The acoustics were weird out here, at the lunch tables where the playground met the edge of the football pitch and where it was only sunny enough to sit three lunchtimes a year. At least, Clyde had never noticed it before, but he assumed that was why it had just sounded like Rani had asked him out.

“Sorry, what?”

“I said we could go to the cinema some time. When the world’s not ending. If you wanted to. Maybe.” Her smile was fading fast. “Look, just forget it.”

“No, no!” She’d moved to get up from the table and he put his hand out to stop her, then jerked it back. A minute ago she’d been his mate, and now he felt weird. Plus, her dad would be lurking somewhere, scanning the grounds like the Terminator, and if he was handing out detentions for a bit of harmless mucking about in double chemistry it’d be the death penalty for boys caught laying their hands on his daughter.

Not that he’d given any thought to Rani and... hands...

“Luke’s coming over,” she said, looking miserable. “I know you tell him everything, but...”

“Don’t tell him we’re going to the cinema without him? Yeah, okay. We didn’t tell you when we sneaked into Saw IV. Pick what you want to see and we’ll meet up there, yeah? And if it’s a girls’ film you’re buying your own popcorn.”

Her smile made him feel like a total king.

Reqs: Maria/Rani, Eight/Charley/Fitz, Ten/Jackson Lake