‘Yeah. What was that shit all about?’

Will turns his palms outwards.

Again Danny flinches, eyes flitting to Will’s hands. ‘Out of character for you, bro,’ he says.

‘Sorry.’

‘Yeah, well …’

‘Won’t happen again.’

‘Let’s get back to respecting each other, yeah?’

Will nods, even though he has no recollection of ever having been respected.

Danny reaches out and they hug weakly.

‘If I call, bro,’ he says, walking gingerly back to his car, ‘do me a favour and answer this time, yeah?’

You need to listen to me. One last time.

At last I can see it – what happened to me. What happens to you.

You have to act very, very soon. If you don’t, many people will die. And you will die. I will die.

Trust me.

And listen.

Please. Listen.

Lockdown

‘What the hell are we gonna do?’ April shouts.

‘Do we call the police?’ Kris says.

‘And tell them what? We’ve lost control of a children’s disco? Not a great look.’

Will, April and Kris have convened in a storeroom behind the stage, squeezed in among the boxes of props. Outside, a grime and hip-hop set shakes the building, but in this small room they can hold a shouted conversation. Will got April’s text moments after Danny drove away, ordering him to meet her here. But it’s taken him ten minutes just to fight his way through the crowd from one side of the hall to the other.

‘Look,’ Will says, ‘it’s nearly nine o’clock. We’re due to finish in an hour. Maybe it’ll be all right.’

April shakes her head. ‘It’s already a proper crush out there, Will. And we don’t know who all these people are. What if it all kicks off?’

Will gives an exasperated shrug. He’s due on the decks in half an hour. All he wants to do now is get it over with.

‘She’s right,’ Kris says. ‘These aren’t year sevens getting in. They’re nearer our age. And half of them are off their faces.’

With so many gatecrashers, the hall is so heavily populated that people nearest the front are having to climb up on to the stage if they want to get out of the crowd. When Will was in among it a moment ago, forward surges kept coming like waves. Some of the kids looked like they were loving it, some looked distressed.

‘How many other sixth-formers you got here?’ Kris asks.

‘Seven, not including us,’ April says. ‘Dunno where half of them are, though. Only a couple are answering my texts.’

‘That’s the trouble. No way we can cover every door. The bastards are opening fire exits and letting their mates in. The grounds are crawling with people trying to get in.’