‘No,’ Cat said reluctantly, ‘I’d better not. See you tomorrow.’

She waved goodbye and headed for home.

She rounded a corner, daydreaming about the upcoming sleepover, when she collided with Shane who was bent over tying his shoelaces, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

‘Watch it!’ he said, dusting himself off and looking around to make sure none of the older kids had seen him fall.

‘I’m not the one tying my laces in the stupidest place imaginable,’ Cat fired back.

‘Whatever. Pay more attention next time,’ he said, slinging his schoolbag back over his shoulder and heading off down the road at a decent clip, fast enough to put some distance between them.

Cat rolled her eyes and followed. Shane was her next-door neighbour and had been for as long as she could remember. Despite being classmates and neighbours, he never walked home with Cat and her friends. He always made sure to keep at least a few metres ahead of them and walked with his head down and hands in his pockets – an armour against the world.

It was hard to believe these days, but there was a time when Shane was her best friend. They did everything together – swimming, painting, playing video games – but that was before his dad died.

She could still remember Shane’s face at the funeral and how he had to support his mam as she wailed even though he was only nine years old at the time. She remembered feeling the warmth of her own mam’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and knowing that no matter what happened, her mam would always be the one to comfort her.

Shane didn’t come back to school for three weeks afterwards and Cat didn’t see him around the estate. She had wanted to call over and see how he was, but her mam advised against it.

‘Leave him be, Kitty-Cat, he needs a bit of time.’

Maybe she had seen something in Shane’s face that day that Cat missed, how he was changed for good.

Then, one uneventful Wednesday, there he was – back in class and seated in his usual spot near the back of the room. Cat spent all morning fizzing with excitement. She kept darting looks over her shoulder hoping to catch his eye. She hadn’t even realised how much she had missed him. She couldn’t wait for eleven o’clock break so she could introduce him to the new girl, Ebele, and show him the Lego kit she had gotten for her birthday. But when the bell finally rang, he walked out into the yard without her. She chased after him calling his name and got yelled at by Mrs Quinn for running in the hallways. She finally found him standing on the edge of the playing field watching a group of sixth-class kids kick a football around.

‘Hi,’ she said.

He didn’t reply.

‘I’m glad you’re back. It’s been no fun without you,’ she said, suddenly feeling awkward. She had never felt awkward around Shane before, and she didn’t like it.