My name is Rose Casson. I have a brother named Indigo, two sisters, Saffron and Caddy and three best friends. No five. Actually six (counting David). My favourite things are drawing and mobile phones and a book called 'The Once and Future King' which was the first book I ever read on purpose. My worst thing is being on my own.

I was named after the colour Permanent Rose when I was a very unhealthy baby. I think it is a good name because I am now fourteen years old and STILL HERE!

Rose's Blog

Rose's Blog February 2012

LINK TO NEWSLETTER! http://www.hachettechildrensdigital.co.uk/hilarymckay/

Here I am again! In pink this time. So where did I get up to? Michael bought Caddy a puppy, did I tell you that? Yellow and woolly and when it grows up it will be a labrador. Caddy called it Timmy after Timmy the dog in Famous Five who was so good at finding secret passages and gold ingots and other interesting things. And did I tell you that Buttercup, now aged six, goes to my old school? Well he does. And since it is rather a long drive from the zoo where Caddy and Michael live he often stops at our house, instead of going home. Which is lovely because nearly always Buttercup is my favourite person in the world.

Buttercup is Timmy's favourite person in the world too. Right from the start, Timmy never understood that he was a birthday present for Caddy. Nor did he do any of the gold ingot-secret passage stuff. What Timmy did, from the moment he was unwrapped (yes, Michael wrapped him) was give himself to Buttercup. Utterly and completely. Caddy says if Timmy could answer the question, 'Who are you?' he would say, 'I am Buttercup's.'

Timmy can just about bear Buttercup going to school if Buttercup comes home at night, but when he stops at our house, poor Timmy cannot bear it. He does not eat and he does not sleep. He searches. He tries to dig through doors and floors in order to find Buttercup. We thought it might help if Buttercup telephoned him to reassure him that he was all right. So Buttercup did. 'Hello Tim,' he said. 'I'm at the other house. I'm at Rose's.'

Then the line went dead because at the other end Timmy had become wild with excitement and taken their phone apart. Perhaps he thought he might find Buttercup squashed up small inside it. So telephoning didn't work. Giving him Buttercup's old clothes to cuddle didn't work. Nothing worked.

Except.

Coming to live here.

Which did.

'At my house,' said my friend Molly, 'nothing ever happens. There is Mum and there is me. That's all. Have you still got David?"

'Yes. All the time now, in the attic with his drums.'

'Does your mum still live in the shed?'

'She comes out quite a lot these days.'

'And you dad?'

'Well you know. Zips about. Caddy's zoo have invited him to be artist in residence.'

'Gosh!'

'I know.'

'Saffron and Sarah and Indigo?'

'Still about. On and off.'

'And now Buttercup and Timmy! Lucky, lucky, lucky you!'

Yes.

That's true.

************

November 2012

I know!

I'm back! I said I wouldn't, yet here I am, with Molly and Kiran peering over my shoulder. 'For when you get stuck,' says Molly. 'Or ridiculous,' says Kiran. They are both right. There is nothing more likely than that I will get stuck or ridiculous, but never mind, here I go:

I am sixteen now. I have been sixteen for two months, and it still doesn't feel real. At school we are supposed to be slaving for exams and choosing subjects we want to study next year. Kiran has so many that she cannot pick between them and I have the opposite problem. That's enough about school.

Tom! That's what everyone asks about! Everyone remembers me and Tom. Me, Tom, Indigo, Frances (that's Tom's little sister). We were friends for a long time and then came Awful Meg.

'Maybe everyone was right about (A) Meg,' admitted Tom to Indigo (on being dumped). 'How's Rose?'

Indigo, who was talking on the phone to Tom, immediately passed this kind enquiry on to me, and I told Tom I was very well thank you and I said, 'Poor Meg. It is never nice when you have to dump people. Why did she do it?'

'She found somebody else,' said Tom gloomily. 'I don't know how.'

'It was probably not difficult,' I said. 'I seem to remember there are quite a lot of people living in New York.' But this helpful explanation just seemed to irritate him.

So that's the Tom news. The Indigo news is that he just cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats and Sarah went to meet him for a surprise at the finish which was such a shock he fell off his bike. Because she was supposed to be in Italy with Saffron.

And Michael bought Caddy a puppy for her birthday and David and Buttercup are still playing drums and Jassy and Juniper are saving up for a motorbike. They have a tin full of pennies. And Mum is in her shed which is state of the art fashion now, full at it is of retro and junk, and Dad was on tv being interviewed about the difference between Art and Vandalism. And he said you could always tell because Art was hard and Vandalism was easy and the studio audience applauded like mad, but he spoilt it a bit by smirking.

And Kiran and Molly have just read this through and Molly said, 'Well done Rose,' and Kiran said, 'You seem to have got away with it this time' and so now I will stop.

Love from Rose