Jack got up early to take a detour to Reese’s house before school.

It was more a fact-finding mission than anything else. Jack had almost convinced himself he’d missed some kind of secret initiation ceremony into the world of pubes. Maybe it was something as simple as knowing which brand of undies to wear to bed. Maybe you weren’t supposed to wear undies at all. Or maybe it was a chicken-and-egg situation, and he wasn’t trying hard enough with the whole masturbation thing.

Yes, that’s a great idea, thought Jack. I’m sure Reese would not be at all fazed if I ask him for a one-on-one MASTURBATION tutorial. (‘Dude,’ Jack imagined him saying, ‘you should not need to use two hands.’)

Obviously he wouldn’t take it that far. Just a few well-placed questions, and a bit of low-key, information-based male bonding. And maybe, if it happened to come up in conversation, he could subtly seek Reese’s reassurance that he was still part of the gang and not just a pathetic hanger-on.

The spring breeze made the flowering bushes on the nature strip sway like hula dancers as Jack turned the corner into Peppertree Drive. He was only a few steps down the road when he saw Reese vault one-handed over the low gate at the end of his driveway onto the footpath.

Jack checked his watch. 8.15 a.m. Kind of early to be leaving for school, he thought.

One of Reese’s earbuds had popped out in the jump over the gate. Jack went to call out, hoping to get Reese’s attention before he put the earbud back in, when he noticed someone waving at Reese from the other side of the street.

It was Darylyn.

Without knowing exactly why, Jack instinctively slunk back the way he’d come. Darylyn hadn’t seen him yet. In fact, as she and Reese stared at each other across the street, they seemed to be suspended in a world of their own.

Jack ducked back behind the wonky wooden fence that ran alongside the house on the corner of the street. He watched as Darylyn checked for traffic. It was almost like they were doing a drugs drop-off or something.

Darylyn crossed the street to where Reese was waiting for her, holding out the spare earbud. And Darylyn smiled. Jack couldn’t believe it. It was basically like looking at a completely different person. Then this quasi-imposter version of Darylyn let herself be joined to Reese via earbud cable, and together they walked to school.

Jack crept out from behind the fence. It wasn’t a drugs drop-off, he realised grimly. What it looks like, thought Jack, is a lovey-dovey drop-in.

He took a few steps after his friends, then saw Reese reach for Darylyn’s hand.

Then Darylyn reached for Reese’s hand. Their hands touched, and the two of them leant in towards each other –

And then, at the last moment, Reese stopped, as if he’d sensed something. He turned to look over his shoulder …

And that was when Jack – quick-thinking, problem-solving, reality-TV-show contestant Jack Sprigley – made the split-second decision to dive into a lavender bush.