I wait, holding open the Pasquales’ front door after school, and Jonagold waits, holding open the car door.

Ez sits, peering out, like there’s a river of crocodiles to cross.

‘Come on, Miss Esmeralda,’ Jonagold says, holding out his hand.

Ez just stares.

‘Hmmpf,’ Jonagold grumbles like he’s given up waiting, and reaches in to grab Ez.

‘Don’t!’ I say. ‘Don’t you touch Miss Ez! She don’t need a lump like you wrapping their big ugly paws round her arm!’

‘Hey!’ Jonagold says, but he stands up.

I kick off my shoes and use them to prop the door open, and run over to the car. ‘Miss Ez is just waiting for the music to be just right.’ I hum the music I heard when her grandmother did the bee dance. The music for The Last Honey Bee.

Jonagold’s frowning at me, but then he sees Ez sliding closer to the door, pointing one toe out. He steps back, and taps along to the tune with his fingertips on the door of the car. I point my toes in my stupid white socks and hold my arms up like I saw on the TV and take little dancing steps across the courtyard to the front door, humming all the time.

Ez gets out of the car, bobs real low with her arms out and then walks, first long-legged steps with her toes pointed out, then jiggly little steps on her toes.

She smiles and twirls past me into the front hallway. Jonagold has to carry her bag in and give it to me, coz queens don’t carry their own bags, do they?

‘Thanks,’ he says, like I’m doing him a favour.

I grab my shoes and hurry after Ez who’s already starting up the stairs. I put her bag down. ‘Ez?’ I say. ‘Come to the kitchen, I got a surprise for you.’

‘What?’ she asks.

‘You’ll see.’ I run on my slippery socks across the wooden floor through the door to the white-tiled kitchen.

Esmeralda follows me. ‘Did Ivy make my favourite?’ she asks.

I nod. ‘Passionfruit sponge,’ I say. Never mind I’ve never even heard of that till Ivy told me.

Ez looks at the bare bench and at Ivy standing there with her hands on her hips. ‘Where?’ she asks.

I grab her hand and pull her to the kitchen window. Down on the lawn sits a blanket with the cake waiting beside pretty plates.

Esmeralda shakes her head. ‘I can’t do picnics,’ she says.

‘Ez would,’ I say. ‘Ez would pull off her shoes and run down that green grass and eat a huge slice of cake.’

‘Can we picnic inside?’ Esmeralda asks.

‘It is inside. It’s inside your beautiful garden surrounded by a high wall and a locked gate and it’s perfectly safe.’ I pull off my socks and scrunch them into my shoes. ‘Come on, wild Ez,’ I say.

She kicks off her shoes, takes off her socks one by one and rolls them slowly and puts them inside her shoes. I throw open the kitchen door.

‘Flies!’ Ivy grumbles as I take Ez’s hand and lead her down the steps and along the house wall. She keeps one hand on the house like she needs to be close to it, and at the corner where she has to let go and start down the lawn, she freezes and shakes her head.

‘Brave, strong Ez runs like this!’ I say and I take off running a big circle on the lawn, my arms out like a plane, and it’s nice to have bare feet. It’s good to feel the soft grass on the soles of my feet, and how my feet bend and push. I laugh and run a lap right past Ez. ‘Follow me!’ I call and she lets go of the wall then grabs it again, like she’s dizzy. I run another lap. ‘Run with me!’ I call. Ez lets go of the house and runs out onto the lawn, picking up her feet like the cool grass is strange, like she has to tiptoe-run on it.

‘Ooh, it’s soft,’ she says.

‘Run like the wind!’ I yell, running past her again.

She holds her arms out and runs after me. We lap big circles of the garden.

‘I’ve never been down here!’ Ez yells.

‘Run!’ I yell, and we lap the garden again.

We fall onto the blanket gasping for breath. I lie on my back. ‘Ez!’ I whisper. ‘Lie down, look up at the wide blue sky!’

She does. ‘I feel sick,’ she says. ‘It’s too empty!’

‘It’s not empty, it’s full of blue and clouds,’ I say. ‘Look there, that one is a dog.’

Esmeralda sits up. ‘I don’t like dogs. I don’t like open spaces. Take me back to the house.’

I wave my hands up at the sky. ‘Ez runs through golden fields under the wide blue sky. She’s not afraid of anything.’

‘But I’m afraid! Take me up to the house!’ Esmeralda says.