Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control we are compelled to postpone the completion of Reflecto Girl #5 until next week 😉

Instead we hope you will enjoy the serialisation of Luke Walker: animal stick up for-er, Chapter 4 which begins here:

Chapter Four: Luke Walker and the Eatwell Guide

It was Mum and Dad’s anniversary so Luke and Jared were going to spend the night at Auntie Joan’s.

“Don’t see why we’ve got to go there,” grumbled Luke, “I’m fairly sure we could stay ‘ere by ourselves for a couplov hours without dyin’!”

Mum didn’t bother to answer.  She’d told him ‘you’re going and that’s final’ three times already and, since Luke obviously couldn’t comprehend the word ‘final’, there seemed no point in repeating it.  

Luke didn’t like going to Auntie Joan’s, it was boring.  Jared usually spent the whole time playing chess with Uncle Brian which left only one person for Luke to play with: Amelia.  Their cousin Amelia was sooo boring.  She wouldn’t make mud pies, or play soldiers; she refused even a game of Battleship because it was too noisy.  All she wanted to do was dress up like a fairy and colour in her colouring books.  Colouring books were boring but Amelia had tons of them.  She got more for every birthday and Christmas because all her friends and relations knew that that was what she wanted.  She couldn’t get enough of them.  Luke groaned at the thought of eighteen hours in that house.  He decided to have a go at persuading Dad to get him out of it.

“Dad, can’t I jus’ stay here?” he pleaded, “I’ll be good.”

“Even if that were true,” said Dad, eyebrows raised, “you’re too young to stay home alone.”

The phone rang.  Mum put it on speaker so that she could carry on doing her hair.  It was Auntie Joan.  Again.

“Will he eat an omelet?” she sounded stressed.

“No eggs. No cheese. No meat. No fish.” said Mum matter-of-factly.

“So what can I give him for protein?”

“Give him beans. He loves beans.”

“Won’t that make him windy?”

“Oh Joan, stop worrying! Just fill his plate with vegetables and he’ll be happy.”

It was true, Luke did love vegetables.  He hadn’t been too keen on them before he stopped eating animals but, as hunger tempted him to try different things, he found he liked them more and more.  Broccoli was his favourite, closely followed by spinach and baked beans.  Joan still wasn’t convinced.

“I don’t know how you cope,” she said, “I’d be so worried he wasn’t getting a proper balanced diet.  He is just a child Marian, do you really think it’s wise to let him decide what he does and doesn’t eat?”

Mum sighed.

“I was skeptical myself at first Joan, as you know, but I’ve had him tested.  The doctor says he’s fit as a fiddle.”

Luke dreaded the thought of Auntie Joan watching him with concern all through dinner.

“Mum, don’t make me go, pleeeeease,” he whispered.

Mum frowned and shook her head.

“Joan, I’ve got to finish getting ready. We’ll see you in forty minutes. Bye.”

****

Continues tomorrow 🙂

Or if you don’t want to wait you can read the whole chapter here.