A couple of hours later, Lola went up to her room to get ready for bed. She put on her pyjamas. Then she switched on her walkie-talkie.
The set of walkie-talkies had been a present for her last birthday. At first, Lola wasn’t excited about them. They lay on her bedroom floor for a week or so, covered by the elephant undies her nanna had given her. But then Abbey had found them and suggested she take one of them up to her bedroom in the flat next door. The girls couldn’t believe they actually worked! Since then, Lola and Abbey had spoken to each other almost every night before bed.
Right now, Lola really wanted to talk to her friend.
‘Abbey, are you there? Over,’ Lola said.
A little crackle flew out of the speaker, followed by Abbey’s voice.
‘Absolutely here. I’m reading Harry Potter. What are you doing? Over.’
‘Just thinking. Are you any good at football? Over,’ said Lola.
‘Lola you know that my relationship with balls isn’t good. They are always thwacking me in the head. I find them very rude. Why are you asking me that? Over.’
A big, thudding sound came from Will’s bedroom. Lola laid her walkie-talkie on the bed for a moment to listen. Then she picked it up again.
‘Can you see what Will’s doing from up there? Over,’ she asked.
‘Hang on, I’m just putting Harry down on the bedside table,’ Abbey said. ‘OK, I’m up. Will’s curtains are open. I can see him. He’s wearing something white and he’s doing some sort of pose. His arms are kind of up like a kangaroo, and he’s got one leg in the air. Now he’s kicking his leg out. Over.’
‘Don’t you think that’s kind of weird? Over,’ said Lola.
‘I think it’s karate. Over,’ Abbey replied.
‘Yeah, but it’s weird, right?’ Lola raised her eyebrows. She wondered if she’d caught the habit from Will.
‘Gotta go,’ Abbey said. ‘Harry Potter is in a sticky situation. Over.’
Lola grinned. Sometimes it was as though Abbey thought Harry Potter was a real boy. Or wizard.
Lola lay back on her bed. Her mum opened the bedroom door and sat next to her like she did every night. It made Lola feel good.
At least some things hadn’t changed.
Lola was used to having Will and his dad, Rex, at her house sometimes. They always used to visit, and sometimes even stay the night. But a week ago, they had moved in for good. Having Will around all the time was very different.
‘How are you going with Will, sweetie?’ her mum asked.
Her mum looked so happy. She really seemed to love Rex. And Lola liked Rex and Will too. It was just that her life was so different with them here. It seemed so busy all the time compared with how it used to be. Sometimes it felt like Will and Rex had lived here forever, and she was the new one.
‘Will’s OK,’ Lola said softly. Another thump came from Will’s bedroom.
‘Even though he can be very loud!’ said Lola’s mum.
‘And fidgety,’ Lola added.
Her mum gave her a funny smile and Lola giggled. Then her mum started laughing. Another big thump came from Will’s bedroom and they both cracked up. And then every time they heard another thud, it set them off again.
‘I guess we’ll get used to it,’ Lola giggled.
Her mum hugged her tight. ‘I’m sure we will,’ her mum said.