Popcorn

By Clare Nonhebel

A childless couple knows that fostering a teenage girl with learning difficulties may pose certain challenges.
Soony has a sunny personality, an affectionate nature and a tendency to swear like a trooper and behave unpredictably in public.
She seems to be settling in well to her new life. Soony's social worker and the staff at her former care home are reassured that the placement is working well and that all three members of the new family are becoming attached to one another.
However, June and Jim are becoming aware that there is a fourth member of the family - Soony's imaginary friend Popcorn.
But is Popcorn imaginary?
And if not, who is she?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clare Nonhebel
• Release date: Jun 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311840776

Clare Nonhebel

Giving it all away! I love the idea of publishing online and being able to make my books - 7 novels and 6 non-fiction works so far - available free to anyone who would like to read them. So several are already FREE on Smashwords and others will follow. Feel free to read and enjoy!The most recent novel is 'The Healing Place.' I'm fascinated by all the ways people go searching for peace and fulfilment and by the claims made by an ever-increasing variety of practices, therapies and treatments. But how do we discern the genuine from the fake, the harmless but useless and the downright dangerous? In this novel, Franz, the director of The Healing Place sets out to offer people choice; he tries to be accepting of everything - then starts testing everything, in the context of his own life.The story has light-hearted aspects but touches on some deep questions. I hope you'll like it!I'm also the publisher and co-author of 'Survivor on Death Row' by Romell Broom, now published as an ebook at a minimal price.This was a new venture for me. I had volunteered to write to Death Row prisoners in 2009 and the first one turned out to be Romell, who had just survived a two-hour execution attempt in Ohio's death chamber. The authorities intended to repeat the execution the following week.For me, it was an eye-opener into the nature of the death penalty system. I read Romell's letters and visited him and others. I read accounts by lawyers such as Clive Stafford Smith OBE and by 'Dead Man Walking' nun Sister Helen Prejean, about the failures and flaws that can lead to innocent people being executed. I heard about executioners and prison governors and Ohio's former Attorney General, who now oppose the death penalty and testify that it harms everybody and benefits nobody, including victims' families.More than 155 US death penalty inmates have been exonerated and Romell too has always claimed he is innocent. But how do you prove it - when you live on Death Row?It began to seem more than coincidence that Romell's assigned penfriend happened to be an author. Could his dream of telling his story to the world, and somebody listening, be a possibility?His book 'Survivor on Death Row' is now on Smashwords, and YouTube links are on his author page.Whether you have fixed views on the death penalty, or whether you have never given it much thought, I encourage you to read 'Survivor on Death Row' and hear about it from someone who knows.

Book preview

Popcorn

a novella

by

Clare Nonhebel

Smashwords edition

Copyright 2014 Clare Nonhebel

Cover design by Shirley Walker

POPCORN

Clare Nonhebel

CHAPTER 1

Miss Janes was here again to look at the bed. She did that from time to time. Soony supposed it must be her job and everyone had to do their job, didn't they? Or so Mrs Hobgrass said.

'Are you ready to go, Soony?' asked Miss Janes, sitting down on the bed beside her and patting her hand.

'Yes,' said Soony. She added, 'Go where?'

Miss Janes was surprised, she could tell. 'You hadn't forgotten, had you? To June and Jim. Look, your suitcase is all packed.'

'Oh, yes.'

'You hadn't forgotten really, had you, Soony?'

'No,' she said, but she had. She did forget things sometimes, things like that. Not the important things, which everyone else forgot, like the girl Sally.

'Will Sally be there?' she asked Miss Janes.

'Sally?' said Miss Janes. 'It's June and Jim. You remember - you've been to tea there and you've stayed a weekend.'

'Where's Sally then?' Soony asked. She had never been able quite to work out where people went when they left Springfields.

'Sally who?' said Miss Janes with a note of impatience in her voice. 'I don't know any Sally.'

Soony burst out laughing. 'Yes you do! Sally who lived here.'

'There wasn't any Sally,' said Miss Janes. 'Not since I've been working in this area, and certainly not since you've been here.'

'Sally!' shrieked Soony. 'With the laugh! Jason hid her overall under the cushion and she laughed.'

‘’Oh, one of the helpers,’ said Miss Janes, losing interest. ‘That student, wasn’t she, with the fair hair in a ponytail?’

Soony clapped her hands. ‘Yes. Sally.’

‘She was only here for a couple of weeks last summer,’ said Miss Janes. ‘That was a whole year ago. Do you still remember her, Soony?’

‘Course I do,’ Soony said scornfully. See? She didn’t forget the important things, like friends, even if they never came back to see her when they said they would. She only forgot little things, like which day she was going to live with June and Jim.

Miss Janes turned her attention to the bed, smoothing the pillowcase and patting the sheets. ‘This is the last time you’ll be sleeping in this bed,’ she said. ‘You’ll be in a different bed tonight, in your own little room.’

‘Yes,’ Soony agreed.

‘You saw it last time, didn’t you?’ pursued Miss Janes. ‘June showed you where you would sleep.’

‘Yes,’ said Soony again, to humour her. They had showed the bed to Miss Janes, because Miss Janes was there to look at these things. Soony had not taken very much notice of it herself.

‘Well,’ said Miss Janes. ‘Shall we go?’

‘Oh, all right then,’ Soony agreed. ‘Are we going in the car?’ She liked the car. She was in such a hurry to get there that she ran down the stairs ahead of Miss Janes, who was carrying the suitcase, and stood by the passenger door. She crooned happily to herself, one hand inside her knickers and the other tracing the path of the metal trim on the side of the car.

‘Soony!’ Miss Janes called. ‘Aren’t you going to say goodbye to everybody?’

‘No,’ Soony called back.

‘Yes, you must,’ said Miss Janes. ‘Come on.’

Mrs Hobgrass came out of her office. ‘Goodbye, Soony dear,’ she said, hugging Soony to her cushiony chest.

‘Bye,’ said Soony.

‘You’ll be a good girl, won’t you, with June and Jim? And have a lovely time in your new home. And come back and see us whenever you feel you want to.’

‘Oh, all right then,’ said Soony. ‘Bye.’

‘Are you going to say goodbye to Mr Greaves and Miss Wilmslow now?’ Mrs Hobgrass said.

‘No,’ said Soony. ‘I’m going in the car.’

‘Just a quick goodbye,’ said Mrs Hobgrass. ‘We’re all going to miss you, you know. You know that, don’t you, Soony?’

‘Yes,’ Soony said.

‘I’ll call them out here,’ said Mrs Hobgrass. ‘We don’t want to disturb the Saturday club groups, do we?’

‘No, we don’t,’ Soony agreed.

Miss Wilmslow appeared.

‘Bye,’ said Soony, making for the door. ‘I have to go in the car now.’

‘Goodbye Soony,’ said Miss Wilmslow. ‘Come back and see us again, now won’t you?’

‘Oh, all right then,’ Soony said.

‘I’m sorry to see you go, Soony,’ said Miss Wilmslow. ‘You’ve certainly been a live wire around the place, that I will say. Even if we have had our few little ups and downs.’

‘Yes,’ said Soony. ‘We certainly have. Bye, Mr Greaves.’

‘Soony,’ said Mr Greaves. He put both hands on her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. She kissed him back, on the lips. Miss Wilmslow cleared her throat. ‘I’m sorry you’re leaving us, Soony,’ said Mr Greaves.

‘Yes,’ said Soony. ‘Bye.’

‘Not that you’re really leaving us,’ he said. ‘Because even though you’ve got a new family now, this is still your old home, isn’t it, and you’ll come back and see us whenever you want?’

‘Yes,’ Soony said. ‘Bye.’

‘So be a good girl then,’ said Mr Greaves. ‘And have a lovely time being spoilt by June and Jim.’

‘Oh, all right then,’ said Soony. ‘Bye. I have to go now.’

She went out to the car. The football club people were on the forecourt too, getting out of the van. Brian was twisting the wing mirror on Miss Janes’s car so he could see his face in it.

‘Stop