So we went in and found our way through the noisy, crowded corridors to Mrs Protheroe’s room, and went off to our first class, which was English with Mr Swaledale, and do you know what? Nothing bad or scary happened at all.

Until break time.

Me and Evan were kind of ambling along the side of this tarmacked area where some of the big kids were playing football. We were talking about who was the best ever Captain in Captain Invincible.

‘Matt Lukovitz is good,’ I said. ‘He’s funny. But I think I gotta say Garrett Butcher, on the whole, ’cause—’

‘My dad says Sidney Kronk was the best.’

This put me in a bit of a dilemma. I’d seen an old Captain Invincible episode with Sidney Kronk in it and I wasn’t that impressed. But I didn’t want to sound as if I was contradicting Evan’s dad, who’s really ill. He’s been in and out of hospital for the last two years having all sorts of treatments and operations, and he can’t work any more. So I felt like it would be bad manners, if you know what I mean, to start saying that Evan’s dad was all wrong about Sidney Kronk. Before I had a chance to work out what to say, a football came whizzing towards us at about a hundred-and-fifty miles an hour and smashed Evan right in the face, knocking his glasses off.

‘Oi!’ shouted a really horrible voice. ‘Give us our ball back, you muppet!’

A tall kid with a pale face, black hair and cold, hard eyes was glaring at us.

Evan was on his hands and knees looking for his glasses. Blood trickled from his nose. I picked up the glasses and gave them to him.

‘The ball! Kick it here, you little jerk!’

‘Aren’t you even going to say sorry?’ I said. ‘You just whacked him in the face.’

‘He should keep his ugly face out of the way then!’

His mates were all laughing. But the boy himself didn’t look like he thought it was funny at all. He started walking towards us. I threw the ball back, but he ignored it.

‘What’s your problem?’ he said.

‘You are.’ It just sprang to my lips. I knew it was suicidal, but it was true.

He opened his eyes wide. He was right close-up in front of us now.

‘You what? You what?’

He made a sudden movement with his hand like he was going to hit me. I jumped to one side, but then he casually moved his hand up and smoothed back his hair. His mates burst out laughing.