‘Ariel,’ said the woman I’d spoken to that morning at reception, and she walked me straight to the head’s office and deposited me inside.

Mr Morrow was in his forties, and one of those teachers who thinks he’s cool and everyone’s best mate. He said, ‘Ariel! Great to see you. Grab a pew. So, what’s going on at home?’

He leaned forward and started the meaningful eye contact. I looked away first. No way could I stare him out right now.

‘Well, my mum died,’ I said, just to make him uncomfortable.

He nodded in that I’m listening way. ‘And what’s happened in the past few days?’

‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘I know my dad sent a weird message, but he didn’t mean anything by it. He’s been upset lately. It’s like, you’d be sad if your wife died, right?’

Mr Morrow didn’t flinch. ‘I would,’ he said.

‘And my sister, Sasha. She’s nearly twenty. So, even if Dad finds things hard, I still have her. She’s an adult.’

‘I can’t argue with that either,’ said Mr Morrow. ‘However, in light of the email your father sent, and in spite of both your and your sister’s insistence that everything’s fine, we decided to call him at work just to check in. And so we were surprised to learn that he’s left his job and taken up a new one in Inverness. Which would explain why he wrote that he was taking you out of school and moving away to start afresh. Ariel, you and Sasha need to begin telling us the truth. Has your father relocated to Scotland without you?’

Busted on day one.

‘I guess,’ I told the top of his desk.

Shit, shit, shit. I waited for a social worker to walk in and take me away. I held on to the edges of my seat. I wouldn’t go. They couldn’t make me. I’d stay here.

Nothing happened. I could feel Mr Morrow looking at me, but I carried on staring at his desk. It was very neat. There was nothing interesting on it: all the paperwork was piled to the side with a local newsletter on top of it and a paperweight. I couldn’t read anything, which I was sure was the plan. He had a poster of someone rock climbing, but at least it didn’t have an inspirational quote underneath.

Still nothing happened.

‘You guess that your father has moved to Scotland?’ he said, and finally I looked up.