Diamond Girls (27 page)

‘No, darling, you're not paralysed – feel,' said Mum. ‘Wiggle your toes! That's my girl. You can't move your legs because they're strung up in plaster, see?'

Mum slid her arm behind my head and helped me
peer
at my new weird white legs, my pink toes sticking out of each end.

‘They feel so
heavy
,' I said.

‘Still, think how hard you'll be able to stamp on Rochelle if she gets on your nerves,' said Jude.

‘How long have I got to keep the plaster on?'

‘We're not quite sure yet, darling. Both your legs are quite badly broken. But you'll mend, sweetheart, and you'll be running around all over the place before long, you'll see. I'm going to stay with you while you're in hospital, with little Sundance. I'm going to have a mattress in a side ward – it's all arranged. I'm getting used to camping on blooming mattresses! But by the time you come home, Dixie, we're going to have your own bed all sorted, and we'll paint up your bedroom and make it as pretty as a picture. You'll help me, won't you, guys?'

‘Of
course
we will,' said Bruce.

‘If I can manage it,' said my dad.

‘And I'm going to come visiting, Dixie. I'm going to be able to feed
you
little treats and help
you
drink out of a straw now,' said Bruce.

‘Is your back better now, Uncle Bruce?'

‘Yes, little 'un, it's on the mend now.'

‘So are you going back to your own house now?'

‘Well, I'm dashing backwards and forwards in the van. I'll have to see to the shop some of the time, but I'll come every weekend and I'll bring you lots more flowers. The nurses thought you were a little film star with all my lilies.'

‘I'll come and see you too, little Dixie,' said my dad. ‘But maybe not
every
weekend. I could bring my other daughters too. Would you like to meet your sisters?'

‘I think she's got more than enough sisters as it is,' said Mum.

‘How come
you're
here, Martine?' I asked.

‘I came the minute I heard about you, Dixie – don't be daft,' said Martine.

‘Is Tony here too?'

‘No. We've had a row, him and me –
and
his mum. I got sick of them saying stuff, badmouthing us Diamonds. Bogging cheek! I'm not going back to Bletchworth. I'm staying with you lot.'

‘My Ryan's here,' said Rochelle proudly. ‘He's outside because hospitals give him the heebie-jeebies, but I could call him if you like. He wants to say hello.'

‘No more visitors, please!' said a big friendly nurse, bustling up beside my bed. She put a thermometer in my mouth. ‘Hello, my lovely. So you've woken up, have you! I think you might get a bit over-excited with all this crowd round your bed. How about just the immediate family staying?'

‘We're all immediate family,' said Mum. ‘I'm her mum.'

‘I'm her dad.'

‘I'm her uncle.'

‘Her
favourite
uncle,' said Jude. ‘And I'm her sister.'

‘I'm her big sister,' said Martine.

‘Well, I'm her sister too,' said Rochelle.

‘Goodness, what a lot of sisters,' said the nurse. She looked at Sundance's blue sleeping suit and shawl. She winked at Mum. ‘I bet you were glad when you had their little baby brother!'

Mum took a deep breath. ‘Not a bit of it,' she said. ‘Girls are just as good as boys.
Better
. And the little one isn't a boy at all. I just fancied dressing her in
blue
because I got a bit bored with all that pink.'

‘Mum?' said Jude.

‘Oh God, now Mum's gone nuts,' said Rochelle.

‘Mum, Sundance is a
boy
,' said Martine.

‘Well, I think my little babe's nappy needs changing, so have a quick peep and see if I'm right,' said Mum.

Poor Sundance had everyone peering at her little pink bottom.

‘
Why
did you pretend she was a boy, then?' said Jude.

‘I told you, she's gone loopy,' Rochelle hissed. ‘And Sundance is an even weirder name for a girl.'

‘Shut
up
, Rochelle,' said Martine. ‘Mum, you said all along you were having a boy. It was all in the stars about your boy.'

‘Maybe it's Sundance's
dad
who's the boy,' Bruce muttered.

‘You're a much cannier bloke than you look, Bruce,' said Mum. ‘I hadn't thought of that! Maybe I
have
got psychic powers after all.'

‘I don't get it, Mum,' said Jude.

‘I don't get it either, do you, mate?' said my dad to Bruce.

‘Sue's a woman who's full of surprises,' said Bruce.

‘If that's a nice way of saying I'm off my trolley then I'd have to agree with you,' said Mum. ‘I
did
go a bit loopy, Rochelle. I couldn't even tell
you
, Martine. I suppose I didn't dare, because I knew you wouldn't keep it quiet like our Dixie.'

‘Dixie
knew
?' said Martine and Jude and Rochelle.

I spat out the thermometer triumphantly. ‘I knew right from the start, didn't I, Mum?' I said. ‘Mum isn't bonkers. She just pretended a bit, that's all. Because she wanted Sundance to be a boy so much.'

‘That's right, my darling. I just wanted to stay in my own private little dream world. But I couldn't. All you girls needed me. It's a drama every day in our blooming household – Rochelle getting a boyfriend, Jude getting into fights, our Martine getting pregnant. Then little Dixie damn near died and I was shocked back into my senses. About bogging time and all!'

‘Well, Mum, maybe
my
baby will be a boy. Your first grandson, eh?' said Martine.

‘We'll love it whether it's a boy or a girl,' said Mum. ‘But let's hope it's another girl. Then we'll all be Diamond girls together.'

1.
In her introduction to
The Diamond Girls
, Jacqueline Wilson explains that she was inspired to write this story when a politician said that
The Illustrated Mum
was one of the worst books she had ever come across, because the two girls in that story had different fathers. What do you think of this politician's attitude, and of Jacqueline's reaction to that comment?

2.
When the Diamonds first arrive at their new home, a neighbour calls them a ‘Problem family'. What do you think she means by this, and is there any truth behind that term? Do you think Jacqueline portrays the Diamonds in a positive light, despite the problems they face?

3.
How does your own family compare to Dixie's? What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of having such a big family are?

4.
There are four Diamond sisters: Martine, Jude, Rochelle and Dixie. Think about their personalities (and have a look at the character profiles on the next page!) – they are all very different! Which sister are you most like? Which of them would you most like to spend the day with, and why?

5.
The girls' mother, Sue, is interested in astrology and believes the new baby will be a boy because of a star chart she consulted. What do you think about astrology? Is there ever any truth in it, in your opinion?

6.
Do you think Sue is a good mother to her daughters?

7.
Mary's mother is very different to Sue, and has a very different relationship with her daughter. To the outside world, which of them do you think would be considered the better parent? Why do you think this is?

8.
Mary is a very frightened, timid little creature – although she does begin to have fun with Dixie! Try to imagine what she would be like if she had been brought up a Diamond girl. How different would her life and her personality have been?

9.
Why do you think Sue was so determined to have a son? Why is she so determined to keep pretending Sundance is a boy?

10.
What do you think the future will hold for the Diamonds? The story finishes with a serious accident, but is it a happy ending?

You've finished reading
The Diamond Girls
– now test yourself on how much of the story you remember!

1.
At the start of the book, the family lives on the Bletchworth Estate. Name the new estate they move to.

2.
Dixie's favourite toy budgie, Bluebell, was ‘made in China' but where does Dixie like to pretend she came from?

3.
When the girls learn that they'll have a garden at their new home, Dixie dreams of having lots of real birds, while Rochelle says she'd like lots of fluffy Persian cats. What would Jude's dream pet be?

4.
Name the nine planets in our solar system!

5.
The other girls tease Dixie because of her father's job. What does he do?

6.
When Sue pictures the future for her girls, what does she imagine Dixie will do?

7.
While their mum is in the hospital having the new baby, Dixie pretends she's in a nature programme – but what jungle animal does she pretend to be?

8.
What's the name of Rochelle's new boyfriend?

9.
What sort of special kung fu does Bruce show Dixie and Jude?

10.
Dixie keeps her mum's secret: that Sundance is really a girl. But what secret is Martine keeping?

ANSWERS
1.
The Planet Estate
2.
Australia 3. A Rottweiler
4.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
5.
He is an embalmer at a funeral home
6.
Be a famous writer
7.
Ryan
8.
Wing Chun
9.
A gorilla
10.
She is having a baby, too

The Diamond Girls
is narrated by Dixie, but what might the story have looked like through the eyes of another character, such as Rochelle, Bruce, or Mary? Pick your favourite scene from the book. Now imagine what that scene must have looked like to this other character, and the different feelings they might have had.