Armed with a clipboard, I spent each sunrise sprinting laps around the garden and doing bunny-kick press-ups. Lunch was a carrot and cabbage smoothie served by Susie’s mum and snacks were off the menu, in spite of Lily’s best efforts to feed me Smudge’s biscuits. At sunset, I practised my rabbit punches on Susie’s gloved hands and panted up and down the garden steps while EE glared at the stopwatch, frowning. Smudge watched lazily from his usual spot on top of the guinea pig hutch and pretended he wasn’t interested in whether I won or lost. I knew he was rooting for me really, even if he did sometimes wish he could be more like Tornado Taz. By the time the night before the race arrived, I was fighting fit. Even EE seemed satisfied. ‘Great work, Harriet!’ he cried as I finished my final run up the steps and tried to catch my breath. ‘All you need now is a good night’s sleep and you’ll be ready for anything Taz can throw at you.’ Huh, I thought, there’s no chance of that happening, not with those giggling guinea pigs around.
