‘He isn’t,’ said Charlotte when I mentioned this, ‘but he’s so cute.’

Was he? I hadn’t realised. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention to these things.

‘Who do you think’s hot?’ she asked.

I pretended to give this some thought, but really I thought most of them were … well, boys. The others were … well, dull boys.

‘I don’t want to say,’ I replied after a decent enough pause. Charlotte laughed.

‘Oh, I see,’ she said. ‘Is it Jason Bridges?’

Jason Bridges? He had pimples and a huge nose. Should I find him cute?

‘I don’t want to say,’ I repeated, but I gave a small smile that I hoped would pass as mysterious.

The strangest part of our conversation came when we were basically falling asleep, the books slipping part way off the beds.

‘Your brother is amazing,’ said Charlotte, her voice woolly with tiredness. ‘He could have any girl in the class as his girlfriend.’

Really? That woke me up. Something I wouldn’t have thought about in a million years. Not surprisingly.

‘He’s cute,’ Charlotte continued. ‘But it’s his personality that’s the most attractive thing about him.’

This conversation was becoming weirder by the moment. I hadn’t realised Aiden had a personality. I mean, I know he does, but it didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary. I kept quiet.

‘It’s his … devotion to you. The way he looks after you, the way he’s always checking if you’re okay.’ She sighed. ‘I’d give anything to have someone who felt that way about me. You are so lucky, Ash.’

Lucky? Aiden’s devotion normally irritated me, but if Charlotte thought I was lucky, then maybe I needed to give this more consideration. But it was the next thing she said that really threw me.

‘Some of the kids in the class think you’re really mean about Aiden, you know?’ I didn’t know. I wasn’t mean to him, so how could they think that? And which kids? ‘They think you take him for granted, ignore him. Think only about yourself.’ She propped herself on an elbow and looked over the gap between beds at me. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that, Ash. It’s just some of the bitchy girls. But I wouldn’t be any kind of friend if I didn’t tell you what other people think, even if it’s people who aren’t important. Do you know what I mean?’

I nodded, but I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying. People thought I was mean and selfish? How could they?

We talked a little bit more, about Mr Meredith and the school camp, but her comments had cut me, and though I tried to keep my voice normal, my emotions were bleeding. In the end, I said something and she didn’t reply. A few seconds later, I heard her breathing turn rough, like her throat was grating the air.

I could sleep through her snoring. If I could sleep through cyclones I could sleep through her snoring. But I lay awake for the longest time, considering the strange idea that other people might not see me the way I saw myself.