‘You know what?’ Go had told Ella. ‘Golden Girl even had the front to try and get me to change my name. Yeah! That’s right. Even though I had it first. I mean, do you know what Golden Girl’s real name is? Jessica Roberts-Wilding. Boring name. No wonder she changed it. And she was just copying me, but trying to go one better. Golden Girl.’

Ella had said it was strange, calling someone Go-Girl, and Go-Girl told her that most people just called her Go. And that was all right. So that was what Ella called her. Go had said that she was going to adopt Ella and make her her own, and they went everywhere together. Except when Go had been riding in the races. She’d been in a sprint and the Big Kahuna, and Ella had cheered her on. Go wasn’t the best rider, and she hadn’t won anything, but she said it had been fun. She tried to get Ella excited about things, tried to make her have fun as well.

It wasn’t fun.

Nothing was fun.

All her fault.

Maeve and Robbie and Monkey-Boy.

And Malik. She’d thought and thought and thought about Malik, how he’d been so ugly, so mashed up, like a wounded beast, but he’d had a brave heart and a good soul.

She watched now as Go came walking up the steps between the rows of seats. She’d been a runner in the King’s Road and was all red-faced and sweaty and out of breath. She was sort of glowing as well, happy-looking. Alive. And Ella was jealous of that. She knew she had a permanently grumpy face because Go teased her about it. Called her ‘misery guts’. And Ella remembered how she used to call Malik Face-Ache. There was no hiding from the bad things. Always something there to remind her.

‘That was great,’ said Go, flopping down into the seat next to Ella.

‘Was it?’ Ella hadn’t wanted to sound quite as grumpy as it came out.

‘Yeah.’ Go sort of half hugged, half shook Ella.

‘It just looked like fighting to me,’ said Ella.

‘It’s good to get it out,’ said Go.

‘Well, I think it’s stupid and dangerous.’

‘Listen,’ said Go, ‘if you didn’t like the King’s Road, you’re really not going to like what’s happening at the end of the day.’

‘Why, what is it? More fighting, I expect.’

‘Yeah.’ Go had a little laugh to herself. ‘It’s all fighting from now on. We go to the Colosseum and they let the gladiators out. For some people that’s what this is all about. I’m not sure.’

‘Are you going to join in?’

‘I’ll see – it’s pretty hardcore. I’ll check out the opposition first.’

‘That’s what the grown-ups are for, isn’t it?’ Ella asked and sniffed.

Go looked at her.