My Sister Jodie Read online

  Mum raised her eyebrows and handed round toffee apples, sniffing. Dan tried to share his with his man, holding the apple precariously with his false monkey hand. Zeph barged into him and Dan dropped his toffee apple. It rolled stickily across the floor. Dan went to pick it up.

  ‘No, don’t, Dan, it’s all gritty and fluffy now. Here, have mine,’ said Harley.

  Dan took his toffee apple, barely pausing to say thank you. Then he chased after Jodie, leaving poor Harley standing there.

  I went up to him. ‘Look, you have my toffee apple.

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  I don’t really like them that much,’ I said.

  ‘No, you eat it, Pearl. I’m fine,’ said Harley.

  ‘You don’t sound fine,’ I said.

  ‘Well, I’ve never been top of the pops when it comes to popularity, but I did feel I was going OK if I could count on you and little Dan. Now Dan can’t be bothered with me and you stalk off like I’m a bad smell. Aren’t we friends any more?’

  ‘Oh, Harley, don’t. Of course we’re friends. You know I just can’t stand it when you criticize Jodie.’

  ‘But I was only—’

  ‘I know. I’m just a bit twitchy about her, that’s all.’

  ‘So’s everyone,’ said Harley. ‘Jodie has to be the centre of attention. It’s as if she’s got a neon sign flashing on and off, saying, Look at me! Look at me! ’

  ‘You’re criticizing her again.’

  ‘No, I’m not, I’m making a purely objective statement.’

  ‘And I think you’re a weeny bit jealous that Jodie’s so good with the little ones. That’s not criticizing, it’s a – what was it? – a purely objective statement.’

  ‘I’m not the slightest bit jealous. I don’t want them all trailing after me all the time, it’s incredibly tedious. I’m sure there’s going to be trouble getting them all to sleep tonight because they’re all so wired up and over-excited but that’s not my problem. Jodie’s the girl who reads them their bedtime stories now. Let her try to settle them all down.’

  Jodie seemed willing enough. Dan started crying because his second toffee apple fell on the floor and Sakura started rubbing her eyes and Zeph kept 357

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  bumping into everyone deliberately. Undie clapped her hands and announced it was Time for Bed. No one took any notice until Jodie put her finger to her purple lips and made all the little ones stand as still as statues.

  Jodie nodded at Undie as if to say, See!

  ‘Now listen, you lot, let’s hurry back to your houses, and if you’re very good, I’ll tell you all a special Halloween story when you’re in bed,’ she announced.

  ‘ What Halloween story?’ I asked anxiously.

  ‘Oh, we’ll make one up,’ she said. ‘You come too, Pearl. You’re my little sister witch.’

  ‘Don’t make it too scary for them, Jodie,’ I said.

  ‘You always used to frighten me. Well, you still do.’

  ‘Yeah, but you’re a little wuss, dead sensitive. The littlies will just think it a laugh if I tell them a ghost story. Look at the way Zeph was kicking Undie’s head around. Come on, let’s gather them up.’

  I’d sooner have stayed with Harley or Harriet but I helped round up all the younger children and walked them in a crocodile up the dark pathway.

  Mr Wilberforce led the way, swinging an old-fashioned lantern, and Undie sloped along behind, her sheet wrapped round her neck. I tried to make conversation with her but she answered in mono-syllables. She sniffed when she looked in Jodie’s direction.

  Mr Wilberforce was obviously still thrilled with Jodie, clapping her on the back and kidding her he ought to put her on the staff payroll. She skipped along beside him, her weird teeth flashing in the lantern light. Mr Wilberforce went past his 358

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  bungalow so that he could light the little troupe of children safely to the girls’ and boys’ houses.

  Undie cleared off to her own room the moment he’d gone, deciding to let Jodie and me get on with it. All the children were desperately tired now, whining and yawning and rubbing their eyes.

  ‘Tell you what, Pearl, you get the girls into their pyjamas and tell them a Halloween story, OK?’

  ‘No, I can’t!’

  ‘Oh come on, you can make up just as good stories as me. Better! ’

  ‘Yes, but that’s just for us,’ I said.

  ‘Go on. Be a sweet sister witch,’ said Jodie, starting to herd the boys into their house. ‘Make up any old thing. Just get them settled.’

  Sakura slipped her hand into mine. ‘Are you going to tell us a story, Pearl?’ she said. ‘Goody goody!’

  So I went into the girls’ house and supervised all ten little girls as they got into their pyjamas and cleaned their teeth and had a last wee. Then they all climbed into their little red beds and looked at me expectantly.

  I sat down on Sakura’s bed and started telling a story about a little girl called Cherry Blossom who grew pumpkins in her garden for Halloween.

  ‘Is it going to get very scary?’ Sakura whispered.

  ‘No, don’t worry, my stories aren’t scary at all,’ I said.

  Sakura relaxed, stretching out her legs as I told her how Cherry Blossom watered and fed her ten pumpkins every day. Her feet wriggled against me like little puppies under the blanket.

  ‘Then at Halloween Cherry Blossom went down 359

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  her garden to her pumpkin patch, ready to pick her ten fine pumpkins. They had grown absolutely huge, practically bursting out of their bright orange skin. Cherry Blossom thought it a pity to pick them but she reached out her hands nevertheless. And then the first pumpkin opened up with a loud pop’

  – I made an explosive popping noise and each little girl tried hard to copy me – ‘and out flew . . .’ I paused.

  ‘It’s not a ghost, is it?’ said Sakura. ‘Please don’t let it be a ghost.’

  ‘No, no ghosts, I promise. This is something small, with wings.’

  ‘It’s a bat!’

  ‘No, a bee!’

  ‘A butterfly?’

  ‘It was a fairy,’ I said. ‘A little plump pumpkin fairy with a bright orange fairy frock and little green satin ballet slippers and sparkly green wings. She spread her lovely little wings and flew round Cherry Blossom’s head. “I am your very own pumpkin fairy and I will grant you a special Halloween wish,” she whispered.’

  If Jodie had been listening, she’d have made vomit noises at this stage but all my little girls went, ‘Aaah!’

  ‘So what do you think Cherry Blossom wished for, Sakura?’ I asked.

  ‘I think . . . I think she wished to see her daddy,’

  she said, wriggling.

  ‘OK, so the pumpkin fairy puffed up her cheeks and blew out a stream of magic fairy dust, like this . . .’ I blew, and all the little girls blew too.

  ‘And Cherry Blossom’s daddy came running 360

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  down the garden and he picked her up in his arms and gave her a big cuddle.’

  ‘And he promised to stay with her for ever and every,’ said Sakura.

  I made nine more fairies pop out of a pumpkin so that every little girl could have their own wish. I was sick to death of the pumpkin-patch fairies by this time.

  As soon as the tenth wish was chosen, I said firmly, ‘Now I wish that you all go to sleep straight away like good little girls.’

  Astonishingly, they all slid down under their duvets, closing their eyes. Sakura asked me to kiss her goodnight, and then I had to go from bed to bed, tucking each little girl up properly. I suddenly felt as fond of them as if they were all my little sisters.

  They liked me. Maybe they liked me almost as much as Jodie!

  I th