‘Thanks, hun, but it’s probably best not to rock the boat,’ Malie replied with a sigh.

Lily leaned back, catching Zoe’s gaze, empathy bright in her eyes.

‘Wow. So this is it. End of A Levels, end of school …’

End of an era, thought Lily, peering through the darkness at her best friends. Hawke’s Cove wasn’t the smallest seaside village in Devon, but it wasn’t exactly a town either and having been in the same class since primary school, they’d always been there for each other. Birthdays, break-ups, frustrating parents, the loss of a parent, first kisses … Every defining moment of Lily’s life had them in it.

‘So what are we going to do with the first day of the rest of our lives?’ demanded Victoria in a bright voice.

‘Surf!’ said Malie.

‘Sleep!’ Zoe replied.

‘Work,’ Lily grumbled.

They all laughed, as she’d known they would. She loved her job at the Hawkesbury Hotel restaurant, but the early morning Saturday start had been gruelling throughout the whole of her last year at school and would just be as gruelling tomorrow.

But it would be her last shift. Lily had worked hard and saved a lot – enough to pay for culinary school in London. She’d done it. A true independent wow-man. She smiled at the errant thought, catching Victoria’s eye in the mirror.

‘And what are you smiling at?’

‘Nothing. Just thinking,’ she said on a sigh. ‘I’m gonna miss you guys!’

‘Hey, we’re not disappearing off the face of the planet. Besides, you and me are going to London to paint the town red!’

‘Not sure where I’ll be, but it won’t be here, that’s for sure,’ Zoe chimed. ‘But wherever it is, I’ll expect monthly visits from each of you.’

‘No plans to return to Ibiza then, no?’ Malie said, laughing from the front passenger seat.

‘Hey!’ Zoe cried. ‘We agreed! We don’t talk about that. Ever!’

‘It’s not that we don’t, it’s just that you can’t. It’s not our fault you can’t remember what happened … for, like, three hours,’ Malie replied, quick as lightning.

Lily felt the bubble of laughter rise within the car’s interior, taking over all the girls at the same time. But then collectively, as if each one of them realized that this might be one of their last evenings together, the bubble deflated just a little. In the silence, though, it wasn’t sadness she felt, but the strong bonds of friendship that would tie them together, no matter where they went. They’d always have this, Lily felt, knew even.

Victoria leaned towards the radio and turned the volume down.

‘Can’t believe you brought up Ibiza,’ Zoe grumbled.

Frowning, Lily peered at the road ahead.

‘Everything OK?’ Malie asked.