Hi there. I know what youâre going to say. âFrankie, youâre late!â
Iâm right arenât I? Thatâs what the others are always saying these days. It always used to be Lyndz who was late, and I was super-dooper organised. Not any more! My house is so manic at the moment itâs a wonder I ever get out at all. But Iâll tell you all about that in a minute. We really ought to sit down and catch up on all the goss. Poor Fliss is still recovering. It all got a bit much for her â and her mum. But Kenny was in seventh heaven because she managed to do her doctor bit at last. And Lyndz and Rosie, well theyâre still hiccuping and giggling about it whenever anyone even mentions what happened.
Sorry Iâm gabbling, but thereâs just so much to tell you. Come on, letâs sit over here and Iâll fill you in on all the details. But boy, where do I start? OK, well I guess the beginningâs as good a place as any.
It all started before Christmas. No, much sooner than that. It all really started months ago when I found out that Mum was pregnant. Iâd wanted a little baby brother or sister for as long as I could remember, and when I found out that Mum was expecting a baby I was totally blown away by the excitement. The others all tried their hardest to put me off by giving me loads of grisly details.
âBabies are just totally embarrassing,â warned Lyndz. âDidnât you learn anything when we were helping Rosieâs sister with her babysitting last time?â (Now thatâs a story and a half â if you havenât read about it yet, youâre in for a real treat!) âBabies are either pooing or being sick. And my older brothers arenât much better.â
Poor Lyndz has four brothers and she reckons that they make her life a misery.
âAt least youâll be a lot older than your brother or sister,â reasoned Kenny. âYouâll be able to boss it about all the time. How cool is that!â
Her eyes gleamed at the thought. Molly the Monster, as you know, is only a year older than Kenny, but is one major super-witch when it comes to being horrible.
âYeah, when youâre wanting to go out, itâll be pestering you to play!â laughed Rosie. âTiff always says that Iâm a major pain when sheâs getting glammed up, and sheâs only four years older than me! But Iâm sure that youâll have a lot more patience than her,â she added. âAnd you wonât have a boyfriend as ugly as Spud either.â
The others all nodded.
âI wonât have a boyfriend at all!â I said indignantly.
âYes you will!â snorted Fliss. âWhen the baby is our age, youâll be twenty! Imagine that. Youâll probably be at university then. You might even be married!â
We all guffawed.
âNo way!â I yelled. âYouâll be married to Ryan Scott, more like!â
Fliss just blushed and went all giggly â as usual!
We had loads of conversations like that, and the others always told me horror stories about being a sister. Now donât get me wrong. I was still desperate to have a baby to look after, but the more they told me, the more nervous I got. I mean, it just seemed so long since Iâd found out about the baby, and it wasnât even due until January.
âI wish it would hurry up!â I told Mum one day at the beginning of December. âI just want to get on with being a big sister.â
âWell, Iâm not ready to be a new mum again just yet, thank you very much!â she laughed. âWeâve still got far too much to do!â
That was true. They still hadnât sorted out where the baby was going to sleep for one thing. At this rate, it would be sharing Pepsiâs basket in the kitchen!
âBut how will I know if Iâll be any good as a sister?â I asked Mum.
âYouâll be just great!â she smiled, ruffling my hair. âIf youâre so worried, you could always practise on something. There are some schools that make students look after a bag of flour as though itâs a baby. I know it sounds weird, but it gets them used to having someone else to think about.â
âYou want me to push a bag of flour about in a pram?â I asked, open-mouthed.
âIt doesnât have to be a bag of flour,â Mum explained. âYou could use one of your old dolls. The important thing is to treat it as though it really is a baby. No dumping it under your bed when youâre fed up with it. Just look after it for a day or so and I guarantee it will open your eyes.â
Yes, I know, I know â it sounds really wacky, doesnât it? But I thought it might be worth a try. I went up to my room and pulled the box of old dolls out of my cupboard. I hadnât looked at them for absolutely ages and it felt really weird holding them again.
âYouâre way too old for all this, Frankie,â I told myself.
But I got them all out anyway and sat them in a line on my bed. I felt kind of funny seeing them like that, because it brought back memories of when I was little. I had this one doll I used to call Diz that I used to take everywhere with me. I picked it up now, and it looked so tiny and shabby. I felt really bad, like Iâd abandoned it or something. But I couldnât use that as my baby because it just didnât look right. It was too small for a start and had matted wool hair. The others didnât look much better, to be honest with you.