The Flower Power Collection - Jean Ure

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she will as the only man friend she has is rather old and I cannot see that they would ever get married. He is called Arthur and has grey hair but is very nice. He is like a granddad. Mum enjoys going to the theatre with him, and sometimes we all visit places in his car.

       You know you said that you and your sister are not identical? I have looked VERY HARD under a magnifying glass, and I don’t see how anyone could tell you apart!I hope you are not cross with me for saying this. I can quite understand that you are two different people, for instanceyour sister will not help your mum in her shop because of her posh friends. Whereas you do not mind about such things. Do the posh friends go to your school? Is it a posh sort of school?

       I hope you don’t think I am prying or being nosy. Like I said before, you can ask me ANYTHING. I will not mind!

       Bertie has just been chasing his cat nip toy. He is so sweet! He jumps in the air and claps his paws.

       I am glad you like my drawings, and I do understand what you say about your hand not doing what you want it to. It is the same with me and singing. I can hear all the notes as clear as can be in my head but then when I open my mouth they just come out all wrong. Mum says I sound like a lovesick hen! She has to put her hands over her ears.

       Here is a game. Close your eyes and do a scribble on a piece of paper, then send it to me and I will make a picture of it. Like this:

       This is GENUINE. I closed my eyes and did the scribble, then I traced it (so you could see what it looked like) and then I made the picture. I play this game all the time, but it would be ever so much more fun to play it with someone else. It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw! Anyone can play the scribble game.

       I’ll do one for you, if you like.

       You don’t have to make a picture if you don’t want to! But if you do then I’ll make one as well and we can compare them. It will be interesting to see what different things we make! But only if you want to. I’m going to trace the scribble right now.

       I’ve traced it. Now I’m going to put this letter in an envelope and tomorrow on her way to work Mum will post it. Write soon!

       Luv and kisses

       From

       Katie

       PS I have drawn a maze for you! See if you can find your way in.

       PPS Thank you for your photo of Horatio. He is very handsome! I am going to put him in a frame next to my ones of Bella and Bertie.

      After I’d read Katie’s letter I was glad that I’d told her about Francine’s party. Even if I hadn’t been there! I mean, I hadn’t actually told a lie. Not straight out. But Katie was starting to sound a whole lot more cool than I’d thought she was going to be. Nobody who thought it would be fun to party nonstop would want to go on writing to a nerdy stay-at-home, which is what Lily calls me. (When she’s not calling me a twonk, or a party pooper.) I really wanted Katie to go on writing! I loved the jokes that she told and the little drawings that she did and the way she played with her cats and the games that she invented. Surely it wouldn’t matter if I just pretended once or twice? It wasn’t like we were going to be meeting-up-and-getting-together sort of friends. Just pen pals!

      I spent ages trying to turn her scribble into a picture. I think perhaps I cheated as I made lots of copies on Dad’s photocopier so’s I could have lots of goes. I didn’t want her to think I was completely useless. Although I am! Lily can draw quite well. It is so unfair because she doesn’t even enjoy it, particularly. She would rather do graphics on the computer. On the other hand she is not much good at writing. She can’t spell for toffee and her essays are only ever about one page long, and that is using REALLY BIG TYPE. Mine are sometimes five pages, or even six! Mrs Frost writes little notes at the end like “Very inventive use of language!” or “You have a good imagination, Violet.” She has never said that about Lily!

      But Lily could have done cleverer things with Katie’s scribble. If she could be bothered, which most likely she wouldn’t. This is the best that I could do:

      A sort of… thing. But I did the maze all right!

      I showed Katie’s drawing of Bertie playing with his cat nip toy to Mum. I didn’t show her the letter because by now things had started to become a bit private, but I wanted her to see Bertie.

      “He’s so cute,” I said, “isn’t he?”

      “Like a little stripy tiger,” said Mum. “She’s very good at drawing, isn’t she?”

      “Yes, and she just loves Bella and Bertie,” I said. “She plays with them all the time. Specially Bertie. He’s really mischievous!”

      “Like Horatio used to be,” said Mum.

      I said that I couldn’t remember Horatio ever playing, but Mum said that was because he was two years old when I was born.

      “Cats don’t stay kittenish very long.”

      “I suppose,” I said, trying to sound casual, “we couldn’t have one, could we?”

      “One what?” said Mum.

      I said, “A kitten!”

      Mum laughed. “Is that what all this has been leading up to?”

      “Mum! No!” I said. I put on this very hurt and surprised expression. “I just suddenly thought it would be fun.”

      “Just suddenly?” said Mum.

      “Well… fairly suddenly.” Like immediately after reading Katie’s letter! “Mum, please!” I said. “Couldn’t we?”

      Sometimes, if I really beg and plead, I can get round Mum. Lily says I am a right creep. She says I play at being little shrinky winky Violet and Mummy’s girly. Lily would rather rant and roar and yell that Mum is ruining her life. Sometimes Mum gives in, just for the sake of peace and quiet, like sometimes she gives in to me because I have asked nicely. Sometimes! Not always. This was one of those times when she didn’t.

      She said that Horatio was too old to cope with a kitten. It wouldn’t be fair on him.

      “Why don’t you ask Katie if you can go over and play with hers?”

      “Mum, we’re pen pals,” I said.

      “So? That’s no reason you shouldn’t get to meet each other!”

      I said, “But then we wouldn’t be pen pals.”

      “Of course you would!” said Mum. “There’s nothing to stop you being both.”

      I didn’t want to be both! I just wanted to be pen pals. I almost began to wish that I’d never told Mum about Katie. I only did it ‘cos I thought it would please her. Now she was going to start nagging at me to do something I didn’t want to do. She was going to ruin everything!

      “All right, all right,” said Mum. “Calm down! No one’s going to force you.”

      “I just want to write letters,” I said.

      Mum said in that case, writing letters was all I need do.

      “Whatever makes you happy.”

      And then she hugged me and said, “Cheer up! No one’s having a go at you!”

      I

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