‘I don’t know. I don’t care. Your bus is coming, Niamh. You have to decide. Please …’

The desperation in her voice swayed me. One day off school wouldn’t make any difference to anyone. ‘OK.’

‘Is your mum at work?’ Hollie spoke hurriedly as we walked away down the road. When I nodded, she said, ‘Can we go back to yours? Shouldn’t you change?’ She looked at my uniform anxiously. As the bus came into sight, Hollie grabbed my arm. ‘Quick. Before the driver sees us.’

By the time it reached the bus stop, we were out of sight. From the garden, I heard the bus slow down, and then – when the driver saw I wasn’t there – it gradually accelerated and pulled away. Running ahead of me across the garden towards the house, Hollie seemed more anxious than usual. ‘Hurry up, Niamh. You need to email the school before they try to call your parents.’

Unlocking the back door, I closed it behind both of us, then got my laptop, logging in and sending the email to the school before shutting it down again. I turned to Hollie. ‘What now?’

There was a strange look on her face. Then she said, ‘My dad’s done something.’

‘What?’ Before she could speak, I added, ‘You’re right, I need to change. Come upstairs.’

She was restless while I changed, flitting around my room and I tried to imagine what her dad might have done. Then, as I pulled on a sweater, she said, ‘I have to show you something.’

‘What?’

But she was already going downstairs again. In the kitchen, she picked up my jacket and handed it to me.

‘Where are we going?’

Shaking her head, she opened the back door, and then stood outside impatiently. ‘Come on, Niamh. It has to be now, or someone will see us.’

As the same urgency that gripped her filtered into me, I closed the door and hurried to catch up, jogging to keep pace with her quick steps. As we reached the lane, she glanced around, as if making sure we weren’t being watched. When she broke into an easy run, I did the same, following her along the pavement, watching her unzipped jacket flapping behind her. ‘Hollie.’ When she didn’t slow down, I shouted after her. ‘Hollie … stop.’

There was a mystified look on her face as she turned round. For some reason, I was annoyed. ‘What are we doing out here? Someone will see me. I’m supposed to be at school, remember?’

Jogging back to me, she grabbed my hand, then stroked a strand of hair off my face. ‘It’ll be OK, Niamh. But I have to show you something. It’s important.’

Passing Greyfriars Lane, we crossed the road to the woods, where we took an unmarked path, relief filling me when no cars had passed us.

‘It takes longer this way, but no-one will see us.’