‘His usual lovely self,’ Will says. Some days ago, Ms Calloway quizzed him about his home life and he gave a sanitized summary of the falling-out.

‘Well, you’re two very different people. Danny used to be in my form group.’

‘I know. You’ve said.’

‘Sorry. I forget. Killed too many brain cells in my crazy youth.’

Will giggles, imagining how much April would relish that statement if she was here. The thought of having something to tell her brightens his mood. Silence falls again, but it’s not awkward. There’s something calming about her being here, like a grandparent next to your bed. Will glances over to find she’s looking straight at him.

‘Did you have a go with those breathing exercises we talked about?’

‘Sort of.’

‘It’ll help. With the stress.’

‘It feels kinda weird.’

She’s been briefing him on the benefits of light meditation. He’s tried a couple of times when he’s been lying awake at night but he’s sure he’s not doing it right. It doesn’t calm his thoughts in the least.

‘Keep trying, Will. You’ll get there.’ She stares at him deeply again in that strange way she has, where she doesn’t seem quite focused on him. ‘I find meditation helps us to understand ourselves. To shut out all the noise.’ She flails her hand around, as if to dismiss their entire surroundings as irrelevant. ‘There’s all manner of things going on around us, Will. But you have to take a step back to see them.’

Will nods. ‘Did you find it difficult? Meditating – when you first started?’

‘Sure. I was desperate. I’d have tried anything.’

‘Why so?’

‘It was when my husband was dying. I wanted to believe there was … more. You understand me?’

‘Definitely. Sorry. About your husband.’

‘Fifteen years ago now.’

‘I didn’t realize you were …’

Ms Calloway laughs. ‘I was married to a man before I met my wife, yes.’

‘Sorry, none of my business.’

‘I loved him dearly. I still do. And I love my wife dearly.’

It’s a turn of conversation Will was hardly expecting, but, like everything they talk about, it feels natural, comfortable. Who cares that they’re a teacher and student? Her frankness breaks down walls.

‘If we’re on this planet for any reason at all, Will, it’s to work out who we really are.’

Will smiles, memorizing the sentence so he and Alfie can debate the theory over a spliff sometime.

‘You can discuss anything with me, Will,’ Ms Calloway says, a throwaway cheerfulness to her tone that doesn’t fit the statement. ‘Anything at all. These walls don’t just keep the light out, they keep the words in, too.’

Nodding, Will feels the heat across the bridge of his nose that precedes an outpouring of honesty.

‘You’re carrying the weight of the world on those shoulders,’ she says.