Free 100 Days of April-May by Edyth Bulbring

parents are glad that they got him out of Trinity College and away from the bad influence that caused him to injure himself in a madcap escapade. And then he laughs, his mouth wide, showing the gap between his front teeth, and I laugh too, because it’s a noise I can make with my mouth without sounding dumb. Except I give a horrible whistling snort at the end.
    I tell Sebastian that I’ll be off home then – otherwise I’ll have to hang myself from the plane tree with Nameless Dog’s leash – and he says he’ll Inbox me on Facebook or catch me on MXit. I say, ‘Of course.’ Except that I know he won’t because I don’t have a computer and The Brick does not do anything other than calling and texting.
    And Sebastian says that if we want to move from the virtual to the physical he always hangs out in the park on the weekends when he’s home from boarding school.
    I click my fingers at Nameless Dog and he looks at me with one eye and then carries on pretending to snooze. I
click-click
with my tongue and Nameless Dog closes the opened eye and gives a good imitation of snoring.
    â€˜Hey, Alistair, time to go home. Home, you awesome dog,’ Fatty says, nudging Nameless Dog gently with his foot.
    Nameless Dog stays put but opens both eyes and looks at me.
    â€˜Alistair,’ I say. Hearing me call him by his new name, he gets up, licks Fatty’s knee and follows me home.
    Back at Chez Matchbox I find Fluffy, Mrs Ho and Ishmael smiling weakly at each other over strong cups of tea.
    â€˜You came back? You’re not gone?’ I say and give the gods a high five.
    â€˜I just went out to get some milk,’ Mrs Ho says, giving me a puzzled look.
    I tell the gods, okay, you got one over on me, I hope it makes you happy.
    â€˜I think we can manage with one car in the family for a while. Selling mine will get us the extra money we need to continue building,’ Mrs Ho says. Her voice is a little crackly, but her hand is in Fluffy’s and there is a steadfast glint in her eye.
    â€˜And between this guy I know, who’s an expert bricklayer and plumber, and July and me we’ll get the building done in the evenings after we come home from work and on the weekends,’ Ishmael says. ‘That will save a bit on labour.’
    The steadfast look in Mrs Ho’s eyes gets a bit blurry.
    â€˜My people built the pyramids, Julia. Building blood courses through my veins,’ Ishmael says. ‘It will be a piece of cake,’ he adds desperately.
    â€˜I know you won’t let me down, Ishmael,’ Mrs Ho says, averting her eyes from his smooth hands that are clasped around his fat tummy. ‘And July is going to speak to Miss Frankel about putting the dog in a kennel until she moves into a new house.’
    I give a sort of a yelp.
    â€˜It’s either the dog or me,’ Mrs Ho says calmly.
    I tell the gods that they really had fun with me today. That card of theirs was hidden way up the sleeves of their baggy togas.
    I get up from the kitchen table and throw Sam Ho off the couch (in a cordial, friendly manner) and go and lie down with Alistair. After a while Fluffy comes over. ‘You know we can’t keep him,’ he says gently. ‘I’m sorry, April, but that was never going to happen.’
    I swallow that golf ball which has by now completely rearranged my tonsils.
    â€˜How about a bird, or maybe a fish?’ Fluffy says. ‘It’s your birthday in a couple of weeks. How about it, April?’
    I tell Fluffy I don’t want a pet for my birthday. In fact, I don’t want to celebrate my birthday at all.
    Soccer World Cup Update –
    Days to Kick-off: 50
    Match of the Day –
    April-May and Fatty
vs
Dr Gainsborough

Ten
    Group Shrinkage
    I am making significant progress in my therapy sessions.
    Dr Gainsborough and me have progressed from the running-away dream, to the falling-off-a-high-building dream and we are