‘Well,’ said Claire cautiously. ‘The defence will try their best to discredit you. They will alter the narrative so that the focus shifts to you and your lifestyle rather than what happened.’ She paused. ‘They may try and imply that you are lying. That it didn’t really happen, or if it did, then there were other factors—’

‘But it did happen!’ protested Rose. Claire wasn’t surprised she hadn’t been able to finish her sentence. It was the ultimate insult to those brave enough to come forward. But it didn’t change the reality. And it was Claire’s job to make sure Rose was properly prepared for that reality. She couldn’t afford for Rose to crumble.

‘Of course, it did,’ replied Claire soothingly. ‘We just have to make sure there’s no room for doubt in the jury’s mind.’

Rose sighed and stared off into the distance and Claire watched her. What was she thinking? How her life could have been different? Should have been different? Rose was nineteen and at her age Claire had been in the first year of her degree. She’d had plans. She’d had a boyfriend. She’d had parents who were always there if she needed them.

What had led Claire and Rose to lead such different lives? Claire thought back to her own school years. Despite the gossip and the rumours, she’d gone on to the complete her exams. Her shock and horror at the incident with Paul had been channelled into her studies. She didn’t want to go to parties, she didn’t want to socialise, so each day after school, she locked herself in her room with her books and worked, her mind refusing entry to anything else that tried to get in.

During the day, the girls treated her like a wounded animal and while she was still part of the Queen Bees, she was on the fringes. The Queen Bees had never met in drama room three again. Charlotte had made the announcement while looking meaningfully in Claire’s direction. Claire had pretended not to notice. Instead, the Queen Bees met in different classrooms during breaks or lunchtimes when they were empty. And just like her mother had promised, time helped.

After her GCSE exams, she went on to sixth form and she started to socialise a little bit more. When Claire asked her mother if she would take her shopping for an outfit for a party, Claire could feel the relief practically emanating from her mother at the typical teenage request. They’d spent the day shopping and by the end of it, Claire didn’t just have a new outfit but a brand-new wardrobe. She remembered hanging up all the clothes, feeling like she was a normal girl after all and, eventually, she had learnt that the longer you pretended, the easier it was to convince yourself.