Me: What’s going on?
Nell: Kev found the plate.
Me: What plate? Not my special Portuguese one?
Nell: We used it for Mozzarella String last night and then it was gone.
Me: What’s Mozzarella String?
Nell: It’s the pizza game. Everyone knows it. You play it in pairs. Mutley and I won. David got in an awful mess and had cheese round his ears at one point but when he and Harriet swapped places they did well.
Me: And Poppy?
Nell: Poppy sat it out. Her fur gets in the way. Anyway, I think David must have nudged your plate under the chair when he was cleaning up.
Me: You all look a bit guilty to me. Even you.
Nell: Yes. I’m afraid things may have got a little out of hand yesterday. A little noisy perhaps.
Me: What happened?
Nell: Poppy raided the drinks cabinet and started mixing cocktails. The puppies were on water, of course.
Me: Of course.
Nell: I knew I should have stuck to sherry.
Me: Oh dear.
Nell: Anyway, the police were very understanding and let us off with a warning.
Me: The police?
Nell: Nice young man. He had a slice of pizza.
Me: But what did you do?
Nell: It’s water under the bridge now. Time to move on.
Me: But Nell….
Nell: Enough. I’ve got an algebra class to teach.
Me: Ok, sorry.
