Free Labradoodle on the Loose by T.M. Alexander Page A

version with the minis and the coach hanging over the cliff. It’s a Tribe favourite.
    TRIBERS’ FAVOURITE FILMS
    FIFTY: The Sound of Music (he knows all the words) and Bambi.
    JONNO: The Great Escape, because he likes ‘The Scrounger’ and the blind man.
    BEE: Free Willy, Hoot!, Eight Below. Anything to do with saving animals.
    KEENER: Jaws, which is odd because he doesn’t like blood.
    COPPER PIE: Sky Sports (clearly not a film), The Tooth Fairy (a bad film).
    And Lily’s: The Princess Diaries (vomit).
    While we were waiting for the
play movie
icon to come up, there was more knocking at the back door followed by at least one, maybe two, new voices. I looked over at Bee. She shrugged. ‘It was always like this when the twins lived here. Random people arriving and leaving and eating and sleeping and leaving hoodies and taking Dad’s coat and using all the loo roll. That’s why Dad made them leave.’
    The beginning of the film shows Michael Caine leaving prison. It’s not noisy like it is later when there are car chases. We could hear Patrick and Louis and their mates shouting in the kitchen. We put up with it for a while but we couldn’t really hear, or concentrate on what was happening. Bee pressed
pause
and went to sort them out. We heard her giving them the Bee treatment. It works on us. She came back and pressed
play
. It was quieter for maybe ten minutes, but then they started laughing and yelling and there was some crashing and banging like chairs falling over and pans being dropped. Bee turned up the volume, but
The Italian Job
couldn’t drown out Slim and Bodger and whoever else was in Bee’s kitchen. She cranked it up again. It was no good. On top of everything else we could hear singing, the sort you’d hear at a football match. Bee paused it again. The noise was deafening. It sounded like there was at least a rugby team in there. And breaking glass!
Maybe they were fighting
. . .
    â€˜I’ll come with you,’ said Jonno. ‘If that will help.’
    â€˜Thanks,’ said Bee, ‘but they probably won’t take any notice. My brothers wouldn’t manage to behave properly even if someone like the Queen was here.’ It wasn’t like Bee to give in. I felt really bad for her. I mean, it was her birthday and her brothers were ruining the film, ruining the whole evening.
    â€˜Come on, let’s go and talk to them,’ said Jonno. ‘It’s worth a try.’
    Copper Pie got up and marched straight into the kitchen without waiting for anyone else. ‘Shut up!’ I heard him shout as I walked into the hall. ‘We’re trying to watch a film and all we can hear is you lot.’
    For a moment there was complete and utter silence. It was almost funny. Like everyone had been waxworked.
    â€˜Sorry,’ said a stranger who was helping himself to Bee’s birthday cake.
    â€˜Maybe leave some cake, Rasher,’ said Louis. The stranger looked up at Bee and put what was left of the huge lump of cake in his hand back on the plate.
    â€˜We were just chatting, Bee. We’ll be off out soon.’ Patrick gave Bee a cheesy smile. Bee didn’t smile back.
    â€˜Don’t be a bore,’ said the fourth friend – who was posh. ‘It’s Friday night. And that’s the weekend. Yay!’
    Louis tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Teapot, my sister’s not finding this funny and you’re not helping.’ (I know we’ve got odd nicknames but Slim, Bodger, Rasher and Teapot are totally stupid.)
    â€˜Why don’t you leave now,’ said Bee. ‘We’ll be fine without you.’
    â€˜But we’re babysitting,’ said Louis. ‘Mum said.’
    â€˜You’re hardly looking after me, are you?’ There were tears in Bee’s eyes.
    â€˜Time to go, everyone,’ said Louis. ‘Patrick, you go with the others and I’ll wait for Mum.’
    â€˜Come with