After dinner, the children headed back to Khalid and Amina’s tent. As they got closer, Leah could see a tall Egyptian man standing outside. Khalid hurried ahead and began speaking to him in Arabic. The man nodded and then gave Khalid a wave before loping off in the direction of the pyramids.

‘What’s going on?’ George asked.

‘Amar says that some of the workers are setting up a football match by the Great Sphinx,’ Khalid said excitedly. ‘He wanted to know if we would play.’

‘Absolutely!’ Mimi cried. She was carrying Bast and the cat gave a meow of protest as Mimi hopped from foot to foot. ‘I feel like I haven’t played in years!’

Khalid looked at her curiously. ‘I didn’t know girls even played football.’

‘Well, we do!’ Leah grinned.

‘But not very well,’ William butted in.

‘Hey!’ Mimi exclaimed. ‘That’s not true!’

William rolled his eyes.

Khalid led them around Khufu’s pyramid and out to a stretch of sand next to the Great Sphinx. There was a collection of Egyptian men, both young and old, already there. They were kicking a tattered brown ball between them. At either end of the pretend pitch, goals had been marked out using two shirts.

‘Are these all scholars, too?’ Leah asked Khalid as they approached.

He shook his head. ‘No, they help with the digging.’ His face darkened. ‘After all, most of those scholars are too scared to get their hands dirty.’

The men didn’t question Leah and Mimi’s presence. Instead, they were sorted into a team just like William, Khalid and all the others. George stood at the side, preferring to watch. They didn’t have a whistle, so one of the men let out a yell to signal the start of the game, and they were off.

The sand made it difficult to run fast, but Leah didn’t mind. Her heart beat joyfully in her chest as she raced up the pitch, following the ball. It felt so good to slip back into the familiar rhythm of football, and all thoughts of Amina, Travers and the lost Pharaoh’s Fortune fled her head as she charged forward, tackling a player on the other team and winning the ball. Mimi gave a celebratory yell as Leah sped towards their goal.

But there was an opposing defender blocking her path. Without thinking, Leah passed sideways to Mimi, who passed on to William. Defenders swarmed towards him and Leah took the opportunity to get free.

‘William! Over here!’ she shouted, darting towards the makeshift goal.

William’s eyes flicked up towards her. Almost without thinking, he swung his foot back and booted the ball to Leah. She caught it skilfully on the side of her foot, spinning towards the goal. She had a clear shot! She kicked the ball, hard, and held her breath as it soared through the air . . . and straight through the makeshift goal! A yell of triumph burst from her lips and then she was surrounded on all sides by her teammates, their faces glowing in celebration. As the other players filtered away, Leah realised that, much to her surprise, William was there, too. He had a wide grin on his face, but when Leah cautiously smiled back, it disappeared.

‘William—’ Leah began, but he shook his head, backing away.

‘Just a lucky shot,’ he muttered. ‘Nothing special.’

Leah frowned, ‘Come on. Why are you always like this?’

‘Like what?’ William snapped. ‘We’re not friends, Loser. Stop treating me like we are.’ And before she had a chance to say anything else, he walked away.

The match ended in a draw, with William doing everything he could to avoid Leah on the pitch. By the time the final whistle blew, her stomach was a bubbling cauldron of frustration and anger. She watched as William high-fived Khalid and then the two of them headed straight back towards the tents without even a glance in her direction. Sighing, Leah followed Mimi, trudging to where George was waiting.

‘Did you have fun?’ he asked them.

Leah grimaced. ‘Not really.’

Mimi yawned. ‘Let’s head back to the tent,’ she said. ‘I’m exhausted.’ As they’d played, the sun had sunk lower and lower in the sky. Now, it had almost disappeared, and a cool breeze ran over the dunes, ruffling the sand. Leah couldn’t help but yawn, too. It had been a long day.