Busola had her arms wrapped round my mum’s waist and I took hold of my dad’s hand, and we let Manus tell him it was our fault wanting to see cartoons in colour and first we thought they came through school because they knew our names. Connor wasn’t getting involved, he was kicking loose bits of brick off the wall. Mrs Banacka had moved out next door and stopped mending it, but he was making it worse because he wanted to go more than anyone and was saying we lived in a house that was falling down.

‘How do you expect me to protect them?’ my mum said, ‘They can see themselves what’s going on. Those people won’t stop till they bring the roof down on top of us.’

‘What can I do? We have to hold on. They won’t pay, I won’t move.’

‘It’s hard on the children, that’s all I’m saying. We have to do something to stop him kicking bricks, otherwise they’re the ones paying the price.’

We all looked at Connor. He stopped like he’d been caught and couldn’t see why he had to be dragged into it. My dad let go my hand and went to pick him up until they were looking into each other’s faces. Connor dropped his eyes but you could see the anger, and my dad lifted him up more so he could look up at what Connor was feeling. He shook him gently and said, ‘Look up.’

Connor did, but he was telling my dad off. They were like each other losing their temper, but it was hard to see how they could meet up. Connor was letting himself go limp and hard to carry.

‘Tomorrow is the weekend,’ my dad said, putting him down. ‘We can go in the car and drive round.’ My dad had just got a car again, which was all right for making him feel good but Manus and Connor were calling it a pile of junk because it was old and worn-out and kept breaking down. ‘All of us can go,’ he said, ‘and do the day out.’

Even Busola let her mouth drop open that he wasn’t getting it, but my mum said, ‘That would be lovely,’ and moved us all into the bathroom to brush our teeth. I could see Manus was laughing and trying to hide it in case Connor found out. But my dad was looking at us with his face crumpled.

‘Thank you, Daddy,’ I said.

‘What you thanking him for?’

I didn’t answer because that would be dangerous and Manus wasn’t there, he’d already moved in to the room upstairs next to my mum and dad, and it was only Connor and us alone in the bedroom. I got in under the covers on the top bunk and shrugged.

‘Shut up, then,’ he said.

‘What’s that there?’ said Busola.