The door opened, an a woman wit grey hair an a thin baldin man wit glasses came in. They spoke te the man, tellin him I was goin te some place. But nothin they’re sayin is makin any sense te me. I can’t hear the words, only a buzzin noise in me head. I’m tryin te get me senses back, but everythin is just a confused jumble. ‘Come along!’ the woman says, wit a half-smile on her face. An she opens the door, waitin fer me te follow her. I move after her, keepin me eyes down. An we go out a different way. An I can’t see me mammy. ‘In you get!’ an the woman pushes me inta a car an gets in the back beside me.
The car moves off, an I don’t see anythin. I stare at me boots. Wha’s goin te happen te me? How long will they keep me? The car stops outside a big house, an a woman opens the door. She smiles, lookin down at me, an then te the grey-haired woman. I don’t look at her but past her inta an empty space. ‘Come in,’ she says, rushin me through a hall an down a flight of stairs an inta a brightly lit room. An a young one wit fluffy slippers an a dressin gown shouts, ‘Hello’ at me. ‘Come and meet Nettie,’ the woman says te me. ‘She’s been waiting up for you. And she’s the oldest girl at sixteen.’
The girl’s face drops when she sees me. ‘Oh! You’re very small for thirteen, isn’t she, Mum?’
‘Yes! We were expecting to see a much bigger girl.’
I dropped me head, lookin at the floor an thinkin, I’m even small fer eleven. They’re goin te know me ma is tellin a pack a lies. An they’ll find out who we really are, an then we’ll be in serious trouble. Me head started te pound, an I felt like gettin sick.
‘Would you like a cup of tea an some bread an jam, Mary?’ the woman asked me.
I looked at her, an she was waitin fer an answer. Oh! Is tha supposed te be me name? ‘No, thanks,’ I muttered, keepin me head down.
‘What pop groups do you like?’ the young one asked me.
I shook me shoulders, not knowin anythin about pop groups.
‘Do you like films?’
‘Yes,’ I said, feelin shy.
‘What film stars do you like? I like Tony Curtis!’
I said nothin. I wanted te say Shirley Temple, but she would have said I was foolish. The young one looked at the woman, an they kept givin each other looks, wonderin wha te make a me. ‘Up to bed with you, Nettie. You’ve stayed long past your bedtime,’ said the woman.
‘Yes, Mam! G’night, Mary.’
‘Night!’ I muttered, an she rushed outa the room.
‘She’s disappointed you’re not a big girl. She was hoping for someone her own age,’ said the woman.
I said nothin, feelin foolish.
‘Follow me, and I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.’
I followed her up the stairs an along a passage. She opened a door an switched on a dim light. ‘Over here,’ she whispered, bringin me over te a corner bed under a winda. ‘Here’s a nightdress. Get changed and be quiet! Everyone is sleeping.’ Then she left.
I woke up te shoutin. I shot up in the bed, an two young ones were fightin. ‘Oh, give it back! That’s mine,’ said a young one of about eight, tryin te pull a teddy bear off another one of about ten. ‘That’s my Paddington Bear!’
‘No, it ain’t! You give it to me, or I’ll bite you!’ screamed the younger one.
A woman came inta the room. ‘Come on, down to breakfast, now!’
‘Auntie! She’s got my Paddington Bear!’
‘Katie! Give Renee back her bear,’ an the woman snatched it off Katie an pushed her out the door. Katie looked back, stickin her tongue out at Renee. I got outa bed an started te get dressed. ‘Come on, Renee,’ shouted the woman up the stairs.
‘What’s your name?’ asked Renee, lookin at me.
‘Mary,’ I said, thinkin first.
‘How old are you?’
‘Thirteen.’
‘You don’t look that!’
I said nothin.
‘Where are you from?’
‘Ireland!’ I said. ‘Dublin!’
Then the auntie put her head in the door an said, ‘Come on, slow coach! Mary, come for your breakfast.’
I followed them down the stairs an inta a big kitchen wit two long tables full a childre.
‘You sit here,’ a baldy man sittin at the top of the table said te me, pointin at an empty chair. I sat down, an he closed his eyes an joined his hands. An everyone started te sing, ‘Thank you, God, for the food we eat, for the flowers that grow, for the birds that sing’. Then everyone started te eat. I put the knife in me mouth, eatin me sausage. An he let a roar at me. ‘Take that knife out of your mouth!’ I jumped, an he looked at me sayin, ‘Never put a knife in your mouth! You will slice your tongue off! Sarah!’ he roared at the other table. ‘Elbows off the table and sit up straight. And stop giggling, Rebecca.’