“Come on!” the woman yells. She still doesn’t look around, and it’s like she’s calling a dog.

I remember everything Mum told me. This is a test I need to pass, and then she’ll be happy, so I walk toward the boy and check that no one is looking, then touch his shoulder and say, “Hi.”

The boy stops and looks up, but there’s no smile because he doesn’t trust me. I’m a stranger, and he’s smart, even if his parents are arseholes.

“Are you bored looking ’round the shops?” I ask, and the boy nods.

“Do you like toys?”

He nods again and almost smiles, and I hold out my hand and he takes it. Then I walk slowly in the other direction, and he follows.

I keep walking and count one, two, three, all the way to twenty, then turn round and look for his parents. They’re farther away than I thought, so, when I go back, I have to walk fast to catch them.

The boy’s legs are too short, and he moans, but I ignore him because I know Mum is watching. When his parents are just a few steps ahead, I let go of his hand and say, “Go on. Or you’ll get lost.”

He runs up to his mum, and she grabs him and says, “Speed up.”

Then I go back to Mum and say, “Why couldn’t it be that one? I think he needs rescuing.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not time. You need to be perfect, and so does he.”

We used to go to swimming club on Saturdays, but now we do this.

“Let’s go home,” she says. “It won’t be long now.”

Dad never comes with us, because he hates what we’re doing, but he doesn’t argue with Mum anymore. He pretends this isn’t happening and hopes we fail.

But we won’t.

IIII IIII II

We have a family meeting, because there are important things to discuss.

“It will happen soon,” Mum says, “so we have to be ready.”

She has a list, but Dad refuses to look until she bangs on the table and says, “This is important.”

Dad isn’t Dad anymore, but then Mum isn’t really Mum either. Dad used to talk all the time, and his laughter filled the house, and he always got home early so he could play before bed. Now he works late and only speaks when he’s spoken to, and he never laughs. Mum pretends to be happy, and we let her because it’s better than hearing her cry.