on the floor and pushes open the bathroom door, turns on the shower.
‘Can I have a bath too?’ I ask. I love the bath. We get to play and splash around and Amy always hugs on to me like I’m the mummy. ‘Please?’
‘When I’ve got this mess off her,’ Mum promises, and she even smiles a bit at me remembering my manners. She strips Amy down and plonks her under the shower, the poo running off her into the plughole. Amy starts to scream straight away and puts out her arms to me. I put my hand under the water.
‘It’s a bit chilly.’
Mum doesn’t look happy at my helping; she pulls her annoyed face and moves the hotter colder switch.
‘Can I get in now?’ All the poo has gone down the plughole and I’m desperate to get in to play with my sister. Mum sighs – I’m going on again – but she nods and I pull off my clothes, excited, and struggle to swing my leg over the side of the bath. I want to show her how much of a big girl I am getting in by myself, but she doesn’t even notice. She picks me up and plonks me in the bath next to Amy. I put the plug in just like I always do and sit under the shower as the water fills up the sides.
‘Watch her a second for me,’ Mum says, and gives me a frowny look. ‘Have you got her?’
I nod. Amy is sitting between my legs and I wrap my arms around her chest as Mum disappears from sight.
‘Here we go, Amy.’ I show her the little blue boat with the squirrel captain and she laughs when I duck it under the water and it bobs back up to the top.
The water on my head feels lovely and warm – I’m so grown up now that I don’t even mind any more when a little bit gets on my face. Amy puts her hands out to the taps and grabs hold of one, tries to pull herself up. She’s such a naughty little monkey – I always call her that – and she loves to stand up even though she can’t walk yet. I’m trying to teach her but she always falls back on her bum after a few seconds. I laugh and pull her back down. ‘Oh no you don’t,’ I say to her like I’ve heard Daddy say. She laughs louder, like we’re playing a game, and tries to crawl forward. The water isn’t very high, and it’s okay, it’s not up to her face when she crawls yet.
I get a little shock when the water falling on my head goes cold. ‘Mum!’ I shout. ‘It’s gone chilly!’
Mum doesn’t come and the water is freezing now. It’s filling the bath and soon we’ll be sat in a whole puddle of it. It’s okay, though, I know how to turn it off, I can stop it freezing us before Mum comes to put it warm again. I’m so grown up now, I think as I stand up to turn off the shower knob. I’m even going to school soon and my teachers will be really pleased with how grown up I am. But I turn the knob the wrong way first time, silly billy me, and the water goes faster and faster. Quickly I turn it the other way, but my hands are wet now and the tap is wet and my fingers are just slipping round and round on the cold silver. ‘Mum?’
Phew, it’s okay, the shower knob turns and the water goes off. ‘Thank goodness,’ I say to Amy with a grin. I’ve heard Daddy say that too and I like the way it sounds. Goodness. Oh goodness.
I turn around to smile at my sister and laugh to see her messing around under the water.
‘Oh Amy! You silly monkey.’ I pull her back up to sit in between my legs, just like Mummy said, but she feels heavier now, and her eyes are closed. I didn’t even know she was tired. ‘Amy, wake up, baba.’
She’s not waking up. And I know then that there’s something very, very wrong. I can feel myself starting to panic, the way I felt when I knocked my drink off the table and Mummy yelled and said why did I have to be so difficult? I give Amy a little shake – not too hard – but she is still sleeping.