I shivered and shut the window. At least an owlet loves me. In its owly way.

Or perhaps she thinks I’m the Big Owl in the Sky and have some dead mice to give her. To be honest, she must be starving by now if her flying skills are anything to go by. The mice probably just sit in little mouse deck chairs, watching her hopelessly swooping around, crashing into things. I felt even more guilty about the rap song now.

Boy Ambush

NEXT MORNING, WHEN I turned the tap on in the bathroom, it sort of started coughing. And making gurgling noises. But not giving me any water.

Dibdobs was passing the bathroom door with a lunatic twin under each arm. She looked harassed, but still smiling. “Morning, Lullah dear. I’m afraid the water has frozen in the pipes so we’re going to fill a bath in front of the fire downstairs, aren’t we, boys?”

Sam said from upside down, “Wiv Micky.”

Dibdobs said, still laughing, “Well, no, Sam, tortoises don’t like baths.”

Max joined in. “Dicky is liking barf, lady.”

Dibdobs was getting a bit stern, the end of her nose had gone red. She gripped the boys more firmly round the pajama-bottom area and said, “Now then, hippity skippity bobbit, off to the bath!”

Both of the twins said, “Wiv the Mickys!”

As she struggled off down the stairs, the twins were quacking loudly.

Do they think tortoises quack? Perhaps tortoises do. I’ve never heard one, but they might do it in their shell in their private time.

I went back to my room and Harold popped his head round the door.

“Well, good morning, Tallulah. I’ve brought you some hot water in a jug and an old basin that you can use to scoop it over yourself. I’ve used the same method at my Iron Man group when we went on our excursion to Scunthorpe. Marvelous simple times. In the evenings we sang round the fire and did a bit of knitting. That’s when I knitted your hot-water bottle jacket. You see, there is a vast untapped well of womanliness inside every man.” He went away, chuckling to himself.

It was freezing in Dother Hall. The Tree Sisters looked very bulky—because they had most of their clothes on. I said, “Wow, are you that cold?”

Flossie said, “Let’s just say that I’ve got two pairs of pajamas on underneath my joggers and top. We all have. The roof is a piece of tarpaulin.”

Vaisey said, “The plastic wrap on the dorm windows doesn’t keep the wind out.”

Jo said, “I think my head has gone numb.”

The whole of Dother Hall was shivering and complaining. Gudrun was wearing a coat made out of hamster skins. Or maybe mice.

We went into the dance studio first thing. I hadn’t seen Blaise Fox so far. It would be nice to see her.

Jo said, “I’m not taking anything off for dance class, and anyway I can’t move my legs.”