The Flower Power Collection

PS You never said how many miles you walked but here is a cheque for the cats.

Dear Violet,

I am sorry I have not written sooner. I read “Betsy Burp” at once and it is brilliant! I nearly died laughing, and so did Mum. We think you are so clever to be able to write like that. I will do some drawings as soon as I can but I may not be able to do them for a little while. But I will do them! This is a PROMISE.

My big big huge GINORMOUS news is that I may be coming to your school in September!!! My gran has said that she will pay for me! You will probably wonder how this can have happened when I told you that my gran is proud and unforgiving and will have nothing to do with us. Well, she has changed her mind! It is so amazing! This is how it happened.

Mum picked up the phone and there she was, at the other end of it. Shock horror and wonders will never cease!!! She asked Mum if she could speak to ME. I was quite nervous, to tell you the truth. I am not usually a nervous sort of person, but I couldn’t think what I would say to her. I felt that I hated her because of the way she has treated Mum, but at the same time she is my gran and I have always wanted to have a gran. So I picked up the receiver and said “Hallo?” in what I hoped was a NONDESCRIPT way, like not cross, exactly, but not friendly, either, in case she was going to say something mean about Mum, but she didn’t. You’ll never guess what she did… she APOLOGISED!!!

She said that she was really sorry about not speaking to us all these years. She said, “I’m just a stupid stiff-necked old woman and you must try to forgive me.” So I did, which I hope you won’t think was weak of me but she is my gran and she did say sorry. To me AND to Mum. I think this may be because she is growing old and is feeling all alone in the world. She says that now we have “broken the ice” we must behave like a real family before it is too late and so she is going to come and visit with us, and then later on we are going to go and visit with her. I will tell you all about it!

After she had finished speaking to me she spoke to Mum. They were on the phone for simply ages. I heard Mum telling her all about your school and how lovely it is, and my gran said it sounded just the place for me. She said that she would get in touch immediately, and she did. The very same day! They said they have some girls that are leaving at the end of this term and they think that they will be able to take me!

I am so excited! It will be such fun! I do hope we will be in the same class, then we can sit together and do things together and be best friends. If you would like to, that is. Mum says you probably already have best friends and I mustn’t push myself in, so please say if you have and I will understand. We can just go on being pen pals if you would rather. It will still be fun. I can’t wait for September!!!

Lots and loads of love

from your pen pal, Katie

PS Thank you very much for the cheque for the cats. Please say thank you to your mum.

PPS Mum is typing this letter for me on her typewriter. I am dictating it to her! This is so it can be done quickly. Also it will be easier to read!

I was thrown into deadly panic when I got Katie’s letter. I know I should have been happy for her about her gran, but all I could think of was me. My stomach went blurp! and my heart went thunk. I was filled with a bottomless pit of total despair. I knew that if I told Mum – “Katie’s coming to my school!” – she would say, “Oh, isn’t that lovely?” But it wouldn’t be lovely! It would be a disaster! She would discover how dim and nerdy I was and how it was Lily and not me that went to parties and had been on the Eye and had best friends. She would utterly despise me and never want to talk to me again. She might even team up with Lily! I didn’t think I could bear it if she did that.

I had to write to her immediately.

Dear Katie,

I am really happy that you liked my story. I will look forward to seeing the pictures but I quite understand if you are too busy at the moment.

I was surprised to hear about your gran paying for you to come to my school! I don’t think you would like my school very much. For a start (I may have told you this before) it is absolutely TITCHY. We don’t even have our own playing field, and for swimming we have to go to the local baths. Also there is no sixth form. I think maybe your gran does not realise this and if she did she would not want to send you there.

Mum said about it the other day that it was “a snotty little school”. I think if you are used to going to a real school you would find it rather piddling. It is not really posh. I mean it is not where members of the Royal Family would go. It is just three ancient houses knocked together, and the teachers are quite ancient also. Like some of them have been here since practically Victorian times, I would think. They are not in the least bit cool!

Another thing is that there are of course no boys, which is quite nice at the moment as I am not into boys but I cannot help feeling that later on, when you are say twelve or thirteen, you might wish that there were otherwise how will you ever get to know about them?

I do not want to put you off or anything but your gran might not know what it is like and then she would feel that she had wasted her money and you would be disappointed and wish you had gone to a proper School. I thought I should tell you. It is only fair. We can still go on being pen pals!

Please write as soon as you are not too busy.

With luv and XXX

Violet

PS Have you been to any of your parties yet?

Every day when I came home from school I looked for letters on the mat, but all there ever was was stuff for Mum and Dad. Nothing at all for me. One day there was even a letter for Lily.

“Mine!” She snatched it from me. “Stinking swizzlesticks! Snail mail!”

All it was was a form for her to fill in if she wanted to take part in some boring gymkhana. Not a real letter at all. I’d hoped so much that it might be for me.

“Hey! What’s happened to the Blob?” said Lily. “Why don’t you ever hear from her any more?”

There are times when me and Lily can almost seem to read each other’s minds. I suppose it’s what comes from being part of the same egg, even though we are now completely different.