‘Have you not been listening, Rosie?’ Lauren sounded exasperated. ‘He’s a boy, so he needs to play with boys.’

‘No he doesn’t.’ Tash, who sometimes hung out with her older brother and his friends, protested. ‘Girls can be friends with boys. Boys have a lot more fun than we do,’ she added slyly.

Lauren bristled. ‘They cause a lot more trouble.’

‘Says who.’

‘My mother.’

Lauren’s mother had a lot of opinions, some of them really quite strange, and Lauren was always quoting her.

As usual, Hannah and Rosie exchanged a smirk, while Tash rolled her eyes.

‘Hannah. You’re very quiet. What do you think? Do you have a problem with Miles hanging out with us?’

‘I don’t mind.’ Hannah had only seen Miles a couple of times and he seemed very quiet and shy. She had heard that some of the other kids his age had been mean to him and that sat uncomfortably with her. Maybe having a group of slightly older friends would help to bolster his confidence.

‘So that’s three against one,’ Tash smiled smugly at Lauren, whose face crumpled.

‘This is so unfair. You can’t just all go against me.’

‘It’s not unfair at all. We have all had a say instead of you deciding for us.’

Lauren had stormed off in a tantrum that day, telling Tash, Hannah and Rosie that she no longer wanted to hang out with them.

Of course, she calmed down when she realised she had overreacted, and after a day of sulking and pretending to avoid them, she had gone creeping back, and the hand of friendship had been extended to Jill and her younger brother.

Those first couple of days, even Hannah would admit it was a bit weird. It had been the four of them for so long, it was strange having to build a friendship with new people. Especially ones with different accents, who had come from so far away. Jill and Miles had lived in a place called Kissimmee in Florida, which was close to Disney World. That had the four of them all green with envy, certain through their young eyes that living next to one of the best theme parks must be a dream come true.

Jill and Miles had been in the UK now for about three years, relocating with their father when he transferred jobs. Their mother had passed away when they were both still young, and they were adjusting to a new home and now life with a stepmother.

Neither sibling was keen on their stepmother, Veronica; Jill had clashed with her on several occasions, while Miles was scared half to death of her.