‘A hare,’ Madison says. ‘You can just see the tips of his ears.’
Keanu picks up a lump of chalk from the path and throws it in the direction of the hare, which immediately bolts, streaking through the long grass.
Madison turns to him. ‘And what was the point of that, exactly?’
‘He can’t help it,’ Jess says. ‘He’s literally a moron.’
In answer, Keanu jumps up and down, barking like a dog. Jess kicks furiously at his shins, but he bounces out of reach.
Eve glances enquiringly at Mikey.
‘Jess’s father’s been banned from keeping dogs for five years,’ Mikey murmurs.
‘Why?’
‘Organising fights.’
‘Oh my God.’
‘Yeah. It’s mental, isn’t it?’
‘So did you see the hare?’ Eve asks.
‘Yes. It was beautiful.’
‘And real?’
‘It did seem real,’ Mikey admits. ‘But I guess we’ll never know.’
‘Why don’t you lead for a bit?’ Madison says, handing Keanu the compass.
Keanu stares blankly at it, turning it over in his hands.
‘Do you remember how to use this?’
Jess sneers. ‘No fuckin’ chance.’
‘Keanu?’ Madison asks, but he doesn’t reply.
‘OK, Jess, you’re obviously the expert,’ Madison says. ‘Show us how you find north.’
But Keanu won’t hand over the compass. Instead, he tightens his fist around it. His jaw sets, his body becomes rigid, and he starts to tremble.
‘Here we go,’ says Mikey.
Jess rounds on him. ‘Shut yourfuckingmouth, freak.’ She approaches Keanu. ‘Hey,’ she says, laying a wary hand on his forearm. ‘It’s OK. It’s me, Jess.’
He stares at her with frozen, suspicious eyes.
‘It’s OK,’ she repeats. ‘It’s me. It’s me.’ She wraps her thin arms around him. ‘Come on,’ she murmurs. ‘Let’s just keep goin’.’
He disengages, sniffs, and wipes his nose on the back of his hand. ‘You’re still fuckin’ ugly,’ he mutters.
‘And you’re God’s gift, I s’pose? Gimme that compass.’
Fifteen minutes later, Eve and Jack are sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree at the edge of the woods. Nearby, Madison and Jess are sitting on opposite sides of a stile. Madison is eating a cheese and piccalilli sandwich, Jess is painting her fingernails, and Keanu is chasing Mikey across a ploughed field and throwing stones and clods of earth at him.
‘They’re quite the handful,’ Eve says, snapping off a KitKat finger.