I had to search for it. I’d never looked for my picture, but it had to be somewhere on the wall.

“There it is,” I said. It was right in the centre. It had been pretty hard to do because you couldn’t rub the pastel out if you went wrong.

“That’s brilliant, Anna!” said Ellie. “It’s the best one on the wall, for sure.”

I hadn’t noticed, but maybe she was right: it actually looked quite good.

I turned away from the display. I wasn’t sure what else to show her. I think Ellie could tell I was struggling, as she started talking.

“What kind of things do you like doing out of school, Anna?” said Ellie.

My mind was blank.

I sat down in Nia’s seat, which was at the back of the class, and placed Ellie-bot on her desk.

“I watch TV,” I said. It sounded stupid, but I couldn’t think of anything else. The only thing we did as a family was to go on picnics. That didn’t cost anything.

“I like TV too,” said Ellie.

I thought I should ask Ellie what she liked doing, but I was a bit worried that she might be too poorly to do anything. I didn’t want to upset her. I smiled awkwardly at the robot.

“Is there anything else you like?” I said. “Apart from watching TV?”

Ellie-bot’s eyes danced again.

“Oh, yes!” Ellie said. “I like baking. Shortbread, muffins and cupcakes are my favourites. I’m also learning lots about the Titanic at the moment. I love history so much. I’d like to be a historian one day.”

I wondered if Ellie was smiling. Her voice sounded bright and happy.

“That sounds great,” I said.

“I also like birdwatching,” said Ellie. “We’ve got lots of bird feeders in our garden, so sometimes I sit and write down all the birds that I see. Oh, and I like making jewellery. I’m making some bracelets at the moment and—”

“Oh. Hi, Anna,” said a voice.

I looked up. It was Nia. She came over and picked up her water bottle. She must have forgotten it.

“I’m just showing Ellie around the classroom,” I said.

Nia crouched down beside me.

“We were just talking about our hobbies,” said Ellie.

Nia grinned. “Great!” she said. “You should see our ‘Interests Board’! Have you shown her, Anna?” Nia looked at me.

I shook my head. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

Nia grabbed the robot and walked off to the corner of the classroom. Miss Burnell had created a space for us to share the activities that we did out of school.