‘What are YOU doing here?’

‘You named me, Elle. Remember? Second Year. Nickname stuck for a decade. You never liked anything I posted on Facebook. Other people’s, never mine. Called me Pete LMS behind my back. But eventually I got used to it, as one does. Liked it, even. Letters after my name gave me a certain . . . gravitas. Even teachers used it eventually. But what I really wanted, Elle,’ he taps into his Chronophone, ‘was for you to like ME.’

‘You’re lying.’

‘You may find this hard to believe, my dear, but it’s true.’

‘Then why did you humiliate me all the time?’

‘I liked you but I was jealous. You were clever and sporty and Big Ben was a maths genius. The whole class had lessons I wasn’t allowed into. I never fitted in. I was a nobody.’

‘You were a bully!’

‘Terribly sorry. Misspent youth and all that. But you can’t change the past.’

‘You’re lying. You could send your 2020 self a message on your Chronophone. STOP BULLYING NOW.’

‘I COULD,’ he says, ‘but I don’t think that’s necessary, Elle. You can stand up for yourself now, without my help.’

He taps into his phone again. He hasn’t changed at all. Still obsessed with technology. Still bad.

‘What have you done with Kwesi and Noon?’

‘Not guilty. You Leapers excel at disappearing acts. First one I saw was outside a certain geography classroom . . .’

My mouth forms a capital O. ‘You saw me—’

‘Excellent, Elle. Yes. It was supposed to be a punishment. Stand outside the classroom, repent. Instead, a veritable treat. I saw you disappear into the ether. Took me a decade to find out about The Gift. Of course, I told no one. Knowledge is power. Very few of us know.’ He gestures to one of the armchairs. ‘Do take a seat, you’re making me nervous.’

‘What have you done?’

‘Kwesi, yes. Very bright, nonverbal, good at the long jump if I remember correctly. And his paintwork, marvellous, just marvellous.’

‘His PB was 5 metres 90, which is an 89.49% age grade. But he specialised in the triple jump.’

‘Indeed. And Moon, yes. Not so bright but more sparkly. Leaps like lightning!’

‘Her name’s Noon, not Moon. It’s a palindrome. What do you mean, sparkly?’

‘Never realised she had a twin. Threw me for a second. Two stupid names rather than one.’

‘That’s not true. You don’t even know them. They’re worth four of you!’

I look at the door. Why didn’t I just run away before he guided me in? Why don’t I leap to safety now? Because I’d never find out what SOS L means. The clue must be somewhere in this office.

‘Elle, how would you like to go to the Music, Maths and Movement School? They have the best athletics facilities in the country.’

‘I can’t. I already go to Intercalary International.’