joke out of it instead of getting upset. It worked too, in a way. Sometimes they'd get bored and leave him alone for a week or two, and then they'd suddenly remember, or something would happen to trigger it, and they'd be all over him again.
Toby wasn't the brightest or most academic student, but he knew more about the environment than anyone else, and he could paint and draw like a professional artist. Even the teachers had to admit that. Alice had never ever seen anything like it before, and reckoned some of his work was better than the stuff she'd seen hanging in the museums in London. He regularly gave Alice pictures he'd drawn, and she either hung them on her wall like awards, or kept them in her journal like precious jewels.
Outside of school, Alice played with Katy because she was a girl and in the same village, her older brother Richard from time to time, and Toby. It was Toby that showed her the church, the short cut through the woods to get to the village on the other side, the apple tree in the orchard that was perfect for climbing, the secret tree house in the blue bell woods, the red well that had water that looked like blood because of a high iron content in the rocks, the lake and how to fish in it, the reed beds where you could feel like you were walking on water, the trails, the bramble bushes and the abandoned house that was all boarded up at the front, but could be accessed via a panel in the back, and most importantly, how to forget about stupid people at school and have a good time outside of it.
Alice wrote in her diary one day, 'Toby is my best friend. When we grow up, I want to marry him. Everyone at school says he smells. Everyone at school is a stupid plonker, especially Daniel and Mark, because they pretend to be his friends and say things behind his back.'
Her parents weren't so convinced of the benefits of their friendship however, and looked upon Toby as suspiciously as everyone at school seemed to. They told her she should be hanging around with girls and not boys, as though it would be unhealthy for her if she didn't, and kept trying to convince her not to waste her time in his company. James was equally as cruel. He laughed at Toby whenever he was allowed to come round, constantly told him he had nits, and teased him that his trousers didn't reach his ankles.
Alice forgot about London soon enough. She hated people at school, but she just did what Toby did and ignored them. Sometimes it was hard, because sometimes what people said to her really hurt, but other times it was easy. She enjoyed being in the country, she liked what she was learning, and even though she hated her for the rest of her life because of making her stand up in front of the class on the first day, she grew quite fond of Mrs Bond and her cobweb hair.
The seasons came and went. School stopped for Christmas, started up for Spring and stopped again for the Summer. The house, new to her only so recently, immediately became her home. Her friends loved visiting, no one more so than Toby of course, because they had a huge house and massive garden to explore, much bigger than anyone else's, and a TV that had so many channels on it, it took five whole minutes to flick through them all.
James even settled in. He made new friends, became popular at school through his natural ability with sports, and joined a local football and cricket team. Soon enough he'd moved on from his old friends in London, had forgotten entirely about his love of Rugby, and referred to his old life quite categorically as the past in sentences like, 'oh I used to like that in the past', turning the edge of his mouth up when he said it, as though smelling off milk.
Out of all of Alice's friends, Alice's parents were most worried about Toby being a bad influence. They considered the boy to be polite and well behaved, but knew he was prone to mischief. He'd dug up part of their garden one afternoon, looking for old Roman coins, and they were worried that
Toby wasn't the brightest or most academic student, but he knew more about the environment than anyone else, and he could paint and draw like a professional artist. Even the teachers had to admit that. Alice had never ever seen anything like it before, and reckoned some of his work was better than the stuff she'd seen hanging in the museums in London. He regularly gave Alice pictures he'd drawn, and she either hung them on her wall like awards, or kept them in her journal like precious jewels.
Outside of school, Alice played with Katy because she was a girl and in the same village, her older brother Richard from time to time, and Toby. It was Toby that showed her the church, the short cut through the woods to get to the village on the other side, the apple tree in the orchard that was perfect for climbing, the secret tree house in the blue bell woods, the red well that had water that looked like blood because of a high iron content in the rocks, the lake and how to fish in it, the reed beds where you could feel like you were walking on water, the trails, the bramble bushes and the abandoned house that was all boarded up at the front, but could be accessed via a panel in the back, and most importantly, how to forget about stupid people at school and have a good time outside of it.
Alice wrote in her diary one day, 'Toby is my best friend. When we grow up, I want to marry him. Everyone at school says he smells. Everyone at school is a stupid plonker, especially Daniel and Mark, because they pretend to be his friends and say things behind his back.'
Her parents weren't so convinced of the benefits of their friendship however, and looked upon Toby as suspiciously as everyone at school seemed to. They told her she should be hanging around with girls and not boys, as though it would be unhealthy for her if she didn't, and kept trying to convince her not to waste her time in his company. James was equally as cruel. He laughed at Toby whenever he was allowed to come round, constantly told him he had nits, and teased him that his trousers didn't reach his ankles.
Alice forgot about London soon enough. She hated people at school, but she just did what Toby did and ignored them. Sometimes it was hard, because sometimes what people said to her really hurt, but other times it was easy. She enjoyed being in the country, she liked what she was learning, and even though she hated her for the rest of her life because of making her stand up in front of the class on the first day, she grew quite fond of Mrs Bond and her cobweb hair.
The seasons came and went. School stopped for Christmas, started up for Spring and stopped again for the Summer. The house, new to her only so recently, immediately became her home. Her friends loved visiting, no one more so than Toby of course, because they had a huge house and massive garden to explore, much bigger than anyone else's, and a TV that had so many channels on it, it took five whole minutes to flick through them all.
James even settled in. He made new friends, became popular at school through his natural ability with sports, and joined a local football and cricket team. Soon enough he'd moved on from his old friends in London, had forgotten entirely about his love of Rugby, and referred to his old life quite categorically as the past in sentences like, 'oh I used to like that in the past', turning the edge of his mouth up when he said it, as though smelling off milk.
Out of all of Alice's friends, Alice's parents were most worried about Toby being a bad influence. They considered the boy to be polite and well behaved, but knew he was prone to mischief. He'd dug up part of their garden one afternoon, looking for old Roman coins, and they were worried that
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