Mmmmmmmm. All warm and softy.

I’m going to update my Lululuuuve List in my Darkly Demanding Damson Diary with the latest snogging info.

1. Hand resting

2. Corker-holder release

I wonder for the sake of science if I should include the lunatic twins kissing my knees as Number 3. No that’s too weird.

3. Bat kiss or good-night kiss (with or without a little bat in your mouth)

4. Nose-licking

5. Proper kiss possibly lasting two minutes, with additional praise for knees

OOOOOHHH, Charlie.

6. Proper kiss with lips, tongues, and everything

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about my Lululuuuve List. Should I, for absolute accuracy, add “mental snogging”? Because that’s what I’d done when I kissed the back of my hand and pretended it was Charlie.

Maybe “mental snogging” should be Number 2 and corker-holder release should be Number 3. Although, if I’m including all of my experiences, should I also include feeling my own corkers with thick winter socks on my hands?

Maybe not.

The magic of puppetry

NEXT MORNING IT WAS a bright day. I set off for Dother Hall, thinking about what we’ve got at college today. No Dr. Lightowler, thank goodness, and a session called “The Magic of Puppetry” with Monty—how mad will that be—as I reached the bend in the road near the sign for Woolfe Academy.

A group of Woolfe boys jogged by. They all shouted, “Whey hey hey!!!” when they saw me. It made me smile. I haven’t ever been whey-hey-hey-ed by boys before! Then I saw Charlie. He smiled and waved. “See you soon, Lullah. Arrivederci!”

Ahhh. I waved back. That was nice. Really, really nice. I walked on. He really is . . . well, I’m glad he’s on my Lululuuuve List. I’d only gone a bit farther when Charlie leapt over a gate and started jogging on the spot next to me. He said, “What a surprise! You’ll have to stop following me around, Tallulah.”

Then he leaned against the fence. I smiled at him. This was nicer than nice. He said, “So what’s been happening, Tallulah, since we last met?”

If only he knew I’d been doing mental snogging with him.

I said quickly, “Oh well . . . I was thinking about, er, puppets.”

He laughed. “Of course you were. Who doesn’t?”

I went pink and said, “Only because we’re doing ‘The Magic of Puppetry’ first lesson.”

He stood up again. “Outstanding. Will you promise me that the next time I see you, you’ll show me the magic of puppetry? Promise?”

I nodded.

Charlie said, “Ciao for now.” And he jogged back into the woods. Then he stopped and blew me a kiss.

I felt very perked up when I got to Dother Hall. As we went into the small studio, Jo said, “I don’t need a puppet workshop. I’m Bob’s puppet. He thinks we might try making coffee tables out of newspaper and flour paste.”

Monty was dressed for puppet action in a pink onesie. Like a really big jelly baby. He said, “Now then, girls, things are, well, rather tight at Dother Hall so we will have to use a little bit of imagination vis-à-vis our puppets.”