I want to work for you more than anything. I too want to bring stories to people that make them feel what you make them feel: less alone.

It had all been so hard-fought. And soon it would all be gone because she had put herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She slaps her own wrist. Stupid girl.

‘Hey, Mum.’ Maisie is standing at the doorway to the kitchen in bare feet and white and blue tartan pyjamas – brushed cotton, a Christmas present from Becky – the ropes of her bathrobe hanging down, brushing the floor gently, vines in the wind. ‘Are you all right?’

Becky wipes at her cheeks with flat palms, like she is applying moisturizer. ‘Yes, absolutely fine.’ Reassuring people was something she learnt to do many years ago. One trick amongst many.

Another one: fill a silence with a question of your own.

‘How long did you stay up revising?’

‘I don’t know,’ says Maisie. ‘Late?’

‘It’s important to get some rest as well. You can’t think properly if you’re not getting enough sleep.’

‘You want me to add resting to my already massive timetable?’

Becky smiles. She likes Maisie’s sharp edges. They’ll keep her safe, she hopes. Not an easy walkover, a girl who’ll puncture your feet as you attempt it. ‘What are you working on?’

‘I was doing my physics revision. How long have you been up for?’

‘Do you study the atom bomb?’

‘You mean fission bombs?’

‘I have no idea! If I’d studied them I might be able to answer that …’

‘Anyway, no, we don’t. In our school that’s probably more of an ethics thing than a science thing.’

‘I just always thought it was interesting. A tennis-ball-sized thing flattening a whole city.’

‘Morning, Mum! Can I have some breakfast before we talk about the end of the world?’

Becky smiles and sets about sorting Maisie’s breakfast.

‘I don’t want you to stress about your exams.’

‘Yes you do! I know I need a scholarship to stay at sixth-form and those ten A grades at GCSE aren’t going to magically achieve themselves.’

‘Just don’t let it get on top of you.’

‘I actually slept really well. Did you go to bed? You look rubbish.’

‘Really building my confidence before Cannes.’

‘It’s not like you’re an actress. You don’t have to look sexy for anyone.’

‘True. Well, I’ll cling to that, shall I?’

‘Yep.’