‘Wow,’ Chase says. ‘I have literally never seen this side of you.’

‘Me neither,’ I add.

When not in uniform, Bec’s always dressed in jeans or sportswear. In all the time we’ve been here, this is the first time I’ve seen her in anything even close to formal. I think of all those movies where the girl walks down the stairs in her prom dress and the guys’ mouths fall open. That’s what Chase and I must look like right now. And both of us prefer guys.

‘Little black dress,’ she says with a smirk. ‘Every girl should have one.’

‘Ten out of ten. Five stars. Absolutely no notes,’ Chase says.

‘He’s right,’ I say. ‘Talk about a forty-five-second transformation. You always look good, but this? It’s amazing! You’re starting to make me feel underdressed.’

Fashion’s never really been my thing, but as I look down at my plain white suit I wonder if I should have made more of an effort. It’s been in my wardrobe for a while, and I must have had a late growth spurt or something because it’s ever so slightly tight on the chest. It kinda looks deliberate, though, as if I’ve done it as a style choice. I feel the tightness in the sleeves and remember what Cameron said in the showers. Maybe he’s actually right?

‘What do you think of this?’ I say, holding up the mask I panic-ordered last week. It’s one of those intricate Venetian masks, the colour of ivory with sparkling silver stones. It only covers one side of my face – phantom of the opera style.

‘Well, it’s a terrible disguise.’ Chase laughs. ‘I can see your entire face, Zach.’

‘It’s his moneymaker,’ Bec says. ‘If he covers that up, what’s he got left?’

‘Er, thanks?’ I say. I think there was a compliment in there somewhere.

‘Now this is a mask,’ Chase says, reaching into the trunk and revealing the final part of his costume. It’s shaped like the head of a dragon and far more elaborate than mine and Bec’s. He puts it on, and it matches the rest of his incredible outfit perfectly. Now I really feel underdressed. ‘The perfect disguise! Nobody’s gonna know it’s me!’

‘Yeah, the Singaporean guy with the obviously Asian dragon mask.’ Bec smirks. ‘Nobody will see it coming! You’ll have everyone totally stumped.’

‘Shit,’ he says. ‘I actually hadn’t thought of that.’

I laugh. Only Chase wouldn’t see the parallel. ‘It’s gonna be obvious who everyone is anyway. A mask doesn’t disguise a person’s identity. The whole concept is ridiculous!’

‘I think you might be surprised …’ Bec says. ‘All those Hawthorn boys look the same to me. And you just know they’re all gonna be wearing identical black tuxedos. There’s no way I’m telling them apart once they’ve got masks on.’

‘So you don’t think I’ll stand out too much?’ Chase asks, looking in the mirror.