“But,” she said, “the wanderers do not send their eldests to camp.” She did a slow shake of her head. “They are protected from the enemy by our brave heroes – but they selfishly keep their own eldests close. They disobey Andrew Solsbury’s edict that decrees we must ALL send our eldests to camp. They deny their families the opportunity to live in a town in a civilised manner, and they deny their eldests the opportunity to fight for their country. They are dirty, dangerous and deceitful. Do we want their kind anywhere near us, here in Fennis Wick?”

“No, Mayor Anderson.” We shook our heads.

“And more than that —” the mayor leaned in towards us and lowered her voice to a whisper — “much more than that – you’re aware of the horror wreaked by wanderers the last time they ventured close to Fennis Wick. My own sister was among the casualties.”

She dropped her eyes to the floor.

A littlest at the front began to cry.

Trig’s knees started jiggling.

“So.” The mayor took a deep breath and lifted her head. “What can we do to keep ourselves safe? What’s the most important rule of all?”

“Never go beyond the boundary!” Trig burst out the answer.

“Abso-bloomin-lutely, Trig Cruise. Never go beyond the boundary. Follow that rule and you’ll be safe from wanderers. Remember: dirty, dangerous, deceitful. All right?”

“Yes, Mayor Anderson,” we nodded.

She smiled. One of those smiles where the sides of your mouth go down instead of up.

“So how about we sing the boundary song to finish?” Mayor Anderson rubbed her hands together. “Mr Temple? Would you accompany us on the old piano? Still working, is it?”

Mr Temple lifted the lid of the piano. He interlaced his fingers and turned them inside out. The clicking echoed all around the hall.

“Oh – a quick reminder before we start singing.” Mayor Anderson wasn’t smiling any more. She ran her tongue across the front of her teeth. “Going beyond a town boundary isn’t only a risk to yourself – it puts the whole of Fennis Wick in danger. Your friends, your family, your neighbours. And anyone who puts Fennis Wick in danger could be subject to a very serious punishment indeed. So let’s keep everyone safe, eh? Now, carry on, Mr Temple.”

The crying littlest cried even louder.

Back in the classroom Miss Conteh talked about the time before the Quiet War and what summer holidays were like then. She said people used to go to other countries on aeroplanes. I doodled a picture of an aeroplane in the bottom corner of my slate. Licked my finger and rubbed it off.

Sometimes I wondered if teachers didn’t just make stuff up.

After break Miss Conteh asked for our summer diaries. She walked between the desks, collecting them in and piling them up in her arms.