Wednesday morning is always a bit of a scramble because everybody has to remember to pack anything that they need to take to Dad’s. Mum tells us to do it the night before, but only Ella is ever that organised.

I’d crammed everything I reckoned I needed into my bag and was trying to have a nice quiet pee, while everyone else was flapping, but before I could finish Chloe came barging into the bathroom.

‘I’m famous!’ she said triumphantly.

I was going to shoo her away, but being famous is probably just about important enough to interrupt my privacy for.

‘She means she’s in the newspaper,’ Lucy explained, following her in, holding a copy of The Echo.

I tutted. That wasn’t the kind of famous I was thinking of and now there were two of them just staring at me on the loo.

‘Oh, come right on in, take a seat, why don’t you?’ I said.

Chloe sat down on the side of the bath. Seriously?

Once I’d pulled up my school trousers and washed my hands, I took the newspaper from Lucy and had a good look at the page she was pointing at.

‘That is actually quite cool,’ I admitted. Chloe was right there on page seven, with a photo of her holding a rugby ball and everything.

‘And look! Did you see what it says? The rugby club have said that they’re going to run girls’ training too! Because of me!’

‘That’s fantastic!’ And I have to admit that I did end up doing a little dance with Chloe right there in the bathroom.

‘Does this mean Chloe’s going to be on telly?’ Lucy asked.

Chloe twirled in front of the mirror. ‘I might be! I could be on the news like Thunder was.’

‘Will you have to start wearing sunglasses and will those people with cameras follow you around and put you in a magazine with a picture of your knickers showing?’ Lucy asked.

‘I don’t think that’s going to happen,’ Chloe said.

‘Thank goodness,’ I said. It’s bad enough that Chloe flashes her knickers when she does cartwheels in the park. I’d die of embarrassment if her knickers made it into a gossip magazine.

‘She’s not really famous then,’ Lucy insisted.

‘Famous enough,’ Chloe said, cutting out the article with Mum’s nail scissors that are absolutely only ever to be used to cut nails.

‘Well done, Clo,’ I said and grabbed my face wash to put in my bag, but as I was running down the stairs a horrible thought hit me. My history essay was due tomorrow and I hadn’t even started it.

I found Mum in the kitchen.

‘Can I ring you tonight?’ I asked. ‘After your book club? Because I’ve got this history thing to do and Dad is rubbish at history.’

Mum wiped up the ring of milk and cornflakes Lucy had left around her cereal bowl. ‘It’d be better if you could make it before book club.’ She hesitated. ‘I think I might be popping to the pub after we’ve finished.’

She turned to the sink so I couldn’t see her face, but I was already convinced something was going on. ‘Who are you going with?’ I asked.

‘Oh, just someone from the group.’

She sounded a little bit flustered. ‘Mum! It’s not a man, is it?’

She couldn’t help laughing. ‘It is a man, but there’s nothing to get excited about. I just enjoy chatting to him. You don’t mind, do you?’

I hated it when my dad started dating Suvi. Even if my parents didn’t want to be together, I couldn’t see why he needed a girlfriend. But I understand a bit better now. Grown-ups like grown-up company. And romance. I didn’t much like the idea of Mum getting smoochy with someone, but if anyone deserved to be happy it was Mum, so I concentrated on saying something that was both true and nice, and I managed to come up with, ‘I think it’s a great idea for you to have some fun.’

Mum let out a sigh of relief; I guessed that maybe she’d been a bit worried about telling me and how I’d react, so I was pleased that I hadn’t made a fuss.

‘Don’t mention it to your sisters just yet, will you?’

I nodded. I was pleased that Mum had told me an almost-secret; it felt as if she was treating me more like an adult.

‘Anyway, I’ll be around to discuss history until about six thirty.’

‘Got it.’

‘Or you could always ask Suvi to help with your homework.’

Even though I’d been getting on better with Suvi, I still wasn’t sure that would go well, so I chose to ignore that suggestion.

‘I’d better get to school,’ I said, scooping up my bag. ‘I hope you have a nice time tonight.’

‘Thank you, Amelia.’

‘And remember,’ I said over my shoulder. ‘Don’t stay out too late. You’ve got school in the morning, young lady.’