there.â
âAre you nuts? Mum will go ballistic if she sees you, you know that. Do you have any idea how late it is?â
âI donât care, Harry, Iâm on a mission. Thereâs a lost kid in our lounge room!â
I hear him say something else but by then Iâve got my notepad and pen and am commando-crawling back down the corridor.
This time I position myself so that I can see more of whatâs going on, though they canât see me because Iâm low down and in the shadow of the wall. Anyway, Mum and Dad only ever come to our rooms after lights-out when theyâre on their way to bed themselves. And theyâre nowhere near going to bed tonight.
Mei is sitting on the old couch, a yellowplastic cup wobbling in her hand. Mum and Dad are on the new red couch and the police officers are on a couple of chairs brought in from the kitchen. The policeman has his notebook open on his knee. His notebook has a plain black cover. Kind of boring. No owls or anything.
The policeman puts his mug down on the coffee table and says to the policewoman, âIâll call Family Services now. Theyâll have to arrange a place for her to stay.â
Mum looks up and says, âBut she can stay here tonight. Where she already is. Itâs too late to move her, surely â¦â
âWell, thatâs very kind of you, Mrs Campbell, but thereâs a protocol in these situations and we have to follow it ââ
âWe have our own two children here, Harry and Poppy, and plenty of space. And she
was
left here â¦â
âYes, but ââ
Mum shifts forward on the couch. âAnd I have a Working With Children Check card.â
Which is when the policewoman says, âLook,â and tilts her head toward the old couch.
âWould you look at that,â Dad says quietly.
I crane forward, and Meiâs asleep, crumpled into her blanket like a soft toy, the yellow cup leaning to one side.
âOhhh little one,â Mum says, and goes to her. She slides the cup out of her hand and brings the blanket around her more comfortably. Then she reaches for a cushion and puts it on the open side of her body, so sheâs snugged in.
Dad gets up and dims the lights. âSurely she can stay here tonight, while you look for her family.â
The policewoman looks at him, then at Mei, and says, âAnd it looks like sheâs comfortable with that, too.â
My eyes are golfballs. Far out, brussel sprout. We have a guest for the night.
I scurry back to my room like a spider to its web, and rap on the wall. Harry buzzes.
âSheâs staying the night!â I report.
âNo way. Are you serious?â
âYes! Deadly!â
âWow.â
âI know.â
âI wonder how long sheâll stay.â
âProbably just tonight by the sound of it.â
I wonder what theyâre talking about now. I canât bear what I might be missing â crucial information!
âI need to get back out there, Harry.â
âYou only just got back!â
âI know!â
âOne of these times theyâre bound to catch you. And then thereâll be
consequences
.â
âI donât care. Iâm going.â
This time I wrap my stripey dressing-gown around me, and tie the belt tight to keep it close. Iâm getting cold, spending this much time out of bed. As I creep out of my room I take a look at the clock: 11.30. Holy guacamole! And itâs a school night.
As I approach the lounge room the policeman is saying, âWeâll have to get permission from the station for her to stay here.â
âYes, of course,â Mum says. âWeâll do everything we can to help Mei feel comfortable and safe while this is sorted out.â
âThanks, Mrs Campbell.â He pauses. âDo you think youâve ever seen her before? Around the neighbourhood?â
âI havenât,â said Dad, âbut Iâm
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