Free Rain May and Captain Daniel by Catherine Bateson

what you can’t do. In my case this means everything other than thinking.
    Rain should have been put with Becky. They’d probably get on.
    Did Khan think he was doing Rain a favour putting her on the losers table? I think he actually thought he was.
    â€˜Rain,’ he said. ‘Rain, what an interesting name.’
    â€˜I’m named after a poem,’ Rain said, ‘by e e cummings. Have you ever heard of him?’
    â€˜Yes, yes I have. An American poet.’
    â€˜He didn’t use punctuation or capital letters in his work,’ Rain said, ‘and people thought he was strange.’ ‘You must bring in a poem of his one day,’ old Khan said. ‘I can see why you and Daniel have become friends.’
    At snack time Becky said, ‘Well, there go the Double Drips.’
    The minute I heard it, I knew it would stick. The Double Drips. Very funny, ha ha.
    â€˜So what do you do at snack time?’ Rain said to me, turning her back on Becky and the rest of the girls.
    â€˜It’s not too late,’ I said. ‘You could just kind of walk over, talk about the city, a clothes shop or something. They’d be friends with you.’
    â€˜I don’t want to,’ Rain said. ‘I think they’re horrible.’
    Kids made dripping noises at us all day. When we walked home, even the preppies had caught on. A couple plipped and plopped behind us nearly all the way home.
    â€˜Want to do something?’ I asked her. ‘Do you want to have a game of chess?’
    â€˜No thanks, Daniel,’ Rain said. ‘I think I’ll just do my homework, watch some television. I’m feeling a little down.’
    â€˜They’ll get over it,’ I said. ‘You’ll become part of the furniture.’
    â€˜See you tomorrow,’ she said and gave the smallest wave.
    The Doctor was called out just before dinner — a bad fall. So the Counsellor and I ate dinner together and I asked her what she’d do if she felt she had caused someone to get an undeserved reputation.
    â€˜Just as a matter of curiosity,’ I said.
    â€˜Well,’ she said, ‘I wouldn’t like myself much if I stood by and let someone be put in prison for something they didn’t do.’
    It’s funny how she automatically goes for the worst thing you could think of.
    â€˜Not like that,’ I said. ‘Suppose that by, I don’t know, being someone’s friend, you caused them not to be liked by other people.’ That was a little too close to the truth but I kept my fingers crossed.
    â€˜That’s an interesting question,’ the Counsellor said. ‘People do get judged by their associates, don’t they? And to some extent, it’s fair enough. People with common interests tend to gather together.’
    She went on and on. That’s the problem with asking adults anything — they ramble on and never get to the point. Hours later I finally got to read Lord of the Rings. Dad wants me to finish it before I see the film. I’m going to learn Elvish when I finish it. I think that could be very useful for secret messages.
    The Captain’s Log, Stardate 021001
    Stormy weather, alien interference.
    I hate fourth term. The star table stole my hat at snack time and wouldn’t give it back. Rain marched up and demanded they hand it over. The result was predictable. They wouldn’t.
    Rain got angrier and angrier and went to grab the hat. Tom held the hat behind his back and when Rain tried to grab it he pushed her. She pushed him back and then suddenly they were scrabbling about in the grass, kicking and shouting.
    We all had to see the Principal. Rain and Tom were called in separately. Then I went in as one of the eye-witnesses and the chief cause. I told Mrs Crisp as clearly and concisely as I could what had happened.
    â€˜Do you feel you are a victim of playground bullying?’ Burnt Toast asked.
    â€˜Well, not in this