, laughing, and he can’t remember a time when he didn’t have a cloud of guilt shadowing him. Even before Hailey, he felt horrible that he was healthy and Kieron wasn’t. On some level there was the feeling he’d let his brother down. There has always been that sense he’d let his parents down.

But he can’t think of it all right now. His head hurts and he wants to go for a walk to clear it.

Connor doesn’t care that he hasn’t any food or any cash to buy any, but when Tyler claps him on the shoulders and says, ‘Chippy?’ he can almost taste the salt and vinegar.

‘Yeah, why not?’ It isn’t as though he has anywhere else to go. Anyone else to go with.

Ryan falls into step to his left. To his right, Tyler finds another can to dribble, Fanta this time. It isn’t quite empty and splashes of orange stain his grubby white trainers. They’re falling apart. The sole hanging down each time Tyler raises his foot. Mr Marshall will go mental if he notices Tyler isn’t wearing plain black shoes.

‘So where did you get this cash from?’ Ryan tackles him, kicking the can into the gutter.

Tyler taps the side of his nose. ‘That’s for me to know. There’s more to come though.’

‘You gonna blow it on some Nikes?’ Ryan asks.

‘Nah. Saving most of it for uni. Gotta plan ahead if I want to be a teacher. Right, you losers save the bench.’

Connor and Ryan head towards the bus shelter. They sit, Ryan stifling another yawn. Dark circles under his eyes.

‘How are you?’ Connor asks Ryan once Tyler has gone. The three of them are close but there are some things he knows Ryan won’t feel comfortable talking about in front of Tyler.

‘It’ll take some getting used to, being back, but—’

‘I’m not talking about school.’

‘I know,’ Ryan says. ‘It’s… I dunno. I can’t believe Dad would leave me.’ His voice wobbles.

‘He hasn’t left you.’

‘Whatever. Me. Mum. It’s the same. He’s not at home.’

‘Has he called you?’