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RODDY

ONE

I have been with the Court all ress

I didn’t kno to go on I sat and stared at this sentence, until Grundo said, “If you can’t do it, I will”

If you didn’t know Grundo, you’d think this was a generous offer, but it was a threat, really Grundo is dyslexic Unless he thinks hard, he writes inside out and backward He was threateningords like inside turning up as sindie and story as otsyr

Anything but that! I thought So I decided to start with Grundo—and me I am Arianrhod Hyde, only I prefer people to call me Roddy, and I’ve looked after Grundo for years now, ever since Grundo was a s completely silently in the back of the children’s bus He was so miserable that he had wet himself I was only about five myself at the time, but I soot up and staggered through the bu bus to the clothes lockers I found soet into them

This wasn’t easy, because Grundo has always been very proud While I orking at it, Grundo’s sister, Alicia, turned round fro ones “What are you bothering with Cesspit for?” she said, tipping up her long, freckled nose “There’s no point He’s useless” She was eight at the tiht fair hair, thick body, and an air of being the person, the one everyone else has to look up to “And he’s ugly,” she said “He’s got a long nose”

“So have you got a long nose,” I said, “Lady Sneeze” I always called her Lady Sneeze when I wanted to annoy her If you say “Alicia” quickly, it sounds just like a well-behaved sneeze—just like Alicia, in fact I wanted to annoy her for calling Grundo Cesspit She only said it because Sybil, her mother, called Grundo that It was typical of the way they both treated him Grundo’s father left Sybil before Grundo was born Ever since I could reether Poor Grundo was nowhere

It got worse when Grundo started lessons with us and turned out to be dyslexic Sybil went around sighing, “He’s so stupid!” And Alicia chanted at hi well, whether it was e when she was ten

Our teachers knew Grundo was not stupid, but his inside-out way of going on baffled the eccentric,” and I was the one who taught Grundo to read and write I think that hen I started calling him Grundo I can’t quite remember why, except that it suited his! Before long the entire Court called hi him, I discovered that he had an unexpected aical talent

“This book is boring,” he complained in his deep, sole? Or if Rover chases the ball?” While I was explaining to hi books were like this, Grundo somehow turned the book into a comic book, all pictures and no words It started at the back and finished at the front, and in the pictures the ball chased Rover and Jack and Jill were bought by the groceries Only Grundo would think of two people being bought by a huge chunk of cheese