How to be Me by Cath Howe

Author:Cath Howe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Magic Boat, Magic Plane

“What’s on the top floor?” Keely asked.

We went upstairs. “Let’s look in here,” she said, striding into Vanessa’s dressing room.

A new photo sat proudly beside the mirror on the dressing table: Dad grabbing Vanessa’s shoulders from behind with a silly face, as if he had just surprised her and she was twisting like a person being tickled. That must have been from one of their weekends away. There was a castle I didn’t recognise in the background.

Dad used to tickle me too.

I hadn’t been in this room much. Not since Vanessa moved in, just after Easter. We padded across the deep cream carpet.

Keely ran her fingers along the hangers with Vanessa’s clothes in their plastic covers. “Smells of flowers, doesn’t it?”

She sat at Vanessa’s dressing table. “Well, heellooo,” she said in a posh voice. “What’s in all these bottles?”

“Things she sprays herself with,” I said.

Keely squeezed the padded silky purple ball on the end of a sparkly glass bottle. A squirt of spray came out on her knee. She rubbed her arm in it. “Now I smell important.”

We shouldn’t be in here, even if Vanessa was away and Dad was in Singapore. But otherwise Keely might go home.

By the window Keely found the big sandy-coloured leather chair with padded arms and a footrest. The special chair.

“That’s Vanessa’s,” I said.

Keely picked up the remote handset.

“I love these. They’ve got one in the salon next door. Let’s have a go on it. Come on, Robbie.” She hauled Robbie on to her knee. “Plug it in then,” she said to me.

I thought about Vanessa lying back in it with pads on her eyes.

“Um, it’s supposed to be just one person. It’s not a fast thing. You close your eyes.” I pushed the plug in the socket.

“We’re small. It’s only for a minute.”

The chair began to vibrate with a hum like electric bees. “Keep still, Robbie!” Keely called. But Robbie wriggled and squirmed, his shorts sliding down and his shirt riding up. Keely pushed more buttons. The chair roared and started juddering. “Oooh!” she shrieked. “This is brilliant.”

Robbie’s face was a massive grin. Keely hammered at the keypad, randomly switching between buttons.

“You’re supposed to stay on one setting,” I said.

“It’s a magic boat, isn’t it, Rob?” Keely shrieked.

Robbie clambered up Keely’s chest and spread himself across the headrest, gripping the top, giggling and giggling.

“Are you the captain?” Keely said. “Do you remember that boat on holiday, Robs?”

The footrest rose up. “Keeelleee!” went Robbie. The chair head flumped back, like the one at the dentist’s.

“Whoops!” she called.

Robbie keeled over to one side. I dived, catching him and putting him back on, flump. He was laughing so hard his whole body shook.

Robbie kept lurching off and I had to keep piling him back on.

Then there was an odd charred sort of smell, like snuffed-out candles.

“You have to get off now,” I said, pressing STOP.

Keely dumped Robbie on the floor.

We stared at the chair. “Vanessa uses it … if she’s had a stressful day,” I said, thinking of Vanessa with her soothing eye mask and her special music.

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