‘Let me in, losers!’ Trent shouts, as he thumps on the door like he’s trying to break it down, leaving sweaty smears all over the glass.

It’s a face I haven’t seen since July. Correction: it’s a face I have loved not seeing since July. Although there have been loads of ups and downs since we left Montmorency, I can honestly say that not having Trent in my life has been constantly a Good Thing.

‘What’s he doing here?’ Mak groans.

‘We’ll never know,’ says Ade, ‘because we’re not letting him in.’

We all watch Trent as he carries on banging against the glass, like a fly on a lightbulb. ‘It’s me – Trent,’ he says.

‘Does he think we can’t see him?’ Kat asks. ‘Because, you know, that’s clearly glass he’s pressing his face against.’ 205

‘Maybe he thinks we don’t recognise him,’ I say. ‘High school changes people.’

‘Idiots!’ Trent hollers. ‘Let me in right now or I’ll smash up this conservatory.’

‘But not Trent,’ Ade sighs. ‘Nothing changes Trent.’

‘Should we let him in?’ Karim says. ‘I, for one, am fascinated to see how this develops.’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ says Chets. ‘He looks desperate. People do crazy things when they’re desperate. He could be dangerous.’

Trent is kicking and punching at the glass, leaving literally no damage on the door but clearly hurting his foot because he swears and starts hopping around. ‘I’ll Geek, Robot, Overlord you. If I win, you let me in.’

‘Why not?’ I call out to him. ‘One, two, three…’ and he calls Overlord, as he always does, at the same time as I call Robot. ‘I win,’ I say. ‘Bye, Trent.’

‘Best of three,’ Trent says.

‘What do you want, Trent?’ Ade asks, standing with her hands on her hips.

Trent stops hopping and peers in through the glass. ‘Adrianne, I didn’t recognise you,’ he calls, smoothing back his hair. ‘You look good, girl.’ 206

‘Oh god.’ Kat gasps, while Ade looks like she’s being sick in her mouth and the rest of us crack up.

‘We have to let him in now,’ Karim says. ‘He’s like level-9000 entertainment value. Please?’

‘You should listen to the kid with the hair,’ Trent shouts. ‘Let me in. We need to talk – there’s some really weird stuff happening around here.’

‘What sort of weird stuff?’ I ask.

‘Weird like Crater Lake,’ he says. ‘And I know something that you’ll really want to know.’

‘We’re letting him in, aren’t we?’ Ade sighs again, sits down in her chair and pulls it further away from the door.

‘I think we have to,’ I say. ‘We can just listen to what he has to say and then kick him out.’