Now it’s my turn to stop. Maggie was one of the reasons I survived last year, and I don’t care if he’s related to her, he doesn’t get to say anything bad about her. ‘No. She’s amazing. You’re lucky to live there.’

‘Whoa, righto.’

‘And stop being rude to her.’

‘Okay.’

He shifts on his feet, scuffing his sneakers along the concrete. I wonder if his toes can feel the ground. ‘My folks sent me here because they didn’t like my friends. Said they were a bad influence.’

I’m pretty sure he’s giving me a mild version of the truth, but I’m impressed he’s telling me anyway. ‘Were they?’

‘Dunno. Maybe I was the bad influence,’ he says quietly.

We start walking again, because it’s a bit weird standing together on the footpath, having this conversation. I don’t know where we’re going and he seems to have forgotten that he asked me to show him around, so I decide that when we reach my old primary school we’ll turn and head back.

‘How long are you staying?’

‘Dunno,’ he says.

I want to ask him about rooftopping, but I also don’t want to sound too keen. I try to pick through my words until I find a sentence that sounds like I’m only mildly interested. ‘So, why rooftopping?’

‘It started as a dare. One of my friends read about it online. But then I liked it. The view. How everything seems different up there. How free I feel.’

‘But what do you do?’

‘Nothing. I’m not one of those extreme rooftoppers who dangle off the sides of buildings just for a thrill. We just hang out. Safely. Except when we go to hotels. Then we might use their pool. That’s the best.’

‘You sneak into a hotel pool?’

‘Yeah. If it’s on the roof. It’s not hard. You just wait for a guest to buzz themselves in and then you follow them through.’

‘But why? I don’t get it.’

He laughs, and this time I join him.

‘Swimming in a rooftop pool feels amazing. There’s just the sky above you. And the fact you aren’t supposed to be there makes it even better.’

Now it’s my turn to lead the laughter. ‘Right. That’s what it’s about. Sneaking in. Not getting caught. Being somewhere you shouldn’t.’

‘Yeah. Kind of. But not always. Sometimes it’s about the challenge, but sometimes it’s about something else. I can’t explain it.’

‘You should try running.’

Matt laughs so hard he nearly chokes. ‘You going to tell me the endorphins will make me feel the same as when I sneak into a hotel’s pool?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You come rooftopping with me and I’ll come jogging with you. We can compare,’ he says.

‘Running, not jogging.’

‘Isn’t it the same thing?’