‘I’m here to protect you this time,’ he said, laughing and swimming away. When I wasn’t looking, he seemed to disappear. I twisted round in the water, wondering where he’d got to, when I noticed a huge greeny-white shape appearing below me and remembered the fright I’d been given by the submerged log at the birthday party. Then something grabbed my legs. Although I knew it must be Robert, my terrified scream reverberated across the still water. And then, of course, he emerged beside me, spitting water out of his mouth and laughing uproariously.

‘You nearly gave me a heart attack,’ I shouted, trying to slap him, but he dodged away and the slap just splashed him instead, so it soon turned into a splashing match, which he won by grabbing both of my arms.

‘Let me go,’ I spluttered, trying to pull away. ‘I’ll sink.’ I thought we were both treading water but I now understood that, with his greater height, his feet were probably touching the bottom.

‘I’ll save you,’ he laughed, delighted by his own show of strength. ‘I’m a qualified lifeguard, didn’t you know?’ He dragged me closer into his arms and tried to kiss me, but I turned my face away so that he planted it on my cheek. ‘This is nice,’ he whispered.

It wasn’t nice. Not nice at all. Our almost-naked bodies were touching under the water, and I now realised far too late that this was what he’d planned, all along. The other boys wouldn’t be coming. Robert wanted to get fresh with me.

‘Get off!’ I shouted, trying to wriggle out of his arms, but it only made him hold me tighter and I began to panic. ‘Stop, Robert. Please. I mean it.’

He let go suddenly and I sank, swallowing a mouthful of water and coming up coughing.

‘Here, let me help you.’ He held out his arms again, but I turned away and swam as fast as I could to the shore.

‘I’m sorry, Molly. I didn’t mean to frighten you,’ he said, following me out of the water. ‘I thought you . . .’

‘Well, you thought wrong.’

‘Look, I didn’t mean it. It was just a bit of fun.’

‘I’m not that kind of girl. Anyway, where are all the friends you said were coming?’

Rob began to protest.

‘They aren’t coming, are they? You tricked me, didn’t you?’

I grabbed my sandals, clothes and towel and fled away along the woodland path, brushing away tears of anger and confusion. How different it would have been if Kit had been there, instead of Rob.