We studied, hung out at the shopping mall mainly with Jane telling me about the guys she was dating and me just giggling to her stories, for me it was...all harmless fun and something to pass the time in between my studies and practicing my religionUntil that one day when my parents told me they were heading off to Birmingham on an emergency as my uncle had fallen seriously ill and Jane finding out that I was alone in the house asked me to come to her place for a sleepover as her house was empty. Now, Lila had said things to Matt such as: 'Do Ilook ok? I'm not sure how I look today.'" and he had reassured her thatshe looked fine. So Lila had gone on, "So would you say I am more ugly,or pretty?" Matt told her not to worry, she was pretty. So now, do yousee, Matt thinks in his logical way that he has been merely friendly andreassuring. But Lila has heard exactly what she was listening for;Matt's own lips had told her she was pretty!" That was manipulative!" Maybe, but if Matt had been. “We could have a first quick poke through some of Mum’s old clothes and then your stuff can go in the machine. If there’s nothing of Mum’s that fits we can soon dry what’s been in the machine and Dad can take you shopping on Monday.”“Oh, I can, can I?” said he, cocked a snook at her, winked at a wide-eyed Penny and vanished.Penny got the giggles and then turned solemn again. “I can’t let him buy me clothes!”“Yes you can, love, and he’d be hurt if you didn’t.”Penny looked down in embarrassment.. It had been I who'd performed the operation to fix his broken rib or whatever and the internal damage it had done while untreated, and I couldn't just let him die now for want of a little attention.Besides, I still felt a lot of the same affection I'd given him back when I thought he really was a cat. For a while I wondered whether it was genuine or just something he'd instilled in me with his evident mind-bending abilities, and I searched through my head mightily for any indications. Finally,.