Jasmine rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile. It didn’t feel right to be smiling today. She couldn’t talk about this with Felicity – because Felicity’s home life was genuinely quite unpleasant, she viewed most of Jasmine’s problems as trivialities. Not to mention the fact that that vodka probably wasn’t the first drink she had had today.

‘Is this what you do all summer when I’m away?’

‘There’s nothing else to do bar sitting at home and trying and stop Mum’s new boyfriend from coming on to me. If I’m going to get pawed I’d rather it was by someone my own age. You feel me? I know you do.’

‘Flick!’ Jasmine exclaimed, aware that Felicity was trying to lighten the mood the only way she knew how.

‘It’s too bloody hot. Are you coming in the sea?’ Felicity shouted across to Jasmine, loud enough so the boys could hear.

‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ Jasmine asked, nodding at the half-empty bottle of vodka lying on Felicity’s towel.

‘Help yourself if you want some. You need to relax a little!’

‘I’m fine, thanks.’

‘Well, come in when you’re ready. You’re going to look like a roast turkey if you stay out in this sun much longer.’

‘Will do, if I don’t go home,’ Jasmine said, saluting at Felicity as she hobbled across the pebbles towards the sea. Three of the boys followed after her with their paddle boards, all a slightly alarming pink colour from being outside for too long. Felicity was right though, this was the only thing to do most of the time.

Jasmine wasn’t sure she could take any more beach time. It was too hot for a start, but the looks she kept spying from the corner of her eye were really pissing her off. If it was just the kids her own age giving her daggers she might have been able to cope, but Mr Morrell’s fiancée was there. She worked in a newsagent in town, and Jasmine knew what she looked like from when she had come to events at the school. They hadn’t been engaged long when the incident happened last year. Now, his fiancée was on the beach looking wistfully out to sea and Jasmine could see she had been crying. Jasmine lay on a towel, the pebbles digging into her, occasionally looking over and seeing the woman’s distraught and disapproving face.