‘But Chase will just tell us anyway. He knows that.’ She watches as the two boys disappear inside the building. ‘I don’t like him being on his own. They could do anything …’

‘What are they gonna do? Seriously?’

Bec turns pale. ‘Oh my God,’ she says, breaking into a run. ‘How could we be so stupid?’

‘Huh?’ I say, hurrying after her as she races into the hall. ‘What’s happening?’

‘We have to stop them!’

‘Stop them from doing what?’ I say, already breathless.

Music pumps. Everyone is on the dance floor. Everyone except for Ethan and Chase. I scan the room and see that the punchbowl has been knocked over, its contents spilled across the floor. For a moment, I imagine Ethan dumping it over Chase in some cruel prank, but then I realize it’s a false alarm. The two of them are just standing at the top of the stairs, and Ethan is showing him something on his phone.

‘See, it’s fine,’ I say. ‘They’re just talking.’

But Bec has seen something I’m missing.

‘Chase!’ she yells, staring up towards the ceiling.

I follow her gaze, but can’t see what she’s looking at.

‘Chase!’ she yells louder now, and that’s when I finally spot it.

A glint of silver hanging way up in the rafters above them.

We’re too late.

Ethan steps neatly aside, leaving Chase alone. He looks up for a moment, confused, just as a metal bucket swings down, drenching him from head to toe in thick red liquid. Pig’s blood. His pristine outfit is ruined.

The room erupts with screams – shock and laughter mingling as the crowd of students realize the leaver’s prank wasn’t cancelled after all. Chase is frantically trying to wipe the mixture from his eyes. Bec looks like she’s seeing red too.

‘What the fuck are you laughing at?’ she screams at a Hawthorn boy as she pushes past him, throwing her arms round Chase, ruining her outfit as well. Everyone is staring, watching my best friend’s humiliation. Phones are appearing everywhere, catching it in 4K from every conceivable angle. So much for allyship. They’ll turn on anyone for content.

The music drops out suddenly: even the DJ must be in shock. The room falls deathly silent and just one voice cuts through the quiet.

‘Oh dear,’ Tiffany says, stepping out of the shadows at the top of the stairs, Ethan at her side. ‘I guess karma works fast.’

The rage is bubbling inside me now.

‘Shame you got caught in the crossfire,’ she says to Bec, looking up and down at her bloodstained outfit. ‘Ah, well. Hope it doesn’t stain the ASOS.’

And that’s when I snap.

I grab the half-empty bucket from where it lies at the foot of the stairs, and run after Tiffany. I can smell the beetroot now – at least they kept it vegan again this year.