‘What’s wrong?’ I said when his mum dropped us off inside the playground and hurried back. The bell was ringing but we hung back in the arches under the school caretaker’s house.

‘My uncle got beaten up,’ he said. ‘He’s all bloody.’

I asked what happened and he said it was all because of his dad coming out of prison and there was a lot of trouble and they might have to move. I could feel my stomach dropping out from under me. The bell stopped and we were alone.

‘I want us to be friends,’ I said.

He looked at me with his grey eyes, that looked dark, the colour of kerbstones, and a bit frightened, and leaned his forehead on mine.

‘We’re brothers,’ he said.

I took the five pounds out from behind the skirting and tucked it in my underpants.

‘What you doing?’ Busola said, leaning round the stairs on the banister. ‘Is that where you’ve hidden it? You can’t hide it there no more.’

‘What makes you say I’m stealing?’ I said.

‘You are,’ she said.

‘So are you!’

‘You have to catch me first,’ and she hopped down some stairs. ‘No one likes you because you’re no good at it. You don’t even know what to spend it on. You can’t spend five pounds on sweets, you get sick.’

‘Then how do you know how much it is, then?’ I said.

‘Mummy told me, so I knew you did it. You’re stupid.’

‘I’m going out,’ I said.

‘Don’t get sick,’ and she jumped down the last stairs.