Ellen closed her laptop now. She could hear her mother and father in the midst of their nightly wind-down rituals. It sounded like her father was bolting the front door, and her mother was switching off the lamps in the hallway and turning on the landing light up to Tom’s attic bedroom. Her eyes felt dry. She changed from her school uniform and into her pyjamas, then shuffled into the family bathroom across the hall. In the mirror, as she brushed her teeth, she imagined things she could or should have said: ‘I know my type is you.’ She virtually squealed at the thought.

‘Ellen, is that you in there?’

She spat toothpaste into the sink and scowled in the mirror. ‘Yes, Mum. Am I not allowed to use the bathroom now?’

She could hear her mother sigh through the door. ‘I was just going to say there’s a spare hand-soap out here. Can you pop it in the bathroom when you’re done?’

‘Yes.’ She felt mean. ‘Night, Mum.’

‘Night, love.’

It was May when it happened: the biggest moment of Ellen’s life to date.

Downstairs, she could hear the hubbub of Linda and John chattering over the television. She picked at a spot on her forehead, worrying at it with the tips of her thumb and forefinger. She knew when she looked in the mirror it would look terrible, but she couldn’t help it. It was just past 7 p.m., and she was waiting for him to sign in. After what felt like for ever, but was probably only three minutes, he appeared.

miss_BehaviourX91: hi

rainham_romeo1991: hey

rainham_romeo1991: good day?

miss_BehaviourX91: so-so

miss_BehaviourX91: how about you?

rainham_romeo1991: it was ok. 6/10

miss_BehaviourX91: haha

miss_BehaviourX91: i’d give mine 7, but only because i had three free periods

rainham_romeo1991: jealous

She watched the screen.

rainham_romeo1991: ok

rainham_romeo1991: admission time

There was a long, long pause in which Ellen wondered if her stomach could actually fall out of the soles of her feet.

rainham_romeo1991: i’ve got feelings for you

Her stomach threatened to plummet to her feet again. She read and reread the message and then, before thinking, tapped out a response in kind.

miss_BehaviourX91: i have feelings for you too

As soon as she’d sent it she screamed and jumped back from her desk, knocking the desk chair backwards. She stood in the middle of the room with her hands over her mouth, panting slightly. She had never sent a message this monumental before.

As she contemplated this, her mother interrupted her.

‘Ellen?’ Linda called sharply, from downstairs. ‘What was that noise? What are you doing up there?’

‘Nothing, Mum!’ she snarled. ‘The chair just fell over.’

She heard her mother grumble from the foot of the stairs. ‘Well, stop mucking about. You’ll bring the ceiling in the living room down.’