She wondered where Iona was right now. Who she was talking to, laughing with. Sharing things that she should be sharing with her. Her body ached at the thought that Iona might be off with Tess again.

How could you hate someone and yet want them so much at the same time?

Maybe she could forget what Iona told her. Blank it out.

Yes. That was what she needed to do. Pretend it had never happened. They would go back to being best friends.

She glanced down at her mum. Fury and rage filled her body and she slammed her fist against the window as hard as she possibly could.

The glass didn’t shatter. No one even looked up.

Danny was happy that day. Some days he just woke up that way. He loaded his rucksack with two packets of cheese and onion crisps and half a pork pie, and in the back compartment he slipped in his drawing pad and pencils.

He was heading into the woods, so he’d tied a fleece around his waist, stretching it into a tight knot at his stomach. In the woods he found a tree and climbed up with ease, skimming up its trunk with the agility of a gymnast. Despite his weight he was an impressive climber. Tucked between the branches, Danny pulled out a packet of crisps and tore into them greedily. Crunching loudly, he didn’t stop until he’d finished, eyeing the other bag before deciding to keep it for when he was hungry.

He took out his pad and scanned the woods, finally settling on a pretty sandpiper fluttering around a nearby trunk. He buried his head in his pad, feeling the wetness of his tongue as it poked out the corner of his mouth in concentration. Every so often he would glance up, searching for the bird, scrutinising its feathers before copying it on to the page.

When he finished, he leant back and stared at the picture. He wasn’t happy with it. Something wasn’t right with his drawing, but he couldn’t work out what. Maybe he wasn’t close enough. He needed to get a better look at the bird. Danny grabbed his stuff and slid down the tree, making his way to the trunk she was still flapping around.

She didn’t look happy, he thought as he strained up to look. She was frantic, her wings beating rapidly. He dropped his things on the ground and continued to stare as she suddenly flew hard into the tree and then landed with a thump beside his boots. Danny crouched down, gazing at the creature, reaching out to touch its broken wing. He pressed a finger gently on her stomach. She wasn’t breathing.

He stood and unknotted his fleece, carefully laying it on the ground, and then gently picked up the bird and wrapped it inside.

‘What are you doing, Dan?’