For a few moments as the question hung in the air Summer was afraid she’d made a mistake. This certainly could have been Dick, but it also could easily have not been him as well. Puberty had changed him a lot. But then what if it was him and he didn’t recognise her? That thought was almost as scary as if she’d made a mistake and she was starting to seriously question her decision to come over here. However when he stood up and hugged her suddenly, all those feelings of doubt and worry seemed to vanish and she hugged him back gently, not wanting to seem too relieved.

She smiled gratefully at him as he asked his friends to move and she sat opposite to him. She quickly nodded to dismiss any fears he may have. “Everything’s fine. I just thought it would be a good idea to finish off school without the distractions of performing so I can really ‘apply myself’.” The way she said the last words hinted that it was more someone else’s idea over her own. She then sighed softly, letting herself relax a little more. “You have no idea how good it is to see you again.” She wanted to say more, about how the circus missed him and his family but she knew it was a topic she shouldn’t bring up.

No one wanted to be reminded of the deaths of their parents. “I was worried that I was going to spend the entire year sitting on my own.” She didn’t want to admit her true feelings about the place, that it was big and scary for fear of looking stupid. These people probably wouldn’t understand. But if they were Dick’s friends then Summer knew they must be nice people, it was still a little intimidating. “But what about you? What have you been doing all these years?” She eventually asked, curious to know how her friend had spent civilian life.