Within Eyesight Observation. No big surprise, but it didn’t do much for my mood. It’s exactly like it sounds and would mean a nurse keeping an eye on me twenty-four hours a day. Watching me eat and following me into the toilet. Even at night, there’d be someone sitting outside my half-open bedroom door.

‘Fine,’ I said. ‘Whatever.’

He didn’t seem in any hurry to leave, just sat there fiddling with his ID, dangling from its ever-so-cheerful rainbow-coloured lanyard. ‘It’s a shame, that’s all,’ he said, eventually. ‘You’d been doing really well.’

‘Not well enough to be sent home.’

‘Well, all the same. Better.’

He was trying to be kind, I can see that now. His voice, as always, was low and dripping with concern. That didn’t stop me wanting to upset him and make the rest of his day as awful as mine was going to be. ‘Maybe I’m just messing you all about and behaving the way you want me to,’ I said. ‘Saying all the right things.’ I tapped the side of my head. ‘Maybe in here I’m still massively fucked.’

‘If that is the case, the only one you’re making a fool of is you,’ he said. ‘It’s your weekly assessment the day after tomorrow, so let’s see what happens.’

‘I know exactly what’s going to happen,’ I said. ‘Well, I know what’s not going to happen.’

‘Do you not think we want you to go home?’

He looked like he genuinely meant it but, staring at him, I found myself thinking about what Tony had said about a member of staff being the Thing, and even though the whole idea is just about the maddest thing I’ve ever heard I sat there for half a minute trying to imagine what it would be like if it was actually true.

‘We want all the patients to go home,’ he said.

I tried to manufacture a smile. ‘Well, whether I’m massively fucked or not, and I’m not saying one way or the other, I mean it’s your job to work that out—’

‘Not true,’ he said quickly. ‘Perhaps that is Dr Bakshi’s job, or part of it anyway, but the rest of us are here to keep you safe.’

‘Either way . . . I might be massively fucked, but you’re the one that looks like you are.’ I leaned close and studied his face. ‘You look knackered.’

He laughed, gently. ‘Yes, I am very tired. We all are.’

‘You need to pace yourself, mate. It’s not even Wednesday lunchtime yet.’

‘We don’t have the luxury of pacing ourselves,’ he said. ‘On top of which Malaika is off sick today.’

I hadn’t noticed she wasn’t around.

‘The agency have not sent a replacement.’

‘Never enough dosh,’ I said.

He nodded. ‘Governments have short memories.’