Her friends down the street looked like they were having fun. She could see them on their bikes and skate boards, and some were skipping, they looked so happy. It was typical that she couldn’t join them, she had chores and homework to do, that was no fun.

Maisie was an only child but she didn’t think she was spoilt like the other children told her she was, she reckoned the dog was though, and all he did was lay about and bark at squirrels through the window, she could do that. Maisie wasn’t keen on her new school either, she had been dragged from her best friends in the country and told she had to make new ones, that’s all very well and good, but she wasn’t as confident as she would like, even at 8 she had insecurities, it didn’t help that she had a strong welsh accent and now lived in England, kids could be cruel, some thought they were funny the way they imitated her accent, she didn’t think so, she thought it made them sound Indian.

She liked her teacher though Miss Joyful, she was pretty, a kind face and blonde hair, with the kind of hairstyle she would like, long and straight, her went curly in the rain. She went up to her bedroom which overlooked the street, they were still playing, 3 girls and a boy, the only friends she had made, they lived on her street, their parents were friends with each other, they ate and played a lot together. She looked down at her homework, maths was never her favourite, and she wasn’t keen on her teacher, he made them recite timetables in class on their chairs, if you got it wrong you sat down, whoever was still standing won chocolate, she always sat down first, good job she didn’t like Mars bars.

‘May’ her mother shouted from downstairs

‘Coming’

‘What’s up’ she said as she entered the kitchen

‘Come and meet our new neighbour, Mr Daniels’

‘Pleasure to meet you little lady, and please call me Jack’ he said as he lent down and kissed her

hand, he was tall with dark hair and a cheesy grin, he was wearing a shiny leather jacket and

sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes, just the Cheshire cat smile, very Danny from grease.

‘Hi’ she said smiling, and blushing.

She could here 2 dogs barking outside, 1 was theirs.

‘Is that your dog with ours?’

‘Yes, do you want to meet him?’

She nodded and followed him outside into the garden.

‘Oscar come here boy’ he yelled at the dog, it was bigger than hers.

‘This is Oscar, he likes chasing the squirrels and jumping in puddles’

‘ So does piglet, he likes to chase crunchy leaves in the autumn’

‘ He likes that too…. Don’t be sacred he won’t bite’.

She petted him, he was very soft with big dough eyes and a shiny coat.

‘Honey I’m home’ another man’s voice said

Maisie smiled at Mr Daniels and ran back inside.

‘Daddy’ she was happy to see him

He gave her big hug that lifted her off the floor.

‘Snuggle bug. How’s your homework going?’

Her mood changed ‘ al-right, we have a new neighbour, he has a dog too, I think mum fancies him’

‘Why do you think that?’

‘They keep smiling at each other and not talking’

‘I think I need to meet him’

Her dad put her down and walked towards the back garden to find his wife, she was now talking to Mr Daniels, and laughing. The next day Maisie was happy to go to school, she had done her homework and her first lesson was with her favourite teacher, she met up with her friends from the neighbourhood and got on the school bus. Her mum had packed her lunch again, she could tell, lots of fruit and other healthy food, ryvita, what, that’s grown-up food. She liked it when her dad did them instead, sandwiches, crisps, maybe an apple, and banana milk, perfect, not this health kick her mum was on.

Lessons went fine, first to sit down again in maths, she didn’t care any more she had got used to it, I mean how often is she going to have to know her timetables later in life any way, there’s always going to be calculators. At lunch she wasn’t hungry, looking at the fruit salad in her lunch box and picking at the ryvita, it tasted like cardboard. It was summer so she was sitting outside on the grass, her mums not going to be happy, her dress would be stained again, she didn’t care, it was too nice to be inside.

Her friends came up to join her, Mark picked up the carrot from her lunch box and started to shoot the birds with it, Tilly picked up another one and started shooting him, Suzie had one of her cherries and pulled the stork and yelled ‘Heads down’, before tossing it into the undergrowth and waiting for the inevitable bang, a bird flew out instead and made them jump.

‘Carol, do you want to throw my lunch away as well?’

‘Can I?’ she said with a smile, she picked up another cherry, pulled the stork and threw it to a different hedge, no bird this time, and no bang. All she had left was an apple with no stork, she ate it.

‘Come on, let’s get to class’ mark said

‘Nope, I want to stay here and sit in the sun, can I get my carrots back please?’

‘ No’

Him and Tilly held onto them and were shooting each other with them on the way back into school, Maisie could see someone looking at them from the path that went past the park, the sun was bouncing off their sunglasses so she could see them properly, the bell went, back to reality, she looked over that way again and they were gone, weird.

After school she had her friends over for a barbecue, her dad had a chefs hat on and a comedy apron. The parents were all talking amongst themselves and drinking alcohol, she had seen her dad drunk, he was funny and would trip over things. He was currently drinking coke and making sure the burgers didn’t burn, he was probably told not too be drunk and in charge of the food, good idea. They smelled nice, mum kept going into the kitchen bringing out bread and salad on trays, Maisie was picking on bread sticks and the others were playing with them like wands, she could hear the words expelliarmus and obliviate, she smiled.

Looking around at the adults she noticed Mr Daniels standing in the corner, surrounded by other mums in summer dresses and big smiles on their faces, he was still wearing those sunglasses. After the party finished Maisie felt full, dad had managed not to burn anything, she was impressed, and it tasted good too, he should do this more often. She looked out of her bedroom window at the stars, she still missed her old friends from Wales but figured she could see them again soon, she felt contented, and sleepy.

In the house next door Jack put down his whisky glass and camera before retreating to bed.