Tunde came again with his dad. It woke me up from thinking about Marie. I heard the front door and my dad called out from the front room, ‘Answer the door!’ I just listened and let Connor come out the bedroom and go downstairs to get it. I thought I could quickly go down and get in the bedroom, but my dad came out and saw me on the stairs and frowned. I still had my dirty clothes on and he told me, ‘Go and wash.’ Tunde and his dad were on the stairs with Connor coming up behind them so I stood back in the bedroom doorway to let them pass. Mr Lawal came up on to the landing with a suitcase and did a stoop to kneel to my dad and Tunde came up after without looking at me and went past to follow them into the front room. He was younger than me and dressed in Nigerian clothes with a hat that was too big for his head and sleeves that covered his hands so he had to keep folding them back on to his arms. He had a watch on his wrist. He looked weighed down and it served him right. Connor was trying to push past me to get in the bedroom out the way and finish dressing. My dad leaned out the front room again before he could get away and said, ‘Yinka, bring beer,’ so he had to turn back and go to the kitchen. Then my dad looked at me and said, ‘What are you still doing? Go and bath!’

The water was cold and all the towels were damp. I put my hand in and swirled it round and the black marks stayed stuck to the side, so I pulled out the plug and sat down on the towels. They left the bath in so I’d have to clean it up. I always had to do everything. Florence and Mr Babalola weren’t even up yet, and I didn’t know where Mr Ajani and the others were, so it was just me cleaning up for everyone else and watching the flat, soapy grey water sink down in the bath. Marie said I could look at her books when she wasn’t reading them, but I couldn’t go and get them because I wasn’t allowed in her room. Only my mum could go in, and I had to try and follow her, but then she told me, ‘Don’t touch anything.’