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faces at each other, but he just went on cramming his mouth with cornflakes and refused to look at me. I think he should have done: after all, he is my brother. We ought to stick together!
    Did some digging after tea. Aaron and the Herb came round and I gave them the house and garden test. The Herb said, “Ooh, do we get marked out of ten?” I said I would tell her after she’d done it.
    Aaron got a bit stroppy and said he thought we weren’t supposed to have time for anything except digging. “Way you were carrying on the other day, all bossy and got to be professional .”
    I had to soothe him. I said, “These are important psychological tests.”
    To be honest I think they are rubbish, but it is very undermining when a person of ten years old keeps telling you that you are weird and peculiar and anti-social. I really needed some kind of reassurance. I’m feeling a lot happier now; now that I’ve seen what Aaron and the Herb came up with. If I’m weird, they’re even weirder. I mean, how’s this for whacky: the Herb drew a house with a face . She said, “I wanted to make it seem friendly.” Personally I thought it looked a bitlike Humpty Dumpty, but Aaron said it was more like something in a graveyard. He said, “That’s morbid, that is.”
    He could talk! All he’d drawn was a mound, with antennae and aerials all over it. Not a door or a window to be seen. When I asked him what it was, he said it was an underground bunker for hiding in. The Herb said, “Underground bunker’s not a house.”
    â€œWould be,” said Aaron, “if you had to live in it.”
    â€œWhy would you have to live in it?”
    â€œWell, like if there was an attack, or something.”
    The Herb looked at me and slowly shook her head.
    â€œMeans I’ve got an instinct for self-preservation,” said Aaron.
    The Herb said, “Yeah? What about me?”
    â€œYou just want to be cosy and make nests.”
    The Herb froze. I saw this glint come into her eye. “Are you saying I’m girly ?”
    â€œNah!” Aaron backed off, double quick. The Herb can be quite dangerous when anyone accuses her of being girly. “Nah, that’s not what I’m saying!”
    â€œSo what are you saying? Exactly?”
    â€œI’m just saying you’re, like…friendly.”
    â€œSo what was all this about nests?”
    Aaron’s nostrils flared. I could almost see the beads of sweat break out on his brow. As team leader, I knew I had to step in.
    â€œLet’s just forget about it,” I said, “and get back to work.”
    â€œYes.” The Herb gave Aaron one last simmering glare. “Let’s be professional. ”
    Aaron turned and began digging, frenziedly. I was about to yell at him to slow down when he suddenly cried out in excitement, “Great gobbets of mud!”
    I thought for one wild moment he might have uncovered something interesting, but all it was was an old rusty tin.I told him to do a label for it and put it with the other stuff. He said, “Can I write who found it?”
    I said that he could as I believe it is important to encourage people. He was obviously very proud of digging up his tin, especially as the Herb hasn’t dug up anything at all so far. He worked really well for the rest of the evening, without any of his usual grumbling. I was quite pleased with him.
    All the trees now have little ropes of mothballs hung round them. It kills me!
Wednesday
    This morning, as I’m packing my bag for school, I hear Wee Scots’ voice calling urgently to Mum: “Sara, Sara, there’s a dog on the table!” I meet Mum on the landing. I say, “There’s a dog on the table.” Mum says, “I heard.” As we go down the stairs together, Wee Scots runs frantically along the hall.
    â€œSara, Sara, come quick! There’s two dogs on the table!”
    By the time