‘All right, settle down!’ Mr Harrington shouts from somewhere in the hall. ‘It’s just a power cut. I’m sure it’ll be fine in a minute.’

But there’s never been a power cut before … this is brand-new territory. I try to find Kellen in the darkness. He must be responsible. What have you done, Kellen?

‘Look!’ Cameron says, pointing to the top of the stairs. I half expect to see someone drenched in pig’s blood, but instead there’s something that actually makes me smile.

It’s Kellen, holding a birthday cake, as he slowly starts to sing. People usually rush through the lyrics of ‘Happy Birthday’, but he holds them, slowly and tenderly, his voice like sweet caramel as it cuts through the silence and reverberates round the hall.

‘Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday, dear Zachary …’

Cameron turns to look at me. ‘It’s your birthday?’

I’d completely forgotten about it in all the chaos, but Kellen’s right. If time had continued to move along as normal, today would, in fact, be my eighteenth birthday. I can’t believe I almost missed it.

‘Sort of,’ I reply as Kellen approaches.

‘Happy birthday to you!’

Kellen holds the cake up for me to blow out the candles. ‘Happy birthday, Zach. You didn’t think I’d forget, did you? What do you think the pizza party was about?’

‘That was for my benefit?’

‘Why do you think I asked Madzikanda for it?’

‘So that’s what you were whispering!’ I say, trying to find her in the crowd.

‘This is very cute,’ Chase says, finding us. ‘But, um, it’s not Zach’s birthday.’

‘It wouldn’t be a surprise if we celebrated on the exact day!’ Kellen replies.

Chase opens his mouth, and I can see he wants to tell Kellen that’s the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. But he doesn’t. I guess he doesn’t want to take this moment away from me.

‘Come on,’ Kellen says. ‘Make a wish. I haven’t got all day.’

‘That’s all you’ve got,’ I joke.

You’d think I’d want to wish for this day to finally come to an end – and maybe that’s what I should wish for – but seeing Kellen standing there in front of me, doing all this for me even when so much in his own world has spiralled out of control, reminds me that he deserves better than the half-hearted relationship Rhys has given him. He deserves to find so much happiness, and so I close my eyes and, with one swift breath, I wish for exactly that.

‘Well, as lovely as all this is,’ Miss Madzikanda says, appearing from the darkness, ‘did you actually switch off the power just to pull this little stunt?’