‘Dad,’ I said.

‘I’m here.’

‘Can I ask a favour?’

‘Go ahead.’

‘Just before I was put on the helicopter, Mr Meredith told me about the man who got me off the rock and brought me to safety. His name is Mr Dyson and he has a son. Would you be able to find out where he lives?’

Dad frowned. ‘I could ask the school, but they probably wouldn’t tell me. Privacy concerns. But it shouldn’t be too difficult. Why do you want to know?’

‘I want you to send his son a present. A good present. Something he’d never be able to afford. Something like an expensive bike.’

Dad took my hand.

‘A thankyou gift for what his father did for you.’ It was a statement.

‘No,’ I replied. ‘An apology. When you have it delivered, please put a card with it. “From two spoiled brats.”’

Dad cocked his head to one side.

‘Sounds like there’s a story behind this.’

‘There is,’ I said. ‘But it’s not a story I want to tell right now.’

7

I was allowed to leave hospital two days later, with strict instructions to rest and allow my battered ribs to heal properly. As a result, Mum wouldn’t let me visit Aiden, who was still recovering at his clinic. Even if I’d been in perfect physical shape, she probably wouldn’t have allowed it. I’d been told that when he’s getting his routine operations for Klinsmann’s disease no one’s allowed to visit because he’s kept in isolation to minimise chances of infection. Not that I’d ever wanted to visit him then. Now I wasn’t even allowed to call him. But Mum told me he was doing fine and would be home within the week, just in time for our birthday.

Mr Meredith and the class sent me a lovely big get-well card. All the school staff and my fellow students had signed it with personal messages. There was another card waiting for Aiden as well. The camp, it seemed, had been abandoned after the dust devil incident because too many students were worried about further accidents and no amount of reassurance that what had happened to me was freakishly improbable made those worries go away. So they’d all packed up the next day and come home. Apparently the school was arranging partial refunds to the parents.

I was going to be off school for a couple of weeks, but Mum said Charlotte could come to stay over around the time of our birthday, which was brilliant.

Resting is boring. I wasn’t allowed to swim or even do much walking in the garden, so I spent a lot of time in the library. But even that paled after a while. And it’s a funny thing. When I went to bed I’d find myself reaching across to take Aiden’s hand. And when I found emptiness, I felt loneliness like a pain. Most nights I didn’t sleep well at all.