The To Do List

Ten

Dad says, "Hey, you're up!" Then he notices the mini-dress I'm wearing

and his lips tighten. "Let me guess. You're seeing Zoey?"

"Anything wrong with that?"

He pushes my vitamins to me across the kitchen table. "Don't forget

these." Usually he brings them up on a tray, but he won't have to bother

today. You'd think that'd make him happy, but he just sits there watching

me swallow pill after pill.

Vitamin E helps the body recover from post-irradiation anemia.

Vitamin A counters the effects radiation has on the intestine. Slippery elm

replaces the mucous material lining all the hollow tubes in my body. Silica

strengthens the bones. Potassium, iron and copper build up the immune

system. Aloe Vera is for general healing. And garlic – well, Dad read

somewhere that the properties of garlic are not yet properly understood. He

calls it vitamin X. All washed down with unprocessed orange juice and a

teaspoon of unrefined honey. Yum, yum.

I slide the tray back in Dad's direction with a smile. He stands up,

takes it to the sink and clunks it down. "I thought," he says, turning on the

tap and swirling water round the bowl, "that you were feeling some nausea

and pain yesterday."

"I'm fine. Nothing hurts today."

"Don't you think it might be wise to rest?"

Which is dangerous territory, so I change the subject rapidly and turn

my attention to Cal, who is mashing his cornflakes into a soggy pile. He

looks just as glum as Dad.

"What's wrong with you?" I say.

"Nothing."

"It's Saturday! Aren't you supposed to be glad about that?"

He looks fiercely at me. "You don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

"You said you"d take me shopping in half term. You said you'd bring

your credit card." He closes his eyes very tightly. "I knew you bloody

wouldn't!"

"Calm down!" Dad says in that warning voice he uses when Cal begins

to lose it.

"I did say that, Cal, but I can't today."

He looks at me furiously. "I want you to!"

So then I have to, because it's in the rules. Number two on my list is

simple. I must say yes to everything for one whole day. Whatever it is and

whoever asks it of me.

I look down at Cal's hopeful face as we step out through the gate and

suddenly feel a lurch of fear.

"I'm going to text Zoey," I tell him. "Tell her we're on our way."

He tells me he hates Zoey, which is tough, because I need her. Her