I roll off her mattress and steal a bottle of water and a waterproof jacket and a pair of walking boots from the Swedish girls. They’re a size too small but I’ll tear up the soles of my feet if I go down the mountain barefoot. I hide my stash under Sally’s sleeping bag then head for the pile of backpacks propped up in the corner nearest Sally’s mattress. They’re so bright and new, they can only belong to new girls. I undo the clips of the first one I reach – a red one – and pull back the cover. I need food, some kind of first aid kit or medication, and, with my one hundred and fifty quid long gone, some money. A noise from the walkway makes me jump, and I yank the cover back down. I grab one of Sally’s novels from the pile beside her mattress and prop myself up against the wall, the book in front of my face. A bead of sweat rolls down my temple and drips off my jaw. A second later, someone walks in.

“Hi!” I peer over the top of the book. It’s one of the new girls – the curvy, dark-haired one Isaac was so captivated by. She walks towards me, swaying as she picks her way through the piles of belongings, and holds out a hand. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes shining with excitement and home brew. “You were in the meditation room when we arrived. Emma, isn’t it? I’m Abigail.”

“Yeah, hi.” I shake her hand.

“Ha!” She points at the book I’m holding in my other hand and laughs. “How drunk are you?”

“Sorry?”

“Your book’s upside down!”

I glance at the open page in front of me then flip the book round. “It’s about Australia,” I say. Abigail doesn’t laugh; she’s too pissed to get the joke.

“You should come down to the patio,” she says as she crouches down beside the red backpack. “They’ve got an amazing fire burning, and everyone’s playing ‘I have never’. You wouldn’t believe some of the things Isaac’s been drinking to.”

Oh, I could guess, I think but don’t say.

“It’s brilliant here, isn’t it?” She frowns at the unclipped cover of the backpack then flips it back and reaches in. She pulls out a pale pink lip gloss and a thin, grey jumper. She yanks the jumper down over her head and shakes out her long dark hair. “We were only going to stay for a couple of nights, but it’s so lovely here I think we might stay for longer. Everyone’s so friendly, aren’t they? They make you feel so welcome.”

“Yeah.”

“I just heard Gabe telling Isaac how much he’s looking forward to doing the Pokhara run with Al.”

“What?”