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looking right in my direction. I wave and shout, but she looks straight past me. I spin round to see who’s behind me – whose name is on her lips – but there’s nobody there.
    When I turn back, Alex has gone. This is when I wake up. When the dreams first began, I’d be sweating and crying. Mum would come running in and I’d try to explain why I was so sad. But, after a while, the crying stopped. Now I wake up
and lie in the dark, looking up at my glow stars on the ceiling. I wonder why, not once, even though I’ve been having this dream for over a year, Alex has never looked at me.

Tickled Pink
    I’m sitting at the kitchen table struggling over my science homework when I hear the back door open.
    ‘Hi, Finn,’ says Mum, without turning round from the stove.
    ‘Hi,’ Finn replies, flopping down into a chair. He’s wearing a grey sweatshirt that’s perfect for him; grey people are reliable people and I’d trust Finn with anything. ‘What you working on, Izzy?’
    ‘The rock cycle,’ I tell him.
    ‘That’s cool! You get way better homework than we did in Year 7. If you want any CDs, just let me know. I’ve got all the classics and loads of examples – garage rock, indie rock, punk rock, soft rock, hard rock, grunge.’ Finn stops to take a breath. ‘And then I’ve got blues rock, psychedelic rock and, obviously, progressive rock.’
    ‘Not
that
kind of rock,’ I say. ‘I’ve got to look
at how different rocks are made, like sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks.’
    Finn looks disappointed so I rush to reassure him.
    ‘Your kinds of rock are much more interesting than mine,’ I tell him. ‘I wish my homework
was
about them!’
    ‘Well, I’m not going to be much use to you then – I was rubbish at science. Gave it up the first chance I had.’
    I sense Mum turning round behind me.
    ‘But wouldn’t you agree, Finn, that science is a very useful subject and Izzy should do her absolute best to finish her homework?’ Her voice is friendly, but I know she’s raising her eyebrows at Finn in a ‘get the hint and agree with me’ way.
    ‘Oh yes. I totally agree. Science is very important. I really wish I’d worked a bit harder when I was in Year 7. And just wait till you’re in Year 13 – we have so much work to do it isn’t funny!’
    Mum is satisfied with his answer and turns back to the stove. Finn grins at me and I stifle a groan. Why does Mum have to make me look like such a baby in front of him? I always do my homework; it’s not like she has to nag me to do it.
    ‘Here you go, Finn – try one of these.’ Mum puts down a plate of biscuits on the table in front of us. ‘Careful, they only came out of the oven a few minutes ago so they’re piping hot!’
    ‘Thanks, I thought I could smell something good.’ Finn grabs a biscuit and then quickly drops it, yelping and shoving his fingers in his mouth.
    ‘I did warn you,’ says Mum.
    I laugh at the face Finn is pulling and carefully take a biscuit for myself, gently pulling pieces off the sides and blowing on them before I risk eating one.
    Today must be a no-reason visit from Finn because there’s no band practice. I know this because Alex spends hours and hours getting ready on band nights and I can’t ever get anywhere near the bathroom. Not until she’s gone out at least. Alex is quiet today – suspiciously quiet actually. Now that I think about it, she’s not making any noise whatsoever, which is very unusual. There’s no radio blaring from her room, or the sound of her hairdryer at full hair-destroying throttle. Very strange indeed.
    Finn has obviously recovered from his burns because he reaches for another biscuit and stuffs it into his mouth, whole.
    ‘Ooobledook Aldrgghhh ergghhh?’ he splutters through the crumbs. I really, really like Finn, but I wish that he wasn’t such a boy sometimes. There are crumbs all over the table and somebody will have to clear them up and you can bet that it won’t be him.
    ‘What?’