As they all waited for the doctor to speak, he knew in that moment he wanted to be a doctor. Not because he was selfless. Not because he wanted to help people or heal children. No. He wanted to become a doctor because there was no other profession that commanded such respect and admiration. And why shouldn’t he have that too. He had the brains to become a doctor and he enjoyed science. All he had to do was get through high school and one day – even if it took decades – when Gavin lay in a hospital bed, helpless and alone suffering from cancer or another hideous disease – Paul would stand over his bed in his white coat and stethoscope and both of them would know that it was Paul who now held the power.

14

At first, Claire thought Paul was going to say no to her invitation and she panicked – that would be even more embarrassing than having to go out with him. She could just imagine the taunts from the girls.

Claire couldn’t even get swotty Paul to go out with her!

How humiliating. It was true that she hadn’t actually been out with a boy before – not just the two of them anyway, like, on a proper date. She had kissed a few boys though. Her first kiss had been with John Griffith.

It was last year when she’d still been wearing her braces. There had been a party at someone’s house and they’d sat in a circle playing spin the bottle. When she’d spun it and it had landed on him, he’d grinned at her, the cheers of his mates egging him on. John wasn’t the best-looking boy, but he certainly wasn’t the ugliest. Despite the illicit swigs of cider, she could feel her palms sweating. Surreptitiously wiping them on her jeans, she’d got up on her knees, edging her way to the centre of the circle to meet him. There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, the ring of teenagers disappearing as they contemplated the performance ahead.

Suddenly, John had leaned in, crushing his lips firmly against her own. Instinctively, she had clamped her lips together against the persistent probe of his tongue. She felt slightly repelled, but she knew she had to satisfy the whoops and cheers, so she tentatively opened her mouth, letting him explore before pulling quickly away. Sometimes when she saw John now, he would wiggle his tongue at her, reminding Claire of a snake.