It wasn’t going well. So I did the next best thing – I put my hand up to ask for the loo. They ignored me, I was already invisible.

‘God moves in mysterious ways ... and so does the devil.’

Holding my arm up in the air, I watched as they tried to drag us down into Hell to meet him, and dangle us there, Here you are – he’s burning – what do you want? Do you want to end up with him, or do you want to come back with us?

He’d always be hanging about afterwards anyway, in case you changed your mind. Only there wasn’t much difference between him and the nuns. The devil could be nice to you, and they could be nasty.

‘I want the toilet, miss.’

‘Sister!’ she hissed. ‘See you wash your hands with soap.’

The last door on the left of the corridor was further than the middle on the right where the entrance was. I hung about, looking out the glass doors on to the brick wall in bright sunlight, sounds of traffic echoing down the passageway from the street. There was the sound of a flush and the toilet door opened. The caretaker came out doing up his belt, saw me and frowned. A bald Irish man burst in through the entrance, banging the doors and shouting, ‘Where’s the priest? Where’s the fuckin’ priest!’

I ducked and bolted, not breathing till I reached the street.

‘How was catechism?’

‘I’ve got too much homework, Mum.’

She looked at me and sighed. I looked to my dad.

‘They can choose when they’re older,’ he said, doing that burrowing thing with his thumb in his ear that meant he couldn’t listen to any more of this.

I settled in to watch the telly, but my mum picked out some coins from her purse and folded them into my hand, closing my fingers into a good grip.

‘This is to put in the box for the collection next week,’ she said. ‘God gives everyone something in this life. He gave me my children and I want them to know Him.’

My dad stood up, shaking his ear with his thumb, and left the room.

‘Don’t mind him,’ my mum said. ‘He’s a heathen.’

‘What you doing?’ Connor shouted across the road.

It was Saturday morning, I was hanging back at the bus stop instead of going over to the church. Manus came out the sweet shop behind me and gave me a shove in the back, ‘You’re going to church,’ he said.

‘No, I’m not,’ I said. ‘Why aren’t you?’

‘We’re going to Saturday morning pictures.’

‘Come on!’ Connor shouted, walking off on the other side of the road.

‘I haven’t got any money,’ I said.

Manus looked at me like I was stupid and shook his head. ‘Jump!’ he said.

‘What?’

‘Jump!’