Mr Schmidt had made sure everyone had plenty to eat and drink and even organized for extra blankets and coats when the pipes burst and the heating broke down completely.

That was Mr Schmidt all over: kind; generous; thoughtful.

‘I wonder what this is about,’ Leo said to Max as the boys shuffled into the hall with the rest of their class. Since Max’s father had banned him from spending time with Leo, school was the only place they got to see each other. Max still hadn’t told Leo the whole story. He’d just said his father had become more protective in recent months and didn’t like him going out to play so much. Leo had never questioned him. Max assumed Leo had taken him at his word.

Since Elsa had left, things didn’t feel the same anyway. Even if the boys could meet in the park, they’d only be conscious of the gap where Elsa should have been. And her empty seat between them at school had hurt Max’s heart every time he saw it till the teachers finally removed it and shuffled the desks around.

But at least they could still see each other at school. Max’s father couldn’t stop them doing that.

‘No idea,’ Max replied now. ‘Hopefully something good!’

‘It’s bound to be if it’s Mr Schmidt that’s called us in,’ Leo said, pointing to the headmaster at the front of the hall.

‘True.’

They had all gathered in the hall now and the teachers were looking around, putting their fingers on their lips and saying, ‘Shush!’

A couple of boys who were still talking got separated by the teachers. Max closed his mouth tightly and didn’t say a word. He didn’t want to run the risk of being moved away from Leo.

Finally, the hall was silent. Mr Schmidt craned his neck to look around, as if he were searching for something in particular. A couple of times, he did a quick nod of his head. Then he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and quickly scanned it before clearing his throat. And then, in his big, booming headmaster’s voice, he went straight to the point.

‘If you hear your name, please stand.’

Max glanced at Leo. Leo raised his eyebrows in a questioning way. It wasn’t like Mr Schmidt to be so abrupt.

‘Heinz Bergman.’

Everyone looked around to see who was being asked to stand. A young kid a few rows behind Max and Leo stood up.

‘Samuel Adler.’

Sam Adler was in their year! Leo and Max exchanged another look. What was going on? Leo shrugged and then both boys turned back to Mr Schmidt as Sam Adler stood up.

‘Melanie Kronberger.’

One of the older girls stood up.