Author(s): Anne Fine

Fiction - junior

Nicky and Tasha wake up, but instead of their mum being with them, there's just a tape recorder on the floor, with a note saying, 'Press Play.' Mum's thought of everything: Tasha needs to wear a jumper (and not that thin shirt she'll get cold in), Little Joe needs his porridge, his lunchbox and constant companion Wabbit, the alarm clock needs to be reset and placed silently beside their sleeping father for when he needs to get up, and then there are all the final checks before they go - is the oven off? Is the cat out? Are the milk bottles on the doorstep? Have they got their school books? When Nicky and Tasha have done everything, they get out of the house saying, as their mother says at that moment each morning, 'Phew!'.