I have to find Annie, but Ms Edgecombe insists on leading me straight over to the other contestants. ‘Right, you stay here,’ she says, depositing me next to Ed. She nods at Elsa. ‘What are you going to do with the baby?’

‘That’s why I need to find Annie; she’s looking after her.’

Just then, I hear ‘Meg!’ bellowed from the other side of the hall, and then I see Annie, Jackson and Rose weaving through the crowd towards me.

‘Good,’ says Ms Edgecombe. ‘For a moment I thought you were going to ask me to mind her, but I’m filming all the speeches.’

I turn back to look at her. ‘You’re doing what?’

‘Filming the speeches.’ She laughs. ‘I didn’t tell you about it earlier because I didn’t want you obsessing over it – I knew you’d freak out. They’re all going online.’ Ms Edgecombe gives me a final pat on the shoulder. ‘Good luck up there,’ she says. ‘You too, Ed. Show these other kids what a bloody amazing science teacher you’ve got!’

‘Miss!’ I say.

‘I know, I know, I’m swearing.’ She grins and walks back across the hall towards the judges.

‘What’s going on?’ says Ed.

I shake my head because Annie, Jackson and Rose have arrived. ‘I’ll tell you in a minute.’

‘Hey,’ says Annie, abandoning her crutches and taking the pushchair from me. ‘She’s asleep. Bonus!’

I shrug off my coat and take a quick gulp of water. ‘So who’s gone to get my grandad?’

‘Ah,’ she says, ‘about that …’

I stare at her. ‘Annie, please tell me someone’s gone, because if they haven’t, I am out of here!’

‘They’re about to go.’ Then I notice that Jackson and Rose are each holding a hockey stick and that Rose has a length of rope slung over her arm. ‘This is your grandad’s mountain rescue team,’ she says, nodding towards Jackson and Rose. ‘The only problem is his team consists of two unusually small people.’

‘Hey! I’m stocky, not small,’ says Jackson.

‘I’m definitely petite,’ admits Rose.

‘Whatever you both want to call it, you’re short,’ says Annie. ‘Meg, does your grandad happen to be one of those tiny wizened old people?’

‘No!’ I say, panic rising inside me. ‘He’s tall and he mountain bikes, so he’s got muscles … and he eats too much curry!’

‘Right, that’s what I was worried about,’ says Annie, looking critically at Jackson and Rose. ‘I don’t think these two could get a bike out of a hole, let alone a curry-stuffed man.’

‘We’ll be fine,’ says Jackson. ‘I know exactly where he is – gone down that hole myself a couple of times on my bike …’

‘And I’ve done a first aid course,’ adds Rose.

‘But it’s no good if you can’t get him out!’ I say. This is silly – they’re never going to get him out by themselves and I’m not going to abandon my grandad. ‘I’m coming with you. Three of us will be able to do it.’ I reach for my coat.