Carrie side-eyes me and I smirk again. That pair are going to have some interesting discussions back in their cabin tonight. ‘Right. I’ll go. Never have I ever … bullied someone at school.’

Jared and Leia both let out sighs of relief. Of course they haven’t. I turn to Carrie, ‘Bugger, I’m going to have to drink and then pick another question now, aren’t I?’

She slowly shakes her head, then takes a sip. ‘It was a long time ago. I’m not proud of it. We all did it.’ She takes another sip. ‘Apparently he’s not a very nice person now, but that doesn’t mean it was OK.’

The table falls silent. Even the barmaid, who has been chattering quietly to a man perched on a bar stool, stops talking and glances over. I don’t think she has heard us, but she has sensed the atmosphere. There’s nothing but the sound of the train hurtling along the tracks. Badum. Badum.

Leia lets out a nervous giggle. ‘Oh come on, we all did stupid things when we were kids, right? I know I did.’

I don’t believe her, but I appreciate her attempt to lighten the mood.

‘Let’s all drink,’ Jared chimes in. ‘Because we were all little buggers once upon a time.’

I lean in closer to Carrie, lay a hand on her knee and give it a little squeeze. She jumps, knocking her knee against the table, and all the glasses jilt and roll and we all grab them, and the tension is gone.

‘Fucksake,’ she mutters. She holds up her glass. ‘Cheers. Down the hatch.’

We all drain our drinks, and Jared refills them, and we carry on – playing more fun questions for a while. Never have I ever … pissed behind a bin; told someone a lie about their new haircut; borrowed someone’s something and lost it; given someone a fake phone number; cheated in an exam.

The day fades to dusk, and we’re on the second bottle, when the questions take a darker turn once more.

‘My turn,’ Leia slurs. ‘Never have I ever … had sex with someone of the same gender…’

Carrie snorts. ‘Hang on – that means your threesome was with two blokes? Did they get it on with each other, or did they both just do you?

Leia shakes her head and laughs. ‘I told you. That was just a joke.’

‘Yeah, right,’ I mutter. I turn to Carrie. ‘I’m not really sure if I should be drinking right now or not … I’ll need to follow your lead.’

‘Wait, what … you two?’ Jared perks up at my hinted confession, even though I haven’t drunk anything yet. Why do men do this? What happened between Carrie and me was for us. Not for someone else’s entertainment.

Leia looks pale, and I suspect there is a lot she’s done that Jared knows nothing about.