‘I thought you wanted to be our friend,’ Callum said. ‘To be my friend.’

‘I did! I do!’

Callum shook his head. ‘Well, if that’s true, you’ve got a funny way of showing it. You do realise that if you get yourself expelled, it’s all over? Everything we talked about. Everything you said you wanted.’

‘No, I know, I just … I’m sorry, Callum. Really! I just … I didn’t think. I got so angry, and—’

Callum raised his hand, and for a moment Ben thought his friend meant to hit him. But then Callum’s hand settled on his shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

‘I know this is hard for you. I do. You’re the one doing most of the work, and most of the time you’re having to do it on your own. Which is tough, right? Particularly in a place like this.’

‘It is! And actually that was something I wanted to—’

‘But you understand why it has to be this way,’ Callum interrupted. ‘Don’t you?’

Ben, reluctantly, gave a nod.

‘If they see us together too often,’ Callum explained, ‘there’s a chance they’ll figure out what’s going on. You need to be like … like what’s his name. The kid in your dorm who’s always hanging around the chapel. Father Steiner’s favourite,’ he added meaningfully.

‘Isaac,’ said Ben. ‘His name’s Isaac.’ Just the mention of Isaac made Ben uncomfortable. Isaac’s only friend at Beaconsfield seemed to be Father Steiner. Ben was just pretending to be alone, but even so, most of the time, he felt it, which made him wonder if he and Isaac weren’t actually the same.

‘But it’s just for the time being,’ Callum consoled him. ‘OK?’ He squeezed Ben’s shoulder again, and this time Ben was grateful for his touch. ‘After this is over, we’ll be able to hang out all the time. I promise.’ Now Callum grinned: that warm, winning smile he had, that always made Ben think he should go on TV.

Callum had been flicking through the pages of the book Ben had been copying from. After a moment he stopped, then squeezed Ben’s shoulder one final time. He got to his feet.

‘In the meantime,’ he told Ben, ‘keep your head down. And if you get another urge to lose your temper, try to remember what’s at stake here.’

He slid A History of Beaconsfield College closer to Ben, then turned and headed for the door.

Ben’s eyes dropped to the pages that were spread before him – the pages Callum had clearly wanted him to see. It was the chapter in the book about the fire, and an image of Beaconsfield in flames.

Wednesday 23 October, 7.17 p.m.

> Nicky? It’s me. Sorry to call so late, but … Well, you’re going to want to hear this. I had a call from Randy.