‘Wrasse girl?’ I exclaim. ‘That’s my nickname now? That nickname sucks!’

‘I can see how it’s not the most appealing of nicknames. But you are obsessed with them . . . I could call you w-rassie instead?’

‘Hugh,’ I say in a falsely menacing tone, ‘I do not like either of those.’

Hugh steps back from the bunk as I climb down to the floor.

‘Seeing as it’s three to one,’ he says, tapping a finger on his chin, his eyes sparkling, ‘I’m fairly sure I can call you whatever I want.’

‘That is not fair,’ I say, ‘technically I would have stood up for myself with Derek. And I would have gone on the night dive! Eventually . . . I think . . . I just needed a minute.’

‘OK, how about this? If you go on the night dive, I’ll never call you wrassie again.’

‘Or wrasse girl,’ I counter.

‘Deal.’

‘Deal.’ I realise I’m smiling, something I thought would be impossible before the night dive. ‘Thank you, Hugh,’ I say, a few seconds later. ‘You’re not as bad as I thought.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t make me repeat myself,’ I whine, shucking off my cover-up and tossing it onto the bed. I know when we get upstairs we will immediately have to change into our stinger suits.

‘Millie,’ Hugh says, a few seconds later, the playfulness gone from his voice. ‘Before we go upstairs, I have to tell you something.’

My heart stops. This sounds bad. I freeze. Natalie. Did Natalie say something? His voice is heavy, like he’s about to tell me something serious. I knew I should have stopped him from talking to her.

‘What is it?’ My voice is squeaky and high-pitched.

Hugh takes a deep breath and starts speaking quickly. ‘I know I was just the one convincing you to go on the night dive, but the ocean at night kind of creeps me out. Everything I said was as much for me as it was for you,’ he says, breathless as he finishes his sentence. ‘There, I said it. I just thought you should know because . . . because you’ll be my buddy. And we’ll both be scared.’

I don’t realise I’m holding my breath until I have to pull in a lungful of air to sigh with relief. I’m so tempted to reach for his hand that mine twitches at my side. I place it on the wooden frame of the bed instead.

Hugh is waiting for me to say something, his eyes wide.

‘Thank you for telling me,’ I smile softly, ‘but I can’t believe you just convinced me to be your buddy, you already had to save me from a shark!’

‘What was I thinking?’ Hugh says sarcastically, throwing his hands up in fake frustration. But he laughs, half-heartedly, and I know we both feel relieved after being honest with each other.