After the excitement
of the snake at lunchtime,
Ms Arthur
decides to play our favourite
two words game.
She elaborately writes
POOKIE ALEERA
on the whiteboard
and everyone wriggles uncomfortably
in their chair.
Cameron whispers,
‘Never heard of him.’
Mick adds, ‘Or her?’
Selina says, ‘Or it?’
And then I understand,
so I quickly raise my hand and say,
‘A chicken cooked in a Pookie sauce!’
Everyone giggles.
Cameron adds,
‘A steam-powered toilet seat.’
Ms Arthur smiles,
nodding encouragingly.
Pete says, ‘Harry Potter’s Italian cousin!’
Laura adds, ‘An eighties pop band!’
Selina, ‘The woman who invented ping-pong!’
Alex, ‘A fish that walks on water.
No, a fish that swims on land!’
Mick, ‘A car that can go from zero to sixty
in two seconds.’
It goes on like this for the next few minutes
everyone throwing in silly suggestions
until Cameron raises his hand
and says,
loudly, of course,
‘Pookie Aleera is your boyfriend, Ms!’
and everyone laughs,
even Ms Arthur.