The following evening Violet was at the kitchen table doing her homework when her mother walked in.

“I’ve been speaking to your teacher Violet,” she sighed, sitting down, “You’ve been acting up in class, she said you are not integrating with the other students...”

She left the sentence hang for a moment. Violet tried to speak but her mother held up a hand.

“They analysed your test results. I can’t believe I never saw it before. It’s my fault. I take full responsibility.”

“What do you mean Mam? What test?”

“Violet please, I know it’s just your condition talking but don’t answer back to your mother.”

“Mam,” Violet pleaded, “If you are talking about that test yesterday it was the stupidest thing I have ever seen. They even asked me the colour of my favourite pair of socks. You would have laughed. It’s strange here Mam, I don’t like this place...”

“Stop it Violet, I won’t hear another word said. You know colour can tell a lot about a person, especially the colour of their socks! Now Violet dear...” she continued.

Her mother had never called her “dear” before. She sounded like Mrs. Moody.

“You have a condition called IDDCS. It’s Irritable, Disfunctional, Disobedient Child Syndrome. I can’t believe I never picked up on it before. It has probably afflicted you all your life pet,” she said, reaching into her pocket, “we’re putting you on these.”

She pulled out a small brown bottle and placed it on the table in front of Violet.

“You’ll take one of these in the morning,” she said, shaking a blue pill out onto her hand.

Then her mother got up, filled a glass with water and left it and the pill down in front of her daughter.

“And two of these in the evening,” she said, reaching into her other pocket to pull out a bottle of yellow pills.

“And don’t worry about remembering dear. Mrs. Moody kindly gave me this alarm so I can set a reminder,” she said, placing a strange looking clock in the centre of the table, “They really do look out for your wellbeing in that school. I don’t know what we’d do without them.”

“But Mam, I’ve only been there a day. Mrs. Moody doesn’t even know me. The test was stupid and I wasn’t disobedient! I dropped my pencil and crossed my legs in skipping. Mam please, I don’t want to take pills. There is nothing wrong with me!”

“Violet, stop it now! I know it’s your condition talking but I do find it hard to take sometimes.”

“Mam,” Violet persisted.

“Enough dear! Swallow that now. I have to meet my bookclub this evening and I don’t want to worry that you haven’t taken your pills.”

Violet glanced down at the blue pill then back at her mother who looked like she was going to explode. She picked it up, placed it on her tongue, took a gulp of water and swallowed. Her mother smiled, patted her daughter’s head and rose from the table.

“Now I bet you feel better already. I’m going out but I will be back in time to get you and your father’s tea. Risotto tonight I think.”

Her mother floated from the room leaving Violet angry at the kitchen table. The woman she just talked to, though she looked like her mother, was definitely not her mother. She had to be an imposter. Violet got up from the table and paced the room. Something had to be done. She had to try to get through to her father one last time. He was at work so she grabbed her coat and ran as fast as her legs could carry her all the way to the Archers shop.