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“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light.”

Helen Keller

This story takes place in a village in France,
a few miles south of Paris…

1

The alarm clock rang. One second later I heard Dad come up the stairs and fling open my bedroom door.

“Come on, get up, today’s the big day!”

He gave me a shake.

“Get a move on, you’re going to be late!”

He bounded back downstairs. During the holidays, I’d completely forgotten about the morning rush to get ready – and today, the first day of a new school year, my brain felt full of fog. I could hear Dad bustling about downstairs, getting breakfast ready. The familiar sounds were just rocking me gently back into a deep sleep when he yelled, “Are you going to get up or do I need to get a crane to lift you out?”

I jumped and sat up in bed, tentatively stretching one foot out, as if I was dipping it into cold water. Then I randomly grabbed some trousers and a T-shirt. Oh well, so much for looking stylish. My feet felt like lead as I went downstairs.

In the kitchen, Dad had made me a hot chocolate. The warm, comforting smell helped lift the fog in my head a little.

“Have you got all your stuff together?” he asked, raising his eyebrows as high as they would go and waggling his right hand as if he was massaging my head from the other side of the room. I tried to look as if I had everything under control.

“Yes, I think so, but … you can’t always be sure … can you?”

He washed up a couple of cups and, before going back to bed, he said, “Don’t forget to shave off your chocolate moustache. It’s important to look your best!”

I ambled into the living room. The sun was just coming up and it shone into the little yard. A few fallen leaves were lying on the ground like dried butterflies. It was getting late, so I went to find my rucksack. It looked very small and battered. This year I wasn’t going to let myself be intimidated by the problems that lurked inside it. I rummaged around and found the list of school equipment I was supposed to have bought. I’d forgotten to give it to Dad. Too late now. Still, he might have thought of it himself: isn’t that how it’s supposed to work, when you’re part of a team?