Beanie hats on pudding-headed boys.

I went up to my room to think about the Wuthering Heights thing.

And to make notes in my performance art notebook.

I spent about an hour on it.

It says: Breeches and a moustache.

I thought I would pop along to see the owlets again. It would take my mind off the Heathcliff thing. I was going to make damn sure Connie wasn't anywhere around, though. And by the way, where was the owl dad, when he was needed?

Probably off abroad, like my dad. Messing about with his mates saying, "Ooooooh, look there's a bog-eyed mouse, you can't get those in Yorkshire."

When I carefully went into the dark barn the owlets must have sensed I was there because they started cheeping and peeping. I went over to the nest. Oooooohhh, they are cute and fluffy. Still blindy, though. They were opening and closing their beaks, but I didn't have any owl snacks for them. Ruby might know what they like.

I said softly, really close to their ears...Do they have ears?

Anyway, I said near to where ears would be if they had them, "It's me, big Tallulah. And you are little Tallulah and little Ruby. I am not as furry as you but my eyes are quite big. And when you can open yours, that is what you will see. I love you little owls."

I stayed for a while, chirping with them. I did touch their little heads but then I thought that Connie might be able to track me down by my smell. And that made me think it was spooky and dark in the barn, so I thought I would go.

As I came out of the barn, I saw Cain with his arm around Beverley.

Cain, AGAIN.

I am haunted by him.

Shouldn't he have a job, tupping sheep or whatever they do on the moors? Striding about with a big black surly dog, like him.

Oh, actually, he has got a dog.

A big black surly dog. Growly and black. It came bounding up to me and leapt up, and put both its huge paws on my chest. Ow.

Cain said, "Oy, dog. Get down. Mind your manners with the young miss. Nivver just jump up on a lady, you must always give her face a quick lick first."

The dog got down and went behind Cain.

And he and Beverley laughed.

Oh, great balls of fire, I hoped she wasn't with Cain when I had been doing the corkers rubbing. She was looking at me, like she didn't like me.

He was looking at me as well. He's got incredibly long black eyelashes, like a girl's.

He does a lot of looking.

Up and down he looked.

It was making me nervous, so I said, "What's the dog called?"

And he said, "Dog."

Typical.

Thank Angel Gabriel and all his cohort, because Ruby came skipping along with Matilda. My two little pals.

Cain's dog looked at Matilda.

Blimey, there was probably going to be dog fight now. Dog growled. And Matilda lay on her back and put her legs in the air. She was doing 'hooray'.

Cain laughed and said, "Bloody women."

Cain is just like Heathcliff.

Then he said, "Come on, Dog." And he started walking off.

Beverley said, "Aren't tha gonna walk me back fust?"

And he said, "Does it look like it?"

Ruby tutted and went into the barn, to say goodnight to Tallulah and Ruby.

Beverley looked a bit sad and I didn't know what to say.

When Ruby came back, Beverley said to her, "He's a right pig, that Cain."

Ruby said, "I know, why don't tha know?"

And she said, "I dunt know, I just think that if he got right sort of girl, he'd happen be happy. See thee at skipping." And she went off ahead of us.

On our way back, Rubes and I popped to the skipathon on the village green. I should have told the girls to come, it was hilarious. I was a bit worried that the Hinchcliffs might be there, but Rubes said they don't join in with village stuff.

Back in my bed, I've written this in my performance art notebook: They are the dark outsiders. Up on the moors.

The Wuthering moors.

Planning their dark deeds.

In their dark farm.

Ruben, Seth and Heathcliff.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Then I have also written something which I might send to the Yorkshire Post: Imagine the scene.

A small Yorkshire village, high in the moors.

It's evening, the villagers are lining up to skip with a fourteen-foot skipping rope.

Harold is holding one end. He has the Christian Table Tennis team hanging on to him.

Dibdobs is on the other end, and she has the whole of the Brownie pack holding her waist.

Two lines of people queue up to skip.

The aim is to get the whole village skipping at once.

That is the aim.

One goes in, then two, then three.

They have to be quick as it is a big strain on the Dobbins' arms.

Sixteen, seventeen.

It's all going well. Everyone skipping at the same time.

Then Mr Barraclough lumbers over from The Blind Pig.

The rope comes down for the grand finale and they all leap over it at the same time.

Leaping into a place in village history apart from Mr Barraclough. He is handing out pies to his mates.

He doesn't see the rope.

It hits him in the shins.

Everyone falls over.

There is booing.

It's nearly midnight, but I can hear laughing and yelling from the green, people are carrying on skipping and the Dobbins are still out. I wonder if they have ever stayed up till midnight before?

The next morning when I got to Dother Hall, Vaisey came dashing out again to see me. I thought that Vaisey had hit her peak yesterday, but today she is on cloud nine. And her hair is on cloud ten. I've never seen it look so perky.

She's got a little note. From Jack.

As we went to creative writing class, she was so excited and red. She said, "He must have delivered it in the night. It was in my postbox this morning."

How romantic, to have a note delivered to you.

Monty was reading from his 'Diary of a Young Man'. It's an epic he is writing as a one-man play. It's about him. He says it is good to take your own experiences and use them in your theatre work.

He started by pretending to be asleep on a chair and then 'woke up' as if from a dream.

"Do you know, I really thought I was back there, with Biffo, Boffo and Sprogsy. Those happy, happy days of youth."

And then he began gadding about, skipping and shouting with laughter.

"Biffo, pass the sandwiches, you greedy pig. Last one to the lemonade shop is a slowcoach!"

Then he was doing really slow-motion running on the spot. Looking behind him.

I whispered to Jo, "Is he still acting? Or has he gone mad?"

As Monty illustrated the use of props, by playing a record on an old record player, I asked Vaisey, "What did Jack's note say?"

Vaisey was all pink and her hair was dancing about.

"It was really nice, just a short note. He's been busy with The Jones and he says he'll be here on Friday, and will see me then."

Wooohooo. Vaisey's first date!!

This afternoon we 'brainstormed' the Wuthering Heights production with Ms Fox. And she announced to everyone that I was going to be Heathcliff and that Vaisey is Cathy. We are going to improvise towards a production. It's going to be about wildness and youth and passion. With music.

Ms Fox said, "Let's start now. I want you to 'go wild', in whatever way you like. I'm going to put The Ride of the Valkyries on, so just let yourselves go. Find your inner gorilla."

So we crashed around the studio, fighting and running and shaking everything to music. It was really good fun.

Then we had to do 'contained violence and anger'. To the 1912 Overture.

Flossie was very good at it. And Jo had to be hauled off one of the lighting stands.

Then we had to lose our tempers in a foreign language. Jo was livid in Chinese, yelling, "You make me VELLY VELLY ANGWY!"

I tried Norwegian because of my mum. And was able to use 'Sled-werk' in a sentence: "Du grossen biggen Sled-werk nit."

I haven't laughed so much for ages.

Ms Fox was falling about.

We went and sat under our tree at lunchtime. Even though it did look like there was a storm brewing.

Everyone was jabbering on about Wuthering Heights. Ms Fox has got us all talking ideas. Flossie and Honey are the wind-singers. And the heavenly chorus. And Jo is thunder and lightning. She's got loads of drums to bang and a wrestling match with one of the village folk, so she is made up.

The whole thing is an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza.

It's going to be filmed.

For posterity.

With me as a boy.

In a moustache.

I said, "Why are none of you surprised that I am Heathcliff?"

Jo said, "Well, you did the owl, and that was good."