The Taming of Lilah May (18 page)

CHAPTER ONE

‘You should ring Bindi, love,' Mum says. ‘It's the right thing to do. You two were such good friends!'

I sigh. It's nearly the half-term holiday and I don't know what's right or wrong any more

I'm not even sure who I am.

It's been a rubbish start to autumn. Mum and Dad are a bit stressed at the moment and, although I know why, it's starting to make me angry. I have a slight problem with anger, you see. It doesn't take much for me to flare up into a rage or to start snapping at Mum or sulking with Dad.

My parents are not, and never have been, exactly ‘normal'.

My mother is a clown. Yes, really. She entertains kids at children's parties and she used to be good at it until our family kind of fell to pieces. Then recently she decided to spend more time with me
and go to extra yoga classes to keep herself calm, but over the last few weeks I can see that she's getting restless and really wants to go back full-time to her job as a clown. My dad tames lions and he's quite good at ‘taming'
me
when I get angry but he spends most of his waking hours obsessing about big cats. Sometimes I wish I had a furry mane and a big set of teeth and claws because then he might pay me more attention.

We kind of got a bit hopeful because my brother – Jay – rang up after two years of us not knowing whether he was alive or dead.

I asked him if he forgave me for what I did and the line made this loud humming noise and he wasn't there any more.

We couldn't call him back but the police have been trying to trace the phone box he called from.

Jay still hasn't come home.

And Bindi?

She let me down.

Big time.

Imagine the worst thing that a best friend could do to you, and then triple it. Well, that's what Bindi did to me.

Groo.

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