Free Diamond Girls by Jacqueline Wilson

play,’ she said. ‘Mummy might be cross.’
    â€˜Ah. Is she in a bit of a mood, then?’
    Mary nodded.
    â€˜Well, look, can I just have one teeny swing? Is that all right? You don’t mind?’
    Mary looked as if she minded very much but she didn’t try to stop me. I sat on the white padded seat and kicked my legs. I soared upwards. It was just as good as I’d imagined.
    â€˜Wheeee!’ I sang.
    â€˜Shh! She’ll hear,’ said Mary.
    â€˜OK, OK. Just one little swing more, then I’ll go, I promise,’ I whispered.
    I held the ropes and thrust my feet forwards, flinging back my head until I felt wonderfully dizzy. I felt as if I was flying right over the garden and the red pointy roof. Bluebell flew with me, high into the sky.
    Then I saw Mary hunched under my blue cardie. ‘OK, it’s all right, you can have a go now,’ I said, jumping off. I staggered. ‘Hey, look at me, I’m drunk!’ I reeled around, putting it on now.
    Mary stared but then started giggling.
    â€˜You play at being drunk too, Mary. Pretend to fall over!’
    She squatted down obediently but was careful not to crumple her clothes. ‘Daddy got drunk once,’ she said.
    â€˜My mum sometimes gets drunk. She gets ever so funny and giggly. But she doesn’t drink now, because of the baby. I suppose I’d better go now. I’m helping her get the house sorted. She can’t do much because she’s so big. Thank you for letting me have a swing.’
    â€˜That’s OK.’
    â€˜I’ll have to take my cardie back now. Did it warm you up?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜There, I knew it would! Can I can come and play again?’
    â€˜Well. I suppose. If Mummy doesn’t find out.’
    â€˜What’s up with your mum then? Is she often in a bad mood?’
    Mary blinked. Then she took a deep breath. ‘No, she’s a lovely mummy. She’s the loveliest kindest nicest mummy in the whole world.’
    â€˜That’s good,’ I said. ‘Well, bye, Mary.’ I made Bluebell give Mary’s nose a very gentle peck. ‘That’s the way budgies say goodbye,’ I said.
    Mary giggled. ‘You are funny, Dixie.’
    I pulled a silly face at her and staggered out of her garden, pretending to be drunk again. Then I dashed back across the alleyway, leaped up and over the wall at the very first go, and went back through the jungle.
    â€˜
My
mum’s the loveliest, kindest and nicest,’ I said to Bluebell. ‘
And
my dad.’
    I pretended that Martine and Rochelle and even Jude didn’t exist. I lived in a beautiful black and white house with a garden and a swing with my mum and my dad and my real budgie Bluebell. I had my very own bedroom with a sky-blue ceiling and a rainbow round each wall. The carpet was green as grass with an indoor swing so I could soar backwards and forwards across my room.
    Mum and Dad loved each other for ever and they loved me too. They said they didn’t want to risk having any more children, girls or boys, because they could never never never love them as much as me. Dad still worked in a funeral home, and maybe Mum worked there too, carefully dressing all the dead people and powdering their faces and combing their hair. Each night, if there were any lilies left over from Uncle Bruce’s wreaths Mum would plait them into her long black hair and look like a flowery princess.

6

    MUM DIDN’T LOOK like a princess when I went back indoors. She was scrubbing away at the toilet upstairs, sitting on the floor with her legs stuck out comically either side of the loo.
    â€˜Hey, babe,’ she said. ‘What have you been up to, eh?’
    â€˜I’ve been in the garden. And I’ve made friends with a little girl over the way.’
    â€˜That’s nice, darling. OK, are you going to help your old mum?’
    â€˜Yep.’ I rolled up my cardie sleeves and started trying