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I tensed up like I had stomach-ache, bending forward so that A Little Princess dug into my chest uncomfortably. So Rhona hadn’t singled me out. She hadn’t invited me to her party because she particularly liked me. She’d invited everyone. Maybe she didn’t like me at all, but she was kind and didn’t want to invite every other girl in the class, leaving me out altogether.

  I waited for Louise and Poppy to stop their silly twitterings in the toilets. When they went I let myself have a two-minute howl. I timed myself by my watch, clamping my hand over my mouth and pinching my nose to make myself stop. I mopped myself dry with toilet paper but it was the shiny scratchy sort and it made my eyes redder than ever.

  ‘Look at Ugly-Wugly! She’s been crying! Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, little baby,’ said Skye, as we went back into the classroom for afternoon school.

  ‘Are you OK, Beauty?’ said Rhona, looking concerned.

  ‘Yes, I’m fine, thank you,’ I said. I tried to say it in an airy confident way but my voice was still a bit wobbly and I gave a loud hiccup at the end of my sentence.

  ‘Oh dear, she’s got the burps now,’ said Skye, spluttering. ‘Someone thump Baby Ugly on the back, quick.’

  ‘Watch out or I’ll give you a thump,’ I said fiercely and I gave her a shove right in the chest.

  It wasn’t a particularly hard shove but she wasn’t expecting it. She staggered, arms flailing, shrieking like a siren.

  ‘For goodness’ sake, Skye, stop making that dreadful noise!’ said Miss Woodhead.

  ‘I’m in pain, Miss Woodhead. Beauty Cookson punched me here and it hurts,’ said Skye, hands clutching her front dramatically.

  ‘Beauty punched you?’ said Miss Woodhead, raising her eyebrows.

  ‘Yes, she did, Miss Woodhead. I was watching,’ said Arabella.

  ‘I saw her too. Beauty just attacked poor Skye for no reason at all,’ said Emily.

  ‘I expect she had reason enough, but that’s still no excuse for fighting, Beauty! I’m not having my girls brawling like guttersnipes. I don’t particularly care for tell-tales either. Now sit down and settle down, all of you, before I get really cross. I was thinking of having a special story-time this afternoon but I’m not sure you’re in the right mood. I think we’d better have a spelling test instead.’

  Everyone groaned and glared at me, as if it was all my fault. They groaned even louder when we marked our spellings at the end of the lesson and I got twenty out of twenty.

  I hurtled out of school when the bell went. Mum was waiting for me. She was wearing jeans and a pink T-shirt with a fairy on it. She’d tied her hair into two cute plaits secured with pink bobbles. She looked about fourteen, so much younger and prettier than any of the other mums.

  ‘Hi, Mum,’ I said happily, linking arms with her.

  Way back in the playground I heard Skye and Arabella and Emily calling after me. I didn’t look round. Mum did though.

  ‘Is that you they’re calling?’ she asked.

  I shrugged.

  ‘What is it they’re saying?’

  ‘Just something stupid. They’re stupid. Come on, Mum, let’s get home quick. I don’t want to miss my programme.’

  ‘OK, OK. Sam is calling to you, is he?’

  ‘You bet he is.’

  We made it home in heaps of time. Mum gave me a glass of milk and a banana sandwich. I was starving as I’d had very little breakfast and I’d bolted my lunch. I sipped and munched as Sam waved at me and Lily nibbled her carrot.

  ‘Who do we want to see?’ sang the children.

  ‘Sam and Lily in the Rabbit Hutch,’ I sang, through a mouthful of milky banana.

  ‘Hello there,’ said Sam, smiling straight at me. ‘How are you doing?’

  ‘So so, Sam,’ I said.

  He gave me an understanding nod.

  ‘Lily here is getting very excited,’ he said, cuddling her.

  Lily lolled sleepily against Sam’s chest, her blue eyes dreamy.

  ‘She doesn’t look very excited, Sam,’ I said.

  Sam gave me a little wink. We had to keep up the pretence for all the little kids watching the programme.

  ‘Guess how old Lily is,’ said Sam. ‘Go on, have a little think. How old are you?’

  ‘I’m a bit embarrassed to tell you, Sam. I think I’m heaps older than most of your viewers,’ I said.

  ‘Well, Lily’s a bit younger than you,’ said Sam. ‘She’s very nearly one year old. She’s very mature for a nearly one-year-old, isn’t she?’ He tickled her gently under her chin. ‘You can toddle out into the garden and fix yourself a lovely veggie tea and you can tuck yourself up in bed and get yourself up in the morning and give yourself a good wash. Could you do that when you were nearly one?’

  ‘Maybe I had a stab at it,’ I said, giggling.

  ‘I thought I’d throw a little birthday party for our Lily. Do you think she’d like that?’

  ‘I think she might like a party,’ I said. ‘But not with heaps and heaps of people.’

  Sam nodded. ‘I don’t think Lily wants a big party with lots and lots of friends. She’s a bit shy sometimes. I think we’ll give her a little party. Just Lily and me – and you too, of course. You can come, can’t you?’

  ‘Of course I can come! Oh, Sam, I wish you could come to my birthday party. Just you and me and Lily. And Mum. And maybe Rhona. She’s asked me to her birthday party but I’m not sure I want to go. Skye will be there. She’s Rhona’s best friend and my worst-ever enemy. She’s so horrible. I don’t know why Rhona wants to be her friend.’

  ‘Maybe Rhona will get fed up with Skye and make friends with you?’ said Sam.

  ‘Oh, I wish! But it’s never going to happen,’ I said, sighing.

  ‘You never know,’ said Sam. ‘But remember, Lily and I are still your best friends.’

  ‘I’ll always remember that,’ I said.

  Same gave me a special secret smile, and then he raised his voice, talking to everyone else.

  ‘What do you think I should get Lily for a birthday present? Have you got any good ideas? How about painting me a picture of an ideal present for our birthday bunny? Send it to Sam at the Rabbit Hutch, OK? Bye then.’

  I waved goodbye and then I went upstairs and drew a very special picture of Lily with a little paper crown perched on her head and a badge tied round one floppy ear. I drew her a birthday carrot cake with real baby carrots deco- rating the icing on top. I drew one big candle in the middle.

  Then I got a new piece of paper and drew my own birthday cake. I’d seen exactly the one I wanted, with white icing and pink rosebuds. I loved proper birthday cake. I loved the soft sponge and the jam and the buttercream and I especially loved the sweet icing.

  I looked at my paper birthday cake and then pretended to blow out my candles and make a wish.

  Five

  I went to Lily’s birthday party of course – along with a million other little kids, all of us singing Happy Birthday to You into our television sets. Lily looked up and blinked her big blue eyes especially at me. Sam was wearing a fantastic new T-shirt in her honour, dark green with little white Lily-type rabbits running across his chest. Lily seemed very appreciative, cheekily poking out her little pink tongue at Sam.

  ‘She likes my green T-shirt, doesn’t she? Maybe she thinks it’s a great big cabbage!’

  Sam gave Lily real cabbage leaves for her tea and, guess what, a carrot cake with a candle, almost exactly the same as the one I’d drawn!

  ‘You gave me the idea, Beauty,’ Sam whispered. ‘Lily loves her cake, though I’m not sure she’s up to blowing out her candle. Will you help her? One, two, three – blow!’

  I blew, Sam blew, children all over Britain blew – and Lily’s candle went out.

  ‘There! Now Lily has to make her special birthday wish. She’d like to share her birthday wish with you, Beauty. Close your eyes and wish hard.’

  I closed my eyes and wished: I wish I could really meet you and Lily, Sam!

  Sam gave Lily a cosy new bed for her