Lizzie Zipmouth Paperback - 2008

Chapter One

Do you ever have nightmares? I had such a scary dream I didn't want to go back to sleep. It was just starting to get light. I sat up in bed and looked at Mum. Her hair was spread out over the pillow.

I wish I had lovely long hair like Mum. Sometimes she lets me brush and comb it. I can do it in a funny topknot. Once I put it in plaits and Mum looked just like my sister, not my mum.

I haven't got a real sister. Or a real brother. But today I was getting two new sort-of brothers, Rory and Jake. I didn't like them much.

I was getting a stepdad too. He was called Sam. I didn't call him anything. I didn't like him at all.

I frowned at my mum. I took hold of a little clump of her hair and pulled.

"Ouch! What are you up to, Lizzie?" said Mum, opening one eye.

"I was just waking you up," I said.

"It's too early to wake up," said Mum, putting her arm round me. "Let's snuggle down and have a snooze."

"I don't want to snuggle," I said, wriggling away. "Mum, why do we have to move in with Sam?"

Mum sighed. "Because I love him."

"I don't love him," I said.

"You might one day," said Mum.

"Never ever," I said.

"You wait and see," said Mum. "I think you're going to love being part of a big family. You and me and Sam and Rory and Jake."

"I don't want to be a big family," I said. "I want to be a little family. Just you and me in our own flat."

We had fun together, Mum and me.

We went to football matches and we shared big tubs of ice-cream and we danced to music.

Sometimes I stayed up really late and then we went to bed together. I didn't like night-time because of the bad dreams.

I dreamt about my first stepdad. I hate stepdads. I've got a real dad but I don't see him now. He stopped living with us ages ago. He doesn't come to see me but I don't care any more.

My first stepdad doesn't come to see us either and I'm very, very glad about that. He was a scary monster stepdad. He pretended to be jolly and friendly at first. He bought me heaps of presents. He even bought me a Flying Barbie. I always badly wanted a Barbie doll but Mum never bought me one. She thinks they're too girly. I like girly things. I loved my Flying Barbie but I didn't ever love my first stepdad, even at the beginning.

When we went to live with him he was still jolly and friendly when he was in a good mood but he started to get lots of bad moods. He started shouting at me. I tried shouting back and he smacked me. He said I got on his nerves. He certainly got on my nerves. He said he didn't like me. I didn't like him one bit.

Mum didn't like him any more either, especially when he shouted at me. We left that stepdad. We went back to being just Mum and me.

We got our own flat. It was very small and poky and the bathroom had black mould and the heating didn't work, but it didn't matter. We were safe again, Mum and me.

But then Mum met this man, Sam, in a sandwich bar. They ate lots and lots of sandwiches. Then they started going out together. Then I had to start going out with them at weekends even though I didn't want to. Sam's sons, Rory and Jake, came too. They didn't see their mum any more. They seemed to like my mum. But I didn't like their dad.

*

"I don't want Sam to be my stepdad," I said. Again.

"He's not a bit like the last one, Lizzie, I promise," said Mum.

I love my mum but I don't always believe her, even when she promises.

"Lizzie?" said Mum. "Oh come on, don't look like that. Don't we have fun together when we all go out, the five of us?"

Mum had fun. She larked about with Sam and sang silly songs and talked all the time and held his hand.

Sam had fun. He laughed at my mum and sang with her and told her these stupid jokes and put his arm round her.

Rory had fun. He played football with Mum and she taught him how to dive when we went swimming and when he couldn't choose between pizza and pasta at the restaurant he was allowed to have both.

Jake had fun. He ate sweets all day long and Mum gave him a musical toothbrush so that all the sugar wouldn't rot his teeth too much. He brushed his teeth all day long too. He had thirteen Beanie Babies that he carried round with him. They all had to have their teeth brushed too.

I didn't have fun. I thought Jake was a silly baby. And it wasn't fair. Mum didn't mind him having his Beanie Babies. Boys are allowed to be girly.

I didn't like Rory much either. He pushed me over when we played football. I don't think he meant to but it still hurt. And he splashed me when we went swimming. He did mean to do that.

I certainly didn't like Sam. I knew he wouldn't be jolly and friendly for long. I was waiting for the shouting to start.

He kept trying to make friends with me. I just looked down at the floor and wouldn't say a word.

I decided not to say a word to anyone.

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