At first, scrolling through Carolyn’s posts, it seemed to Nell that there was no connection between the two of them at all. Most of the people she interacted with were strangers, many of them had nothing to do with the town, and Nell found herself wondering how many of Carolyn’s many, many Facebook friends were people she’d actually met in real life.

‘This is boring.’ Maude had dragged her seat next to Nell’s. ‘Look through her photos.’

‘We can’t do that. They’re – private.’

‘Jeez, Nell.’ Maude said. ‘If she wanted to keep them private she wouldn’t post them, would she?’

There were far too many to scroll through, but Carolyn had at least created albums. Several were dedicated to Evie, from babyhood, right through school, and others were clearly dedicated to holidays and trips abroad.

‘There.’ Maude pointed at the screen; the folder was marked ‘Reunion’.

It was a couple of years old, but it seemed there had been a twenty-year reunion of the sixth form. This was news to Nell, and she couldn’t say she was disappointed to have been left out. The faces in the photos were familiar, at least, even if most of the names weren’t.

Carolyn featured in several of them, smiling broadly, she looked confident, glossy, successful.

Then with a comment – A blast from the past! – someone had posted an old school photo. The whole of the sixth form ranged in rows.

‘Oh,’ said Nell, ‘right.’

‘What? Do you recognise her?’ Maude swivelled the computer around to get a better look.

‘I recognise the photo,’ said Nell; and she did, somewhere back at the house up in the loft where they kept all their junk, she had a copy of her own.

*

It didn’t take Maude long to find her.

‘There you are,’ she said. ‘Second row back, fourth one in.’

‘Yes.’

‘Nice hair.’

‘Oh, shut up.’

It took them longer to find Carolyn.

‘There,’ said Nell, eventually. ‘Is that her, do you think?’

The girl had dirty blonde hair and wore glasses, she stood at the end of the back row, and it may have been Nell’s imagination, but she seemed to be standing slightly apart from everyone else.

‘Could be,’ said Maude. She clicked on the screen, someone had tagged a few people and a name popped out: Carrie Hudson.

‘The thing is,’ said Nell, ‘this is two years, upper and lower sixth form. I can recognise pretty much everyone in my year, even if I can’t remember their names. But the people in the year below me, not so much.’

‘Including Carolyn?’

‘If it is her, then yes.’

‘So, she was at school with you.’

‘Well, yes.’

‘And you don’t remember her because she was in the year below you.’

‘No. No, I don’t.’

‘And you didn’t – have anything to do with her, ever?’ Maude looked worried, younger momentarily.

‘No. Nothing,’ said Nell.