‘No, I ain’t,’ Frankie said defensively. She could still feel the effects of the ecstasy tablet, and still felt quite high.

‘You’re lying. Did that fucking John give you drugs?’ Joey asked, his temper rising.

‘Sssh, Mum and Dad will hear. Do you wanna cause a riot? If you must know, I had half of one of them Es in the Berwick. Jed never gave it to me, somebody else did.’

Joey couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. If their parents found out, the pair of them would be grounded for life. ‘Don’t ever do that again, Frankie. You don’t know what’s in the bloody things. And who’s Jed? I thought the bloke you was with was called John.’

Frankie took a deep breath. She couldn’t tell anyone who Jed was – not yet, anyway. ‘I said John. You must be hearing things,’ she told Joey.

‘Are you gonna see him again?’ Joey asked.

‘I don’t know. I need to get some sleep now, I’m going back to me own room,’ Frankie replied haughtily.

Joey grabbed her arm. ‘You haven’t told me what happened yet. Did you do anything with him? You didn’t have sex with him, did you?’

‘No, of course I didn’t,’ Frankie replied, pulling her arm away. Joey questioning her was making her feel paranoid and she needed to be left alone. ‘I’ll tell you all the gory details later,’ she whispered, as she shut his bedroom door.

Frankie walked into her own room and quietly closed the door. She sat down at her dressing table and studied herself in the mirror. She looked out of it; her eyes were the giveaway. ‘Shit,’she mumbled, as she remembered the barbecue that was planned for later.

She cursed herself for having taken the bloody tablet in the first place. How was she meant to sit and be normal in front of her parents and grandparents when she felt totally out of her nut? She crawled into bed and shut her eyes. Jed’s face was at the forefront of her mind. He had been too forward for her liking, but no boy had ever made her feel the way he had.

Frankie had taken Jed’s number, but she hadn’t given him hers. She shut her eyes and pictured Jed’s face. He had eyes that twinkled when he smiled. She loved his lopsided grin, his dark, wavy hair. Even his funny accent set her pulse racing.

Thinking of his rock-hard penis, Frankie shuddered with excitement. Jed might be bad news, but she had to see him again. It was the only way to get him out of her system.

Joyce and Stanley arrived promptly at one on the dot. ‘Are Raymond and Polly here yet?’ were the first words out of Joyce’s mouth.

‘No, they’re coming later,’ Jessica said, ushering her parents into the lounge.