I don’t know exactly what I was expecting to see when I limped out of the school gate but Maggie on her tractor was definitely not on my list. I quickly looked over my shoulder to check nobody was watching. There were a few faces at the windows in the science wing but they looked like lower school so I might have got away with it. Most of those who were in my exam had business studies GCSE almost straight after and the few who didn’t had all been picked up by parents. There was just me left.

I made my way to the tractor and looked in the trailer – no bike. Maggie twisted in her seat to look at me. It was odd to see her again. Seeing her stirred up stuff in my gut. I’d missed her but I’d had loads of imaginary arguments with her in my head and I still wasn’t finished.

‘Slight problem with the bike,’ she said.

They were not the words I wanted to hear although I hadn’t been looking forward to cycling home because my leg was killing me. I was getting grumpier by the second. ‘Where is it?’

‘Savage is working on it. He thinks he can fix it but it’s taking him a while.’

‘But I need the bike back.’ I threw my arms up in frustration. This nightmare was getting worse.

‘Sorry. It was beyond my bike-fixing ability.’

‘You said you could fix it!’ I was getting agitated. Dad was going to go mental.

Maggie gave me a look. ‘I was trying to help.’ She turned her head away, making me hobble around to the front of the tractor.

‘Dad needs the bike to get to work. He doesn’t have a car anymore. If he can’t get to work he won’t get paid and…’ I could feel my pulse starting to race at the thought of the domino of events this could trigger. And worst of all that it might end up with Dad drinking again.

‘Could he get a bus?’

‘That costs money and the bus times are rubbish.’

‘But it’s an option.’

‘No, it’s not!’ I was getting cross. I didn’t want to have to tell Dad about any of this if I could get away with it. ‘When will Savage finish the bike?’

Maggie tilted her head on one side. ‘He reckoned he needed a couple more hours and that was about half an hour ago.’

I checked the time on my phone. ‘As long as it’s back before Dad wakes up we’re good.’ I took a deep steadying breath. This might actually work out okay.

‘You all right now?’ she asked.

‘Yeah. Sorry.’

‘Lift home or back to mine for cake while we wait for the bike?’ She fired up the tractor.