‘We’ll see about that,’ she said, and skipped off back to her gang to watch. They were all watching. I was on my own.

I saw Ian Barrett in assembly, but he didn’t look at me, he smiled at someone behind me. I looked round to see who it was, but no one looked back. Everyone was avoiding me, they all knew I was in trouble. He was smiling because I couldn’t stop him killing me.

My brothers beat me up, but they could see in my eyes they couldn’t beat me up badly enough for the way I was going to get my own back. I was going to stamp on my glasses, I could make my nose bleed look really messy. They had to bear that in mind for when it was time to go home.

There was a new teacher in assembly. She put on some cowboy music. A creepy, gravelly voice crawled out, I was born under a wandering star ... But there was nowhere to run. She was swaying to the music. Everyone looked bored. They were waiting for Ian Barrett to kill me.

Right now, I thought, I don’t like anyone. I listened to the gravelly voice. I could feel the grit in my teeth as he punched me. I could see stars.

The bell rang. It was breaktime.

‘Aren’t you going outside?’ the teacher asked. I thought of telling her there was this boy with hard fists who was going to break my nose and bang the tears out my eyes – but she was new.

‘I’ve got a cold,’ I said.

Round one to Ian Barrett. Only I didn’t go out lunchtime. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t feeling well.

‘Let him be the best fighter in the school,’ I said out loud to the shafts of light falling from the tall windows on to the empty classroom, screams of laughter echoing up from the playground, ‘I don’t have to get beaten up.’

It wasn’t true. Ian Barrett had to beat me up. Manus and Connor were the best fighters in the school, but they’d left. The only person who ever stood up to my big brother was my other brother. No one else got a look-in. They’d knock you out so they could get on with it. One wanted to be Cassius Clay, the other was a bulldozer. When they couldn’t find each other, they found me. I couldn’t always see it coming, it would just spill over. But they never expected me to take it personally, even the time I got my tooth knocked out. ‘What you crying for?’ ‘Stop snivelling!’ It wasn’t about me, it was about them. It was about fighting, and being the best fighter in the school.