‘So now we’ve found you, and figured it out, does that mean this is it then? You know the way out of this? Time will carry on normally now?’

‘I should bloody hope not after you smashed up my car, Zach. Honestly, I’ve only known of one other student to do something so stupid!’

‘It’s not that stupid …’

‘It’s incredibly stupid!’ she says, getting up to pace around the room. ‘Can either of you idiots even drive?’

‘We learned from TikTok,’ Kellen says. ‘It’s surprisingly informative.’

She looks at us with utter disbelief. ‘It’s so strange, knowing I won’t remember this conversation tomorrow. I know I’ve been in this situation with students before – they’ve told me about it afterwards, but I can’t remember any of that. All I ever remember is the day that finally sticks.’

‘Is it really the time for a mid-life crisis, miss?’

‘An existential crisis, Kellen. This has nothing to do with me being middle-aged.’

‘What’s the difference?’

‘A mid-life crisis is when a straight white man runs off with his secretary. An existential crisis is … well … this.’ She looks back and forth between us. ‘So how many days then? How many loops? What are we talking here?’

‘Five,’ I say, counting on my fingers. ‘It’s been awful.’

Madzikanda laughs.

‘Sorry, what’s so funny?’

‘One hundred and eighty-six,’ she says, sinking back into her chair. ‘That’s how many days it took me. One hundred and eighty-six.’

I feel the breath rush out of me.

I groan. ‘I can’t do this a hundred and eighty-six times.’

‘One time, a boy looped closer to five hundred. Said he lost count in the end. Another student did it in just three – though she always was a bit of an overachiever.’

‘So what did you have to do to get out, miss?’ Kellen asks.

‘I had to make up with a friend I’d fallen out with.’

‘That’s it?’

‘That’s it,’ she says. ‘Though it didn’t seem that simple at the time. World-shattering, actually. Teenage emotions are a lot to deal with.’

I try to think who Kellen and I have fallen out with. Ethan and Tiffany perhaps? Surely this doesn’t have anything to do with them? They’re literally monsters. We can’t be expected to buddy up with them. Not after the heinous things they’ve done.

‘It’s always different, though,’ Madzikanda continues, almost like she could hear my thoughts. ‘Sometimes the solution is about friendship. Sometimes it’s romance. Sometimes it’s about reconnecting with family or self-realization. One year it was about overcoming addiction. I’m glad I don’t remember the many iterations of that one.’

‘So you’re saying you don’t know what we need to do?’