‘Relax, it’s not a wasp crossed with a spider. It eats spiders, especially huntsmen. Drags them along the ground, sometimes it bites their legs off to make them easier to handle.’

‘That is messed up.’ Cierra shuddered.

Madison snorted. ‘How do you know this, bug woman?’

‘Dad told me. I saw one at our house once, with a huntsman. Dad told me it had paralysed it and was going to plant its eggs inside, that the larvae would eat it from the inside out, leaving the vital organs until last so it would live as long as possible . . .’ She laughed. ‘It freaked me out. I cried for hours. Mum went ape at him. Told him it was a stupid thing to tell me.’

‘He was right,’ said Jack. He had finished setting up the tent. ‘Stupid thing to tell a little girl.’

Jasmine hit him playfully, but a little harder than necessary. ‘Luckily it didn’t scar me too badly.’

Bree came stalking back, still furious. She saw the tent was up and she shouldered past to get inside, then zipped the flap shut behind her.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. ‘It’s going to be a long six months,’ she whispered to the girls. They nodded and sighed, and Madison just smirked. Together they headed towards the middle of the campsite, carefully moving across the occasional patch of mossy rocks. The campfire was already going and some girls had gathered a pile of dead wood.

Miss Ellis was nearby, supervising the construction of a communal gazebo tent, which had been left behind for them by the boys the weekend before. Jack rushed to help. ‘You can go find some more firewood if you like,’ she said to Jasmine and her friends, taking off her glasses to wipe away the sweaty condensation that had gathered on the lenses.

The four girls turned, grumbling, and headed for the edge of the clearing.

‘Remember,’ Miss Ellis called after them as she put her glasses back on, ‘stick to the tracks.’

‘Like we’re gonna find any firewood on the track,’ muttered Madison. As soon as they were out of sight of the camp, she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

‘She’s suspicious,’ said Georgia. ‘I can tell.’

‘You can’t tell,’ said Madison.

‘She’s looking at us differently.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Madison sagely. ‘I’ll take care of it.’ She looked around. ‘We’ll split up, we’ll find more wood that way.’

She and her sister broke away from Jasmine and Georgia, moving off the path and through a patch of needlebush, Madison tapping away at her phone. ‘Reception is literally shit.’