‘She’s been an amazing mentor to him,’ Jude said, eyes lingering on Lou and the girls’ crew.

‘Ben told you that?’

‘Kids that age need one adult they can talk with.’

‘It used to be me and Gordon.’

‘Not many choose a parent.’

‘Or the principal.’

‘A role that’s evolved since our day.’

‘Right.’ Kelly reached out to remove the Onassis sunglasses, which Jude permitted with as much ceremony as if Kelly were disrobing her. ‘What’s going on between Ben and Daniel?’

‘Ben and Daniel? I think Ben arrives at school each morning aware that he has to watch every step. He’s negotiating a maze of social factors. It’s not easy for him to assert his unorthodox self while fitting in with a group that has a low tolerance for unconventionality. But we see the entire school as a safe space.’

‘Again, in English?’

Jude took Kelly in, amused. She removed her sunglasses from Kelly’s hand and replaced them on her face. ‘Daniel’s a complicated young man. But the road ahead of him is different. Ben has a mother and father who are supportive, a sister figure in Lou whom he can open up to, and a certain imperviousness to other people’s opinions.’

‘Others were accepted quicker.’

‘He needs to understand that it’s not required for him to evangelise. He feels sorry for Daniel and wants to help him, but what worked for Ben isn’t necessarily the solution for Daniel.’

‘Meaning it’s harder for an alpha male with a knobhead father.’

‘Maybe we should just leave Daniel alone. That’s what I’ve been telling Ben. Celebrate your own growth, you’re not responsible for anyone else’s.’

It was an interesting perspective, Kelly thought, as she picked Ben out in the crowd, running plastic bottles to the girls for a last sip before they pushed their surfboat into the southern rip. Ben, scrawny-daggy in his loose white T-shirt and cricket hat, scurried about picking up the bottles the girls tossed onto the sand. Lou was barking orders.

‘That doesn’t bring me any closer to knowing what’s going on,’ Kelly said.

‘Was it meant to?’ Jude’s smile was interrupted by the sight of Carl, a few rows away, beside Leonie, two fingers in his mouth, whistling support for Lou’s team. Kelly had spent her teens practising vainly to whistle like this. Carl’s old charisma.

‘As for that one,’ Jude said.

‘My brother?’

‘I found him inside the school the other day. He had apparently been running away from some boys who were trying to assault him.’

‘“Apparently.”’

‘There’s more to it but I can’t figure out what.’

‘There’s always more to it with him. Is there anything I can do?’

Jude considered, then shook her head. ‘You and Gordon haven’t been lucky with your brothers.’