I put the controller down and change out of my pyjamas into my clothes. The time on my phone says 13.50. I check out of the window to see if Jake’s already there, but our tree is empty and the only person outside is Mrs Parfitt walking her dog around the square. Maybe he’s changed his mind.

I walk downstairs and put my trainers on in the hall. What if Jake’s at his window waiting for me to go out? Then he’ll start laughing because I made the first move and he didn’t really want to be friends at all.

I sit on the bottom stair. The clock on my phone says 13.55. It doesn’t normally take me five minutes to tie my trainers, but I’m not normally scared to go and meet Jake. Up to now we’ve gone everywhere together, but now I don’t even know if he’ll come to the tree.

13.56. If I was John Marston I wouldn’t go out yet. He would never reveal his position. But then he’d probably have arrived an hour early and set up an ambush. What if Jake does that? He’s probably out there now, hiding behind the cars with his hands loaded with eggs to throw at me.

13.57. I walk into the kitchen and open the fridge. We’ve got no eggs, but in the bottom drawer I find four tomatoes.

13.58. I’m back on the stair. It’s still too early. Jake will be out there with his binoculars trained on my door. It only takes thirty seconds to run to the tree. I’ll wait a little longer. I need to play it cool. I don’t want him to think I’m desperate to be friends again.

13.59. I open the door slowly and peer out. The sun shines across the grass. I shoot a look up at Jake’s window to see if the sun is reflecting off his lenses. Nothing. He’s too clever for that.

I creep out onto the path, and crouch down. I can’t see Jake’s trainers behind any of the cars, but he could be clinging to the side of one like Spider-Man. I inch on, checking behind the wheelie bins. No ambush. No sign of Jake.

My phone vibrates in my pocket.

I reach in slowly, all the time keeping lookout.

Felix, you look such an idiot!

Where are you?

The other side of the tree.

I can’t see you. I’ll kill you if this is a trick.

It’s not. I’m hiding from the enemy. Ha. Keep going.

I slide my phone back into my pocket then take a tomato out of the bag. He’s bound to be here somewhere.