Lanier’s attempt to put Marc down for lying about getting off with a girl would have worked with teenagers, but Marc’s audience was younger and in their eyes throwing a girl into a slurry pit was way better than kissing her.

‘Totally worth the beating,’ Jacques said loyally. ‘Welts heal, legends live for ever!’

The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement and Lanier was furious. ‘Well, you wait, Marc,’ he said, wagging his finger. ‘The director will find you a new job now and it’ll be so much worse.’

Jacques shot Lanier a look of contempt. ‘How could it be worse than mucking out cows?’

‘I don’t know,’ Lanier said defensively, as his face reddened with anger. But he knew he was losing the argument so he dropped through the narrow gap between two mattresses and retreated between the tightly packed beds to his own on the far side of the room.

Meanwhile a scrawny fourteen year old called Gerard had stepped in and stood near the door unlacing his muddy work boots. He was the oldest boy who still slept on a lower bunk. He was jealous of Marc, but too weak to challenge him physically.

‘You’ll never believe what I saw,’ Gerard told the room, with an air of sarcasm. ‘The director had me repairing the front fence where that army truck clipped it. I came back in to put the tools away. You know that little cupboard under the stairs, opposite the sick room?’

There were a few nods and yeses as Marc realised what was coming.

‘I could hear little Marc with Sister Madeline,’ Gerard beamed. ‘He was sobbing his heart out. Oh Sister Madeline, I’m so sad. I don’t like it here. Jae was really sweet and special. Nobody loves me. I can’t stand it any more. I want to run away. Boo, hoo, hoo! ’

A few nervous laughs erupted as sets of eyeballs turned on Marc.

‘You’re so full of shit,’ Marc tutted. ‘I might have moaned a bit when she put the iodine on my cuts, but no way was I crying.’

‘You looked like you’d been crying when I passed you on the stairs earlier,’ Jacques noted.

‘I need to get out of here,’ Gerard teased. ‘I’m so worthless. I can’t stand my life any more.’

Marc could see that most of the room believed Gerard’s version of events and the pressure not to admit weakness felt like a vice crushing his head. Under normal circumstances he would have settled it by planting his fist in Gerard’s face, but right now he wasn’t even sure he could stand up straight, let alone fight.

To make matters worse, Lanier sensed that Marc was now on the back foot and moved in for the kill.