The one advantage to dropping a bombshell at the end of the school year is that you don’t have to face the consequences until the following year.

I was pleased by that nearly six weeks’ break.

Christmas was fun once I accepted I wasn’t going to find Grandad sitting in front of the television after lunch, snoring and breaking wind. Andrew wasn’t around either because his family goes to Queensland every year to spend time with rellies, but he texted me often, mainly, I suspect, to annoy me with his spelling and punctuation. I have this sneaking feeling that when he texts anyone else, he writes normal stuff. But with me, he’s getting worse. I mean, meri krissmuss? Come on, Andrew. That’s just desperate.

So we stayed at home, though on Boxing Day we drove to the Old Farts’ Palace to take some presents and a huge bowl of trifle that is Mum’s specialty. Agnes gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear: ‘So what do you think, Rob? Who’s going to die next? My money’s on Alf over there.’

I can’t tell you how much I loved that.

Most of the time I took Trixie for long, rambling walks or spent hours in my bedroom, writing. Year Nine was a scary prospect when I thought about it, so I tried not to think about it. The writing helped. So did Trixie.

I’d avoided the park where Destry walked her dog, possibly because I wasn’t sure how she’d react the next time she saw me. But then I remembered Pop’s last challenge. Stop hiding. Be proud of who you are. What was the point of that whole prize-giving stunt if I tried to avoid people?

So I found myself on a bench in the park at about two-thirty on a Monday afternoon. It was a very hot day and the weather had even calmed Trixie down a little; she’d walked at my side like a proper dog rather than something demented or possibly demonic. Then again, there weren’t many people or dogs around, so that helped. In this kind of weather, the temptation was to stay at home or find an ocean to swim in. I would like it placed on record that I did not go to the park at the time when Destry normally walked her hound.

It didn’t matter, because I’d only sat there for ten minutes when she turned a corner, attached to something that could have doubled for Rudolph in an emergency, if you were prepared to overlook the absence of a red nose. And antlers. One minute later, Destry was sitting at my side, the dog perched next to her like a muscly mountain. Trixie tried a steely gaze, a small yelp, and then thought better of it and fell asleep.

‘Merry Christmas, Rob,’ said Destry.

‘You too,’ I replied. ‘What did the big fat guy in red bring you?’

Quite a bit, it turned out. We exchanged tales of Christmas gifts, dinners and embarrassing family encounters. For all that, I couldn’t help but think we were avoiding the one subject on our minds. Or at least the one subject on my mind.

‘I’m so sorry about your grandfather,’ she said. Had I really not spoken to her since Pop’s death? Apparently not. ‘He seemed like a real … character.’

‘Character is one way of putting it,’ I said. ‘Some people would’ve put it another way.’

‘Was it right what he said?’

‘About what?’

‘That you were in love with me?’

Ah. Good old Grandad. Little more than a bag of ashes but still capable of embarrassing me. I thought. A good number of possible replies ran through my head.

‘Yes,’ I said.

‘And do you still love me?’

This was trickier. I’m thirteen years old and this is the first time I’ve been in love, I thought. I’ve got nothing else to compare it to. Maybe it feels like love but it’s actually a rare form of indigestion. Anyway, my feelings have changed. Or have they? Is it simply that so many things have happened that I can’t maintain that level of intensity towards her? Hell. I had no idea.

‘Maybe,’ I said.

We sat in silence for a minute or two.

‘Loved the prize-giving ceremony,’ she said finally. ‘You stole the show.’

‘Thanks,’ I said. There was another pause. ‘Did you know I was trans before that?’ I added. I had to ask, even though I had no idea if the answer was going to be of the slightest importance.

‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t a closely guarded secret, you know. In any school, if one kid knows, everyone knows. That’s just the way it is.’

I nodded. I should have thought about that, because it’s so obviously true. Gossip makes the school world go around. I lifted up my head to say just this but the words never arrived.

Destry stopped them. By kissing me.