He’d heard some of the younger girls on the bus whispering about Simon. Not poking gentle fun as they’d done in junior school when Simon was a skinny music nerd, but in a different way, a way that Bruno didn’t really like. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to shake off his irritation, but without much success.

After a while Marie noticed what Simon was doing. She nudged Carina and nodded meaningfully in his direction. Carina lowered her sunglasses a fraction, then winked at Marie. ‘Watch this,’ she whispered.

She propped herself up on her elbows, raised her upper body so that her breasts were almost fully visible.

‘Simon,’ she said flirtatiously as she slid her sunglasses all the way down to the tip of her nose. ‘Could you grab me and Marie a drink, please?’

‘Of course!’ Simon lumbered to his feet, but Bruno was already halfway to the cool bag.

‘I’ll do it!’ he snapped, glaring at Simon and trying to make him understand that he needed to stay in his place – literally.

‘Thank you so much.’ Carina lay down again.

Bruno went over to the cool bag, which they’d put in the shade behind one of the tents. He heard a faint crunching noise from down below, and when he looked over the edge of the outcrop he saw a police car slowly turn around and stop next to Simon’s bike. The window on the passenger side was lowered, and a tall man with sharp features looked out.

‘Alex!’ Bruno shouted as he waved to the man in the police car.

‘What?’ Alex muttered without lifting his head.

‘Your daddy’s here.’

Alex sighed and sat up.

‘Of course he is. I was stupid enough to ask him if I could borrow the key to the barrier. He gave me a long lecture on why that wasn’t possible. Access is forbidden, the rocks are dangerous, blah, blah, blah. But it’s OK for him to use the key to come and check up on us.’

‘You should be pleased you have a father who cares about you,’ Carina murmured.

‘We’re not kids, for God’s sake – what does he think is going to happen to us up here?’ Alex got to his feet and joined Bruno. He waved irritably at the police car. ‘Hi, there, Henry,’ he said, so that only his four friends could hear him. ‘Everything’s fine, you can go now.’

The man waved back.

‘Are you behaving yourselves?’ he shouted. His voice was hoarse and bounced off the walls of the quarry.

‘Of course.’ Alex didn’t even bother to hide his annoyance.

‘Is it the usual gang?’

‘Yes!’

Henry Morell showed no sign of leaving. It took a few seconds before Alex realised what his father was waiting for.

‘Jesus,’ he muttered before turning to Simon and the girls.