I don’t know whether Ama thinks I SHOULDN’T eat it or that I’m not going to eat it. Maybe she wants to eat it instead. I do want the soup. It’s the best pepper soup I’ve ever smelled. But I remember MC2 making sure the sweets were sweet. Maybe the soup’s been drugged. Before I can make up my mind what to do, Big Ben takes a giant spoonful and coughs so much I have to hit him on the back. His face has gone purple. He’s still coughing and I’m still thumping when the rest of the room goes quiet. I think everyone’s watching me and Big Ben but then I see they’re looking towards the door.

Eve has walked into the room.

She’s still wearing the purple and green leggings but she’s changed into GMT’s platforms so it’s an odd match. For a second, she pauses, looking around, then walks across to our table. People start talking again. They think she’s Noon. She sits down beside Ama.

‘Sorry,’ she says, ‘about this morning. Forgive me, darling?’ She pauses again, then says, to all of us, ‘Couldn’t lie low. I was STARVING.’

I watch her walk up to the counter and Le Temps freezes like when he shouted at Maria but he doesn’t look angry, he looks scared. Why is he so scared of Eve? Does he think she’s Noon or has he worked out she’s a twin? Maybe he’s scared of twins. In Nigeria, in the olden days, people used to starve twins because they thought they were witchcrafts. He only freezes for a split second. Then he looks normal again. Eve doesn’t seem to notice. She carries her food back on a tray and eats like she hasn’t eaten in a week. Which is probably true. I feel bad I forgot to take more food back at lunchtime. Of course, she missed the wonderful bread workshop.

‘Elle, are you going to eat that soup or what?’ says Ama.

‘It might be poisoned.’

‘Big Ben’s alive.’

I look at him. His face is normal again. I don’t think he wants to try any more soup. Ama licks her lips.

‘Because if you don’t want it, I DO.’

Ama, GMT, Eve, Big Ben and I have taken over the Common Room, sitting on sofas and beanbags. Ama set an Emergency Meeting for 8 p.m. We need to decide who’s going to leap to 2100. She’s obsessed with it. She and Eve spent an hour doing small talk in the chalet before the meeting. I reread Bob Beamon because I don’t do small talk. I like to talk about BIG things.

But when Ama opens the meeting, Eve volunteers immediately. Maybe they weren’t doing small talk for an hour after all. Maybe they were plotting.