The Girl from Hard Times Hill by Emma Barnes Page A

that her dress had a train of silk thirteen feet long. My Uncle Harry says she shouldn’t have had all those extra coupons to buy that dress, when everyone else is going short. He’s a Communist, and doesn’t believe in the Royal Family.
    Nana doesn’t agree. She says somebody’s got to have nice things. It’s like going to the pictures and watching the actresses in their glamorous outfits – it cheers everybody up.
    Seeing that cake tin definitely cheered
me
up.
    â€˜Lemon cake!’
    â€˜I think the occasion calls for it,’ said Nana. ‘And blow the sugar ration!’
    I wolfed down my tea and cake. I wanted to tell Pam my news. But then Shirley said something that stopped me short.
    â€˜Where’s Dad going to sleep when he gets back?’
    â€˜He’ll sleep with me, of course,’ said Mum.
    â€˜But then where will
I
sleep?’
    At the moment, Shirley sleeps in Mum’s bed. Barbara sleeps in a cot squeezed in between the bed and the wardrobe.
    â€˜You’ll be sleeping with Megan,’ said Mum, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
    I spluttered on my last mouthful of tea. ‘What!’ I gasped, when I’d recovered. ‘I’m not sharing with her!’
    â€˜Of course you are. There’s plenty of room for both of you.’
    â€˜But that’s not fair! It’s
my
room!’
    â€˜Don’t be silly,’ said Mum. ‘It will be great fun for you, sharing with your sister. You can cuddle up together at night. I loved sharing with my sister when I was young.’
    Sometimes I think Mum doesn’t understand me at all.
    I looked at Nana. Nana
does
understand me, but this time she just shook her head quietly, and I knew that it was pointless to protest.
    The trouble is, this isn’t a big house, and there’s always a lot of people in it. But I hated the idea of giving up my room. It’s tiny, but I love it. I keep my comics in an old shoe-box, and my roller skates in pride of place on my chest of drawers. There’s a model airplane that Dad once sent me hanging from the ceiling, my Royal Wedding mug, and the books I got last Christmas – my
School Friend
annual,
The Enchanted Wood
and
Five On A Treasure Island
. Even better, my room’s got a little window looking over the back lane, and I can shout down to my friends, or watch the sunset over the rooftops or the swallows flitting back and forth.
    Best of all, I can always escape from Shirley and Barbara.
    The only hope was that Shirley would refuse to leave Mum.
    No chance.
    â€˜I’d
love
to share with you, Megan,’ Shirley said. ‘We can play dollies
all the time
.’
    It’s funny how your mood can drop. My feet dragged as I carried plates and cups over to the sink. I don’t really like changes. Now Dad was coming home
and
I was losing my room.
    I was realizing something else, too. I’ve only ever seen Dad on leave. And for his last leave, Mum had gone out to visit
him
. In a way, I don’t know Dad that well.
    Nana washed and I dried.
    â€˜Nana,’ I said after a while.
    â€˜Yes, love?’
    â€˜I’ve grown a lot since Dad was here, haven’t I?’
    â€˜Yes, you certainly have.’
    â€˜What if – what if he doesn’t really remember me? What if I don’t really remember
him?
’
    â€˜What if, what if,’ said Nana briskly. ‘I never heard such nonsense. How did you feel last time, before he came?’
    â€˜I don’t remember.’
    â€˜I’ll tell you,’ said Nana. ‘You felt exactly the same.’
    â€˜Did I?’
    â€˜Yes. And then when he arrived, everything was fine.’
    Nana can always make me feel better.
    â€˜Can I go and see Pam now?’
    â€˜Of course. But make sure you’re back in good time – we’re going to have sausages and fried bread for supper.’
    It’s usually just bread-and-jam on washing