With only Rhys backing me up in the kitchen, I decided to unveil some gadgets. Boys love gadgets—you can get boys to do almost anything if there’s a gadget involved. I gave Marcus the garlic crusher, Connor the onion chopper and Ali the electric can opener. Nathan got the salad spinner because it had no sharp edges. Dean and Aaron shared the blender. Its deafening screech didn’t seem to bother the boys; Dean actively relished drowning everyone out with the flick of a switch.

If Aaron was excited about the blender, he didn’t show it. He was quiet and a little distracted. He kept shooting glances at me.

Even Connor noticed. ‘What’s the matter, Templehead? You got the hots for our glorious leader?’

‘Oi!’ Rhys spoke sharply. ‘That’s enough!’

‘I’m just saying, it’s rude to stare.’ Connor was getting bored; he’d run out of onions. ‘Unless you’re in lu-u-urve…’

I was glad when Dean turned the blender on again, silencing Connor with a high-pitched howl. All the boys were keyed up and jumpy. It was something to do with Jake, I thought—and Shaun’s absence wasn’t helping. I felt a bit on edge myself.

At one point, dragging a pot down from a high cupboard, I heard Connor and Marcus whispering together. ‘…means they’ll have to call police rescue,’ Connor was saying, ‘and then they’ll send us home.’ The excitement I could sense was the tension of inmates before a jailbreak. The boys wanted to leave. They could smell a whiff of panic in the air as the hours dragged by with no news.

Then, at dusk, Shaun finally emerged from the bush with Jake. They were just in time for a late dinner. Though I didn’t witness their return, I couldn’t escape the commotion it caused. And at the campfire gathering, when everyone was encouraged to talk about how selfish Jake and Aaron had been, some of the kids didn’t hold back. Zac was scathing. ‘Fucking genius move, guys,’ he said. ‘This is an island. The only way out is to suck it up.’

Achievement badges were handed out, but not to the failed escapees. They weren’t even allowed marshmallows.

Judging from the endless string of barked orders I heard that night, the boys took a long time getting to sleep. The noise didn’t stop until half past ten. I was heading for bed myself at that point; when I heard a knock, I had to answer the door in my dressing-gown, my face gleaming with moisturiser. Shaun and Warren were waiting on the back steps.

‘Oh! Sorry, Robyn.’ Shaun averted his eyes as if I was wrapped in a skimpy towel. ‘Joe told me you wanted to talk, but we can do it tomorrow.’