Bowling turned out to be nothing like the gentle game I’d seen in the films. As we went into an enormous building, we were hit by a wall of noise – music, shouting, laughing and crashing sounds. It was overwhelming – I’d never seen or even imagined anything like it – and I guess it must have shown on my face as Fred frowned and asked, ‘You OK? You want to go somewhere else? We could go to that hotel after all? Nice and quiet there …’

I shook my head and forced a smile. ‘No. No, this is great. Thank you.’

He sighed and shrugged.

‘OK, you’re the boss tonight,’ he said and then, ‘Two, please’ to the boy behind the counter as he handed over some money. I blushed, wanting to offer to pay my share but not having any money.

‘I’m sorry I don’t have any …’ I began but he waved his hand at me.

‘It’s fine. My treat. Just got paid, like I said. What size are you?’

‘Pardon?’ I looked down at my clothes and blushed again. ‘Umm, I think about a 14?’ Dad always bought my clothes for me but that was what the labels said on them. Usually they came in plastic bags when he’d been to the supermarket.

He laughed. ‘Shoe size.’

‘Oh!’ I exclaimed, wondering why he wanted to know. ‘Four, then.’

The man behind the counter handed over a pair of blue and red shoes which Fred handed to me. ‘Here you go.’

‘Oh, OK thanks.’ I tried but clearly failed to look like I wasn’t a little taken aback by this; and Fred looked at me quizzically.

‘You have been bowling before, haven’t you?’

I blushed again. ‘Um … no, not really,’ I said. ‘It’s not Dad’s kind of … well.’ I trailed off. It was too embarrassing to say that I literally never went anywhere. I’d never explicitly stated that to Fred – I’d simply said that Dad was very protective and wouldn’t let me out on my own with a boy.

I was more and more beginning to doubt what Dad had told me about lots of girls my age living the way I do. Unless Fred just didn’t know about any of them, which then again, I guess he wouldn’t if they were at home all the time like me.

It was so confusing.