‘Hol,’ Julia says, giving Holly the crinkle-nosed smile that means trouble. ‘I need something out of the common room. Come with me.’

Holly doesn’t actually feel like letting Julia boss her around. ‘What do you need?’

‘Come on.’ Julia slides off the bed.

‘Is it too heavy for you to carry by yourself?’

‘Hahahaha, such a comedienne. Come on.’

The force of her makes Holly feel better. Maybe she should have said something to Jules straight off; maybe the two of them together will come up with a decent answer. She swings her legs off the bed. Becca watches them out of the room. Selena doesn’t.

The early darkness outside turns the light in the corridor a dirty yellow. Julia leans back against the wall with her arms folded. She says, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’

She doesn’t bother keeping it down; the rain battering the landing window covers their voices from any listeners. Holly says, ‘I was just asking her. What’s the big huge—’

‘You were hassling her. Don’t hassle her.’

‘Hello, how is that hassling her? We have to decide.’

‘It’s hassling her because if you keep going on at her, she’ll just get upset. The rest of us work it out, we tell her, she’ll be happy with whatever we think.’

Holly matches Julia’s folded arms, and her stare. ‘What if I think Lenie should get a say too?’

Julia rolls her eyes. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

‘What? Why not?’

‘Did you have a lobotomy for lunch? You know why not.’

Holly says, ‘You mean because she’s not OK. That’s why not.’

Julia’s face closes over. ‘She’s fine. She’s got shit she needs to sort out, is all. Doesn’t everyone.’

‘It’s not the same thing. Lenie can’t manage. Like just normal stuff: she can’t do it. What’s going to happen to her when the rest of us aren’t there every minute of every—’

‘You mean, like, when we’re in college? Years from now? Excuse me if I don’t have a total drama attack over that. By then she’ll be fine.’

‘She’s not getting better. You know she’s not.’

It spins between them, razor-edged: she hasn’t got better since then; since that; you know what. Neither one of them reaches out to touch it.

Holly says, ‘I think we need to make her go talk to someone.’

Julia laughs out loud. ‘What, like Sister Ignatius? Oh, yeah, that’s totally going to make everything OK. Sister Ignatius couldn’t sort a broken fingernail—’

‘Not Sister Ignatius. Someone real. Like a doctor or something.’

‘Jesus Christ—’ Julia shoots off the wall pointing both forefingers at Holly. The angle of her neck is one degree off an attack. ‘Don’t even fucking think about it. I am serious.’