Soon I’m ready. Just before we go, I ask Mum, ‘What time do I need to be back?’

‘Any time you like, as long as you look after each other.’ OK, I’m starting to see the benefits of having a mother with no boundaries. ‘Enjoy it not being the end of the world!’ she adds.

‘Moo, moo!’ says Elsa, and they both wave goodbye to us.

‘Hey,’ says Ed, giving me a nudge as we walk down the wee stairs. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m very good,’ I say, as our shoulders brush, then, before I can change my mind, I slip my hand into his. Ed’s fingers curl round mine and he squeezes my hand.

FIFTY-NINE

We walk across the Downs for over an hour to get away from the light pollution of town, then set up our asteroid-spotting camp. While Ed puts up the shelter, I find twigs and make a fire.

‘That looks a bit professional,’ Ed says, when he sees my pyramid of kindling.

‘My mum loves making fires on the beach … or in parks. Basically, anywhere where she’s not supposed to.’ I put a match to the bit of cotton wool I stuffed in at the bottom and the fire crackles to life.

‘Look at that!’ says Ed, as flames lick along the twigs.

‘We’ll have to let it die out in a couple of hours, or we won’t be able to see the sky properly.’

We collect a pile of dead wood then sit in the shelter, shoulders touching, and we toast marshmallows. It’s cold because it’s such a clear night. Beyond the glow of the fire are the dark shadows of trees. It’s quiet too. Every now and then we hear a squeak or a scuffle in the leaves.

‘You don’t wish you were at the dance?’ I say.

He shrugs. ‘No, I don’t need to go. I’ll hear every single detail about it tomorrow from Bella.’

Bella’s making a big effort with me at school, and I guess I’m making a big effort with her. Yesterday, we were doing an experiment and I asked her if I’d measured a wavelength correctly. She stared at me, open-mouthed, and said, ‘Megara, did you just ask me a question? What is going on with the world?’

I take a look at Ed. His hood is up and it’s hiding his face. ‘I bet you’d have enjoyed wearing a suit,’ I say.

He smiles. ‘Yeah, but I don’t need to go to a dance to do that.’

I stare up at the sky. The moon is beautifully clear. I pass Ed my binoculars so he can see the craters. Somewhere across the hill, a fox barks. ‘A couple of weeks ago,’ I say, ‘I couldn’t have imagined doing this.’

‘I could,’ says Ed.

‘What, you imagined us sitting in Raj’s fishing shelter on the Downs?’

‘The fishing shelter I didn’t anticipate,’ he says. ‘I just imagined being with you and looking up at the sky.’

A shiver of excitement runs through me and to break the silence, I say, ‘Look,’ and point up. ‘That’s the Andromeda Galaxy.’