ABSTRACT
Sophie Brysdon’s had her hair cut. I preferred it long. I like mine long, but Mum says I’ll catch nits if I don’t have it tied back. Our Joshua didn’t have any hair left – not even eyelashes. If he’d have had nits they’d have had nowhere to hide. But I don’t think nits like hospitals anyway. Our Joshua was in Mrs Morton’s class, in the Juniors. I saw Mrs Morton in the playground this morning. I couldn’t tell if she was cross with me – or cross with our Joshua because he won’t be coming back to school after all. She just had a funny look on her face. Sophie Brysdon keeps scratching her neck. I bet she’s cold without her hair there. Or perhaps the nits were frightened by the scissors and they’re still running away. Eeeurgh! Miss Copperfield will be listening to me read soon, but I know there’s new words in this book and ‘sound it out’ just doesn’t work when there’s too many letters. Our Joshua sometimes told me the new words at breakfast. Sometimes he was mean at breakfast though and pretended the Weetabix was all gone, so I’d have to have eggs. I hate eggs. But he always found the Weetabix again if I got really upset … It was Easter when Joshua stopped coming to school. I was in Mrs Johnson’s class then … We did autumn pictures with real leaves yesterday. Mrs Pemberton puts our pictures on the wall – but only when they’re very good. My picture of Joshua when he was dead wasn’t good enough. Mrs Pemberton said it looked like someone asleep and when I said it was Joshua she looked so sad I knew it was a rubbish picture. Sophie Brysdon’s finished reading to Miss Copperfield now. My turn soon … Oh. My throat hurts and my chin feels wobbly again. If I blink really fast it stops. Bethany Price called me a cry-baby yesterday. She said her Nana died ages before Joshua and it’s not sad at all because now she’s a star in the sky and she looks after Bethany all the time. I know that’s rubbish because Joshua told me about stars. And anyway, it is more sadder when your big brother dies than when your Nana dies because your big brother lives in your house all the time and has a room and lots of things – but you only see your Nana sometimes. Actually, most of the time I just pretend Josh is at home being poorly – and that’s why there’s just me coming to school. Like when I was in Mrs Johnson’s class last year. Blink, Lizzie, blink.. Mummy and Dad are always tired and there’s no one to play with anymore. My throat hurts. My tummy hurts too. Maybe I’ll be ill like Josh. I don’t care. I don’t care even if I die. It must be easier than living. Oh no, big splodgy tear on my paper. Hope Bethany Price can’t see.
