Bridge nudges me sharply. ‘You aren’t that short.’

I smile like I don’t care and change the subject. ‘Have you picked a dog yet, Ellie?’

Ellie looks confused and Bridge laughs. ‘Part of the routine.’

‘You have to pick the dog you’d take home if you could,’ I explain.

‘Oh. I’d have a cat.’

‘Has to be a dog,’ says Bridge impatiently.

‘Come on, Ellie. Let’s go pick one,’ I say to smooth the moment.

We walk to the pet-shop window and squash our faces against the glass.

‘That one,’ says Bridge, pointing to a cocker spaniel with the most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen. It stares back at her like it’s longing to be taken home.

‘Nope. Too sad,’ I say.

‘Yeah, because it’s in a glass cage, that’s why. You’d look like that, too.’

‘I like that one better,’ I say, looking at a patchwork brown-and-white terrier. ‘Bet it could keep up if I took it for a run.’

‘No, it couldn’t. Look at the size of its legs,’ giggles Bridge. ‘It would need a nap after a lap or two of the park.’

‘I wouldn’t mind carrying it.’

Bridge laughs. ‘You could get an old-fashioned pram for it. Like Mrs Jennings …’

I join in the laugh. Mrs Jennings lives at the end of Bridge’s street and every day she takes her three Chihuahuas for a walk in a blue pram. She calls them her babies.

‘Who’s Mrs Jennings?’ asks Ellie.

I realise she’s feeling left out, so I tell her about Bridge’s neighbour.

‘Oh, well, in that case I’m picking the brown Chihuahua at the back,’ says Ellie, pointing to a little trembling dog.

I smile, delighted she’s chosen her dog. I’m not about to tell her that she’s just pointed to a poodle.

‘Come on. Let’s go shopping,’ says Bridge.

As we walk away, I look back at the dogs and watch them climb on top of each other. The pile collapses like a house of cards and my little terrier chases its tail in a corner. It’s forgotten me already.

‘I need a new pencil case. One that tells the world I’m in high school,’ says Bridge.

‘You still using your pink one?’

‘Yep.’

I laugh. ‘You’ve had that since prep.’

‘You know Mum likes to get good use out of something before she throws it away. I only managed to convince her I need a new one because the zip got stuck.’

‘And did you have something to do with that, Bridge?’ I say.

She laughs.

‘We find out about our classes this week.’ Ellie sounds worried.

Bridge grabs my arm and squeezes it. ‘What if we aren’t in the same class, Clem?’

Her question makes my heart race, but I say, ‘It’ll be okay. We’ll all meet at lunchtime.’