It’s lunch break and we are gathered at our usual table in the school canteen, the twins running late. The menu for today consists of an uninspiring conglomerate of yellow foods.

Naddie cannot perform her juggling routine, because on Sunday she slipped on some ice and ended up at A&E for seven hours. Diagnosis: fractured dominant arm and inability to write. She seethes in a sour mood while Max cackles at her misfortune. Richie copies the sparse notes I jotted down across morning classes into her notebook. When he hands it to her, she glares at me.

‘That’s all you’ve written down? And you even got the dates wrong here! What were you doing the whole time?’

‘Naddie, it is so weird seeing you complain without big gestures,’ Max chimes in.

This kind of teasing has been following her around all day, and painted her ears a bright red, a clear sign of her repressed anger.

I shrug. ‘I was writing the Chronicles.’

‘You’re rewriting the Chronicles?’ she turns to me, instantly distracted. Max perks up too.

‘Richie and I found the original version a while back, and thought it’d be fun to turn it into a proper book.’

‘I’ve been redrawing the sketches,’ Richie says. ‘But I hate them.’

‘Why?’

‘They don’t look right. I’ll have to work on it more.’

‘I managed to get into the flow of the story while babysitting,’ I say. ‘Once Taarai falls asleep, I have a few hours to write and I get paid for it, it’s awesome.’

‘That counts as a professional writer, right?’ Max grins. ‘Naddie, you’re falling behind. Even Jess has that volunteering gig.’

Before Naddie can think of a comeback, Jess and Zach join us at the table, both their expressions mirroring the same disgust. If I remember correctly, they had English class, which would suggest a new episode in the ongoing drama with their teacher.

‘Speak of the devil,’ Max welcomes them cheerily, unfazed by their negativity.

‘Which one of us is the devil?’ Jess asks, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she inspects the cafeteria food.

‘You.’

‘That’s accurate,’ Zach says drily. She takes a big bite, chews a few times and then sticks her tongue at him to gross him out even more. It’s an old trick that never fails. He grimaces and turns to us.

‘Can someone explain to me why anyone would want to date my dear sister?’

‘She’s pretty and that activates people’s cave brains,’ Naddie offers.

‘Greg certainly seems to have a strong case of cave brain,’ Zach mutters, loud enough for us to hear.

‘His friends have one, but Greg himself is lovely,’ Jess retorts. ‘He’d be much better off hanging out with us than with them.’

‘Maybe you also have a cave brain if you think that,’ Max says, bristling.

‘Thank you!’ Zach beams at Max, happy at the agreement. Max smiles back automatically.

‘How about you go on a date with Greg before you start introducing him to family?’ Naddie tells Jess, who rolls her eyes but settles down. The conversation returns to the Chronicles until the bell shatters our flights of fancy.