Authors: Candy Harper
Keep the Faith
Also by Candy Harper
HAVE A LITTLE FAITH
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Simon and Schuster UK Ltd
A CBS COMPANY
Copyright © 2014 Candy Harper
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
The right of Candy Harper to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
PB ISBN: 978-0-8570-7825-4
EBook ISBN: 978-0-8570-7826-1
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
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To Romany, who once told me a very funny story about a toddler and some bubbles
DECEMBER
MONDAY 26TH DECEMBER
I can’t wait for the New Year to begin. This is the year I will take action and use my intelligence and initiative to follow my dreams. For example, today I have
pursued my ambition of being warm and cosy in this draughty old house by using my skills to build an igloo out of duvets.
Of course, like many truly brilliant people, I am held back by non-believers. Lots of the world’s most successful types have suffered abuse and hardship, setbacks and ridicule. I know just
how they feel: my parents won’t buy me a laptop. I told them quite frankly that their Christmas gifts will not help make me an international success. My hippy mother said, ‘I want you
to spend less time hooked up to something electronic and more time communicating with your family.’
‘If I had a laptop, I could message you all.’
She scowled at me in a way that I think is pretty aggressive coming from someone who wants to save newt habitats.
Anyway, I actually did spend several minutes of yesterday communicating with my family. Even my slimy little brother who I usually avoid speaking to. I gifted Sam with several expressions of
good cheer. I said, ‘This is a traditional Christmas Chinese burn,’ and, ‘What sort of rubbish present do you call this?’ That kind of thing. There were also some
instructions about fetching me the chocolates and altering the volume of the TV. I hope he was grateful for my festive friendliness. I’m not planning on speaking to him for the rest of the
year.
Granny came over for Christmas dinner, which was quite a lot of work. Obviously, I didn’t do any actual cooking, but just being in the same room as Granny is quite tiring. She’s
always throwing herself around and babbling on about her latest boyfriend, when really she’s at an age where it would be more appropriate if she just sat in a corner handing out sweets and
money while wearing a skirt that actually covered her wrinkly knees. The energy I spent blocking out her singing and dancing to ‘Santa Baby’ left me utterly washed out. Which means I
will have to leave working towards my other dreams for another day. For now, I’ll stay in my igloo and catch up on some texting while eating the candy canes from Sam’s stocking.
